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HISTORY 



COUNTIES OF 



Woodbury and Plymouth, 



IOWA, 



INCLUDING AN EXTENDED SKETCH OF 

SIOUX CITY, 

THEIR EARLY SETTLEMENT AND PROGRESS TO THE PRESENT TIME; A DESCRIP- 
TION OF THEIR HISTORIC AND INTERESTING LOCALITIES ; SKETCHES OF 
THE TOWNSHIPS, CITIES AND VILLAGES ; PORTRAITS OF SOME 
OF THE PROMINENT MEN, AND BIOGRAPHIES OF 
MANY OF THE REPRESENTATIVE 
CITIZENS. 



ILLUSTRATED. 



CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: 

A. WARNER & CO., PUBLISHERS. 
1890-91. 






JOH 


n Morris Company, 




printers, 


118 A 


<d 120 Monroe Stheet, 




CHICAGO, ILL. 



77^ 






PREFACE. 



IN the preparation of this volume the publishers have endeavored to give 
a clear and concise statement of historical facts, and as well to sketch in 
fitting terms the wonderful growth, development and possibilities of this 
highly favored region; for not only are the residents of Sioux City and 
vicinity interested in its past history, but its glowing prospects for the future 
are attracting the marked attention of people in every section of the country. 

An earnest effort has been made to treat with accuracy all matters touched 
upon, and no expense has been spared to render the book attractive, and to 
more than fulfill the promises made in the prospectus. It is fortunate 
indeed, that many of the facts of history, which are here recorded, have been 
rescued from oblivion, by being placed in enduring form before the early 
settlers have passed away. 

With the exception of the chapters hereafter mentioned, which were 
written by citizens, who, from their long residence, special knowledge of the 
subjects, and official positions, were exceptionally qualified for the work 
done, the historical part of the work for both counties (including the early 
history of Sioux City, and its present interests — commercial, social and 
religious), and the matter relating to the formation and settlement of 
the townships in Plymouth county, were written by Mr. W. L. Clark; the 
chapters on the origin and formation of the townships in Woodbury county, 
and the sketches of the towns and villages therein, were furnished by Mr. J. 
E. Norris. The local writers and the chapters written by them are as fol- 
lows: 

Peof. J. C. C. Hoseins, Chapter II, Woodbury county, Topography and 
Geology (of the two counties). 

Prof. J. S. Shoup, Chapter VII, Woodbury county, Educational In- 
terests. 

Hon. W. L. Joy, Chapter X, Woodbury county, Bench and Bar. 



Peof. J. Weknli, Chapter VI, Plymouth county, Education. 

Hon. H. C. Curtis, Chapter IX, Plymouth county, Bench and Bar. 

The publishers wish to acknowledge their obligations to all who have 
assisted those engaged in the preparation of the work, among whom may be 
mentioned the editors of the leading journals throughout the district em- 
braced, the county and city officials, the clergy, the officers and members of 
the various societies, the managers of the numerous industrial enterprises, 
and many others. We have been allowed to present some interesting facts 
taken from A. E. Sheetz's Centennial History, and are under special obliga- 
tions to Dr. William R. Smith and the Hon. D. M. Mills for many favors 
shown, and much information given. 

The biographical sketches were so numerous that it has necessitated as 
brief treatment as the circumstances would warrant, and the publishers have 
been compelled to depend mainly upon the members of the respective fam- 
ilies for the reliability of the facts set forth. No pains have been spared to 
make this department accurate, and it is believed that it constitutes an inter- 
esting portion of the work, and that it will increase in value with the lapse 
of time. 

Trusting that the volume will prove satisfactory to its readers, it is 
submitted to their considerate judgment. 



THE PUBLISHERS. 



Chicago, July, 1891. 




CONTENTS. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 

CHAPTER I. 



Introductory 

CHAPTER II. 
Topography and Geology 14-47 

CHAPTER III. 
Early Settlement of Sioux City and Vicinity 49-73 

CHAPTER IV. 
Organization of the County 73-80 

CHAPTER V. 
County Government, etc 80-90 

CHAPTER VI. 
Political History 90-100 

CHAPTER VII. 
Educational Interests 100-11(5 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Agriculture 116-122 

CHAPTER IX. 
Railroads of the County 122-131 

CHAPTER X. 
Bench and Bar 131-153 

CHAPTER XI. 

Early Physicians 153-159 

CHAPTER XII. 
The Newspaper Press 159-166 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Civil War and Indian Troubles 166-176 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Sioux City 176-186 

CHAPTER XV. 
Sioux City, contiuued 186-192 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Sioux City, continued. — Religious Societies 192-201 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Sioux City, continued. — Civic and other Societies 201-211 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Sioux City, continued. — Industrial and Commercial Interests 211-236 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Sioux City, continued. — Events of Special Interest 236-264 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XX 

General Township Matters 264-279 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Woodbury Township 279-293 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Little Sioux Township 293-311 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Union Township .' 311-326 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Lakeport, Liberty and Grange Townships 326-342 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Rock, Kedron, Rutland, Morgan, Miller 342-353 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
West Fork, Wolf Creek, Grant, Moville 353-366 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Liston Township 366-375 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Arlington, Floyd, Concord, Banner 375-386 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Willow and Sloan Townships 386-397 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Oto Township 399^06 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 

CHAPTER I. 
Introductory 409-41 1 

CHAPTER II. 
Early Settlement 411-419 

CHAPTER III. 
Organization and County Government 419-431 

CHAPTER IV. 
Miscellaneous Items 431-439 

CHAPTER V. 
Political History 439-447 

CHAPTER VI. 
Educational 449-462 

CHAPTER VII. 
Railroads 462^169 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Agriculture and Stock Raising 469-472 

CHAPTER IX. 
The Bench and Bar 472-479 

CHAPTER X. 
The Medical Profession 479-486 

CHAPTER XI. 
Plymouth County Newspapers 486-492 



CONTENTS. Vil 

CHAPTER XII. 
Elgin Township 493-498 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Elkhorn Township 498-503 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Fredonia Township 503-507 

CHAPTER XV. 
Garfield Township 507-516 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Grant Township 516-523 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Hancock Township 523-526 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Henry Township 526-528 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Hungerford Township 528-531 

CHAPTER XX. 

Johnson Township 531-536 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Liberty Township 536-540 



CHAPTER XXII. 
Lincoln Township : 540-542 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Marion Township 542-545 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Meadow Township 545-547 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Perry Township 547-550 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Plymouth Township 550-558 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
Portland Township 558-564 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Preston Township 564-567 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Remsen Township 567-575 

CHAPTER XXX. 
Sioux Township 575-579 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Stanton Township 579-582 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Union Township 582-585 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
"Washington Township 585-587 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 
Westfield Township , 587-590 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

America Township 590-596 



VIII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

City of Le Mars 596-623 

GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY 623-1014 

INDEX 1014 - 1022 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PORTRAITS. 

Armstrong, Allen 147 

Badgerow, G. R 327 

Beck, F. F 655 

Bruguier, Theophile 47 

Burns, W. H 795 

Chase, R. J 367 

Clarke, Willis G 483 

Cook, Dr. JohnK 27 

Crossan, Allen 

Culver, C. G 

Davis, S. T 

Eisentraut, George 
Evans, Fred T., Sr 

Felt, G.W 627 

Flinn, M. L opposite 528 

Follis, W. S 501 

Gere.T. P 227 

Gordon, Wm 387 

Green, Thos 683 

Haakinson, Ed • ■ 297 

Hagy, John 



591 
97 



167 



137 



Halseth, A 693 

Higman, W. E 317 

Hills, F. C 237 

Holmau, W. P 357 

Hornick, John 277 

Hoskins, J. C. C I 27 

Hoyt, C. F 187 

Hubbard, A. W 37 

Hunt, Frank 407 

Hutchins, James 447 



Johnson, H. H 665 

Joy, Wm. L - 67 

Kellogg, Geo. W 465 

Lambert, Fritz J 157 

Lawrence, Jos. S 645 

Lessenich, John J 703 

Lewis, C. H 437 

Louoks. R. H 377 

Lynch, J. 8 ""7 

Major, Robt. 721 

Malone, Thos 759 

Millard, A. J 3 97 

Morf, J. H 427 

Pardoe, Geo. M 555 

Pendleton, Isaac 107 

Peters, E. C 197 

Rochel, John. 741 

Skinner, E. W 417 

Smith, Wm. R 57 

Stone, T. J 87 

Swanson, John A 731 



Taylor, O.J 33 7 

Tiedeman, N 519 

Wakefield, G. W 217 

Wall, James P 3 47 

Whitfield, Wilmot 307 

Wilkinson, A. L 367 

Williams, D. A 573 

Woodford, Luther 287 

Wynn, Leighton 2 57 

Young, Geo. W 5 3 7 



City Hall and Public Library 177 

Corn Palace, 1890 2 47 

Map of Woodbury and Plymouth 
Counties 9 and 10 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

University of the Northwest 117 

Woodbury County Court House 77 

Y. M. C. A. Building 207 



SIOUX 




R.41 v ff.4ff 

JSI O 1 




RICA 



■ej- -T--f -^K| 




«| PLYMOUTH 
^ WOODBURY 

rg/O COUNTIES, 

IO¥A 




O UN T y 



COUNTIES OF 



Woodbury and Plymouth, 

IOWA. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTEODUCTORT. 



The Change— Indian Occupancy— The "White Man's First Settlement — 
Then and ISfow — The Contrast. 

IN introducing the reader to the chapters comprising this volume, it 
only needs to be said that herein will be found an historic account 
of the great transformation which the last forty years have wrought 
out in this portion of the " Middle Kingdom " of America — the State 
of Iowa. 

Prior to April 20, 1836, the domain of all Iowa was included in 
territory subject to the jurisdiction of Michigan territory. At the 
above date, through Gen. George Jones, of Dubuque, then in con- 
gress, the territory of Wisconsin was created and organized in due 
form. It embraced " all that portion of the great west included in 
Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa." 

In 1838 the question of organizing the territory of Iowa began to 
be agitated. In November of that year congress was memorialized 
to do this and to define the line between Wisconsin and Missouri ter- 
ritories. The act of congress which admitted Iowa also gave her the 
sixteenth section of every township of land in the state (or its equiva- 
lent) for the support of schools; also seventy-two sections of land for 



12 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the purpose of a university; also provided that her public lands 
should be exempt from any general taxation. Thus provided for as a 
bride with her marriage portion, Iowa commenced housekeeping on 
her own account. 

At first but a few counties were organized in the extreme eastern 
portion of the state — along the^Mississippi, the remainder being still 
possessed by Indians, including the Sacs and Foxes. The last treaty 
with the Indians was made in 1842 and ratified March, 1843. In this 
treaty, which John Chambers, United States commissioner, made with 
the Sac and Fox Indians at Agency City, all the lands west of the 
Mississippi river to which they had any claim, were ceded to the Gov- 
ernment. By that treaty the Indians were to be removed from the 
territory named, at the expiration of three years. A part of them 
was removed to Kansas in the fall of 1845, and the remainder in the 
spring following. 

On July 15, 1830, the Sac, Fox, Western Sioux, Omaha, Iowa 
and Missouri Indians ceded to the United States a portion of the 
western Iowa slope, including what is now Woodbury and Plymouth 
•counties. In consideration of three tracts of land the Government 
agreed to pay the Sacs $3,000; the Foxes $3,000; the Sioux $2,000; 
the Yankton and Santee bands of the Sioux $3,000; the Omahas 
$1,500; the Ottoes and Missouris $2,500, to be paid annually for ten 
years. Provision was also made for farm implements and schools of 
training for these tribes. Thus it will be observed the Indians were 
not ruthlessly driven from the hunting grounds of Iowa, but grven a 
cash consideration to go in peace. 

Prior to the coming of William Thompson, no white man had looked 
upon the fair domain now known as Woodbury county with the view 
of becoming a permanent settler. That brings us down to 1848. Be- 
hold the wondrous transformation — the almost incredible change! 
Then this section was all as a wise Creator had fashioned it. The 
beautiful prairie lands had never felt the plowshare; the waters of 
the Big Sioux, the Floyd and the lesser streams which here flow into 
the Missouri had never been spanned by a wagon or foot bridge. The 
Indians alone had hunted and fished along their meanderings and 
bathed their dusky forms in their clear and cooling waters. 

It is safe to assert that no portion of the civilized globe ever made 
more rapid and substantial growth than the Missouri valley slope has 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 13 

made, in the same length of time. History proves that in the Old 
World it has taken hundreds of years to bring 1 about even slight 
changes in a given locality. But since William Thompson built his 
little locf cabin on the Iowa side of the "Big Muddy," a few miles 
below where Sioux City stands to-day, the advancement has been like 
magic. 

Its enterprising pioneers, its geographical location on the longest 
river in the world, backed by an expanse of fertile land, the rich- 
ness of which is not excelled, if equaled anywhere — have caused 
Sioux City to be one of the leading and rapidly increasing railroad 
centers of the west. Its railroad lines extend from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific and from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. The east 
sends her manufactured treasures to this point and exchanges them for 
the vegetable and mineral wealth of this "garden spot of the world." 

It matters not on what line one allows his mind to center, or upon 
which hand one looks, the same stir and bustle and genuine progress 
may be seen. 

The Indian ieepe, which fifty remaining pioneers here well remem- 
ber, as the only adorning object this spot had, aside that given by 
nature, has gone to decay — the broken Indian tribes are scattered 
like chaff before a whirlwind, and are soon to become extinct. In the 
place of these emblems of savage life, the true types of modern Chris- 
tian civilization have come to grace this goodly portion of the Hawk- 
eye State. Nearly two hundred school-houses and half as many 
church edifices within this county are good indexes, pointing to the 
work strong-minded and stout-hearted men have here been able to per- 
form in the short period of one generation. 

" Thirty years ago, my county, 

You were fair — yes very fair; 
There were no furrows on your brow, 

No silver in your hair. 
The blush of early womanhood 

Was on your rounded cheek; 
The wild flowers on your bosom 

Exhaled their fragrance sweet." 



14 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER II. 
TOPOGEAPHY AND GEOLOGY. 

Incomplete Survey — Surface Observations— Streams— Elevations of 
Ground— Rock Formations—Composition of Ground— All Land Sub- 
merged—Deposits from Glaciers— Evidences of Animal Life— Early 
Formation— Tropical Vegetation — Species of Trees— Later Period 
— Absence of Animal and Vegetable Life— Sudden Change — Luxu- 
riant Vegetation— Species Identical with Those of Present Time 
— Depression of the Earth— Increase of Shell-Fish — Third, or Nio- 
brara Group — Deepening of the Sea — Appearance of Vertebrated 
Fish— Largest Created Animals— Value of Clay Beds. 

TO the shame of the State of Iowa, no exhaustive geological sur- 
vey of any portion of her rich territory has yet been made, and 
our knowledge of the rocks and soils of Woodbury and Plymouth 
counties depends on the hurried and very superficial reconnoissance of 
Dr. White, and the casual observations of scientific men like Hayden, 
Marcon and Capellini, who have visited a few special locations, 
mainly with the view of collecting proofs of theories already promul- 
gated. 

The writer of this treatise has endeavored to avail himself of all 
that has been recorded by these gentlemen, and has himself passed 
with eyes wide open, if not accurately discerning, over most of these 
two counties, and here records the results of his best judgment. He 
w shes, however, to state distinctly that this is not a complete scientific 
monograph; the data for such a writing do not exist, nor are the 
statements herein made to be taken as strictly exact, whenever figures 
and dimensions are set down. 

For instance, when it is stated that a certain formation has a cer- 
tain thickness, or covers a certain area, it is to be understood that such 
statements are not exact, but only approximate, their exactness being 
impossible at present, and not at all essential to our general knowledge 
of the region. It is believed, however, that there are facts observed, 
patent to all who will look intelligently, to fix the geological status of 
the region we are considering sufficiently for all practical purposes. 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 15 

Woodbury and Plymouth counties are nearly equal in area (Plym- 
outh being a few hundred acres the larger), comprising together about 
1,100,000 acres; and may be looked at, in general, as part of a larger 
plain with gentle slope toward the southwest. In riding over the 
country one is struck very forcibly with the apparent equality in 
height of all the peaks and ridges within his horizon, and with the 
certainty that the channels of all the streams and the drains that lead 
down to them, have been carved out of level ground by the action of 
water, aided in places by winds that have helped to give roundness 
and softness to the everywhere beautiful landscape. Close observation 
brings conviction that such has been the case. 

Indeed, such observation enables us to see the process of the ages 
still going on; and the brief occupation of civilized man has in many 
places assisted very perceptibly in the process. 

In the whole chapter of indirect causes there are few things more 
interesting than that portion narrating the unexpected and wholly un- 
foreseeable influence of man over external nature, and particularly 
over the conformation of the surface of the ground. 

The direct and intended changes are very meager and insignificant 
compared with the results of acts or accidents altogether unthought of, 
so far as their effects are concerned. The passage of a stream at one 
point rather than another equally easy, the wagon track up the hill at 
one point rather than at another, the felling of a tree across a ravine, 
or even the thoughtless rolling of a stone down a tempting slope, by 
obstructing or diverting a current of water, or gathering the next fall 
of rain into the slight depression of a wagon track, have produced 
changes quite important in their neighborhood, and strictly of the 
same pattern with the manifold changes which an infinite variety of 
petty forces, increasing with rapid ratio by continued action, have 
brought about in reducing the general surface to its present contour. 

An excellent and easily understood illustration of this influence, and 
of the manner in which ravines and valleys have been excavated and 
hilltops rounded, is the following: There "are now many deep and 
rugged gulches in the loess and drift, where the early settlers remem- 
ber gently sloping valleys leading down to neighboring streams, and 
covered with turf as compactly as the adjacent hillsides. How has the 
change been wrought and what has man had to do with it? Simply 
this: Man brought neat cattle with him. Now the buffalo, the elk 



16 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and the deer in passing from one place to another in their feeding 
grounds make their trail, so far as they can, on high ground; and when 
they go down to a stream of water to drink, or to ford, they usually 
pass down the ridge of some point of high land nearest the water; but 
the habit of neat cattle is exactly the reverse; for they, when passing 
from one feeding ground to another, or to the water for drink, invari- 
ably seek the head of the nearest valley and follow it on the lowest 
ground until they reach the desired locality. So it happens that the 
frequented valley soon has a beaten path worn through the turf in its 
full extent, which gathers rain-water from the adjacent slopes into a 
narrow channel, and the heavy summer rains begin at once the exca- 
vation of a deeper vale. If it happens that when the path reaches the 
stream, the slope is steep and the bank abrupt, the overfall from the 
water-flow soon cuts out a pit in the alluvium, down to the water level, 
and every rain extends the gulch farther back into the higher ground, 
until, in some observed cases, excavations a mile or more in extent, 
with perpendicular sides of soil, and perhaps twenty or thirty, or even 
more feet in depth, are found where not so very long ago all was 
smooth and grassy turf. Nor does the process stop here, water flows 
from the side slopes over the edge of the gulch and wearing off the 
edge until in a short time the sides are no longer precipitous, but form 
a steeper part of the original slope, and here and there, from lateral 
draws, come heavier currents, and these in their turn make tributary 
gulches, cutting back into the side hill and going through the 
same process as the main excavation. So in a few years the gulch is 
excavated, the descent is diminished, the bottom widens and lateral 
tributaries are formed in the image of their parent, and we find a new 
valley with its narrow bottom ground and its central channel, or, per- 
haps, since cattle can no longer enter at the head, there may be 
no channel but smooth turf instead, and at its extreme head a deep 
and precipitous pit where the process still goes on at a diminished 
rate, because of the diminished supply of Avater. So streams of con- 
siderable size, which, when cattle came into the country, flowed in 
narrow and deep channels, between slopes well grassed over, or lined 
with bushes and with unbroken slopes, now flow in gulches with sides 
torn and ragged, cutting deep into this side or that, wherever a path 
has broken the turf on the slope, widening their beds, until in many 
places, the beginning of a new alluvial plain may be distinctly seen, 



"WOODBURY COUNTY. 17 

through which the current flows between banks so low and flat that 
water from the sides has no longer excavating force. 

This illustration is given because instances of it may be found in 
every neighborhood and on almost every upland farm throughout this 
district; and in them we can see going on to-day the full process by 
which the land has been wrought from a tolerably level, smooth plain 
into its present rolling surface, furrowed at frequent intervals by the 
abrupt ravines of smaller streams, or wider valleys of the Floyd and 
Little Sioux. 

A dry weather crack in the soil and a heavy fall of rain, an un- 
usual amount of snow drifted and frozen, a pile of dry weeds heaped 
up by wind — any one of thousands of apparently inefficient accidents, 
has in past ages changed the course or concentrated the volume of 
trivial currents whose forces, singly insignificant, have in the lapse of 
centuries, carved out the beautiful landscape we now behold. 

To similar insignificant causes are due the broad and fertile bottom 
lands that border the larger streams. The accidental stranding of a 
piece of driftwood on the side, or a strong wind across the stream, or 
any one of myriad constantly occurring accidents, directs the current 
at some point against the higher ground which it wears away, and 
then carries the material down to be deposited in some eddy or gentler 
current to form a bar, or narrow the channel, and so increase its mo- 
tion or give it new direction, and so continue to wear down the adja- 
cent bluff and widen the alluvial vale. 

So from unnoticed and singly insignificant causes the stream is 
moved from side to side of the depression, reaching higher ground 
here and there, and wherever reaching it bringing down more or less 
soil and rock to increase its alluvial plane. To the effects of water, 
winds have added no little in forming the present surface. The im- 
mense volume of ashes from the annual prairie fires that have pre- 
vailed ever since the grasses grew, have had no small share in filling 
up old excavations, and even in building mounds and considerable ele- 
vations around springs where the greener unburned vegetation 
caught and retained them. So there are many places, as at Sand Hill 
lake, in AVoodbury county, sand dunes that loom up across the level 
bottom like hills of some magnitude. Indeed there is no region where 
the processes of geological change are more readily perceived and un- 
derstood than in northwestern Iowa , or where it can be more distinctly 



18 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

seen that the present active forces of nature are amply sufficient of 
themselves to have produced in the illimitable past all the wonder- 
ful earth changes apparent to our view, without any special spasmodic 
•catastrophe. 

The counties of Woodbury and Plymouth are plentifully watered 
by frequent streams, flowing by gentle descents southwesterly into the 
Missouri. On the western border flows the Big Sioux from the 
northwest corner of Plymouth, in section five, township eighty-nine, 
range forty-eight, to its mouth at Sioux City, in section thirty, town- 
ship eighty-nine, range forty-seven. Its elevation where it enters 
Plymouth county is 1,150 feet above meantide, and on a direct line, 
drawn from its entrance to the mouth, it falls at the rate of one and 
four-tenths feet per mile, or probably less than six inches following 
the actual course of the stream. It forms the western boundary of 
the county and the state, and, including its tributaries, drains about 
140,000 acres of land in Plymouth county. 

Its alluvial plain is continuous, and from half to one and one-half 
miles in width, is rarely overflowed, and forms a body of land unsur- 
passed for fertility and ease of cultivation. The bluffs on its border, 
in the upper part of the county, are quite gentle of ascent, and the 
valleys opening through them have very little rough land and no stone. 
A little way below Westfield, about the north line of township ninety- 
one, cretaceous rocks begin to appear, and thence to the mouth of the 
xiver the bluffs are very precipitous, even where no rock is apparent. 
These rocks are also more or less exposed for some distance up the 
course of all the tributary streams, in many places forming consider- 
able precipices. 

The tributaries of the Big Sioux are Indian creek, Beaver creek, 
Westfield creek and Broken Kettle, which last has a course of more 
than twenty miles, and is a very important stream, with much good 
land in its valley, and it is the only stream having rock exposure along 
its valley, beyond its immediate entrance to the river bottom. 

The mouth of the Big Sioux is in Woodbury county, and thence, 
to the south line of the county, the Missouri River is the western 
boundary of the county and state, and at this point, or a short dis- 
tance above, begins that very remarkable bluff formation on the eastern 
border of the great Missouri bottom, which extends far down the river, 
even beyond the south line of the state. The first tributary entering 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 19 

the Missouri in Woodbury county is Perry creek which rises near the 
northeast corner of township ninety-one, range forty-seven, and .runs 
nearly south to section twenty-eight, in township eighty-nine, range 
forty-seven, about seventeen miles in a direct line, with a descent of 
ten and one-half feet per mile, or somewhat less than five feet, follow- 
ing the stream. 

The summit between Perry creek and Mink creek flowing 'into the 
West Fork of the Floyd river, by railroad level, is 342 feet above 
the river bottom at Sioux City, or 1,455 feet above meantide. It is 
probable that some points in this neighborhood rise to a height not 
less than 1,525 feet, and are higher than any other points of land in 
Plymouth county. The Floyd river emptying into the Missouri at 
Sioux City, in section thirty-three, township eighty-nine, range forty- 
seven, rises in O'Brien county in the northwest corner of township 
ninety-seven, range forty, runs west to the southeast corner of town- 
ship ninety-seven, range forty-two, thence west of south, entering 
Plymouth county in section thirty-one, township ninety-four, range 
forty-four, and continuing in the same direction to its mouth. It is a 
very considerable stream, with broad open valley and wide alluvium. 
There are no steep bounding bluffs beyond the Missouri bottoms, but 
the slopes rise gently on either side, and there is no waste land be- 
tween the bottom and the rolling upland prairie. No rock is visible 
in this valley north of the Woodbury county line, and it shows a con- 
stant succession of beautiful and highly cultivated farms, from its mouth 
to its source. Its average descent in Woodbury and Plymouth counties is 
about four feet per mile in a direct line. From Merrill to its mouth, 
in a direct line, a little less than twenty miles, the descent is three and 
eight-tenths feet per mile. The elevation at Merrill is 1,191 feet above 
meantide. At Merrill the Floyd receives its principal tributary from the 
west, known as Beaver creek, or the West Fork of Floyd. 

It rises in the south part of township ninety-seven, range forty- 
f our, and running thirty-five miles a little west of south, debouches into the 
main stream in section two, of township ninety-one, range forty-six. 
Its valley is open, the bottoms have no precipitous bordering bluffs, 
but the slopes rise in many places gradually from the bank to the up- 
land prairie. Among all the rich and beautiful valleys of northwest- 
ern Iowa none are more beautiful or productive. A trip through 
Plymouth county over the Northern railroad in midsummer, or better 



20 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

perhaps in harvest time, is a treat to be long remembered. The val- 
ley has a descent of about six and two-thirds feet per mile on the direct 
line. Where the West Fork enters the county, the elevation is 1,284 
feet above sea level, or 134 feet higher than the Big Sioux valley, 
directly west about eighteen miles, giving to the general plane a 
westerly descent of about seven and one-half feet per mile. 

The only important tributary of the West Fork is Mink creek, 
coming from the northwest, with a course of about twelve miles. 

From the east the Floyd river receives in Plymouth county, the 
Willow, which has a course from the southeastern part of Sioux 
county to Le Mars, of about eighteen miles, and receiving in section 
two, township ninety-two, range forty-five, a tributary, Deep 
creek, which rises in the southwestern corner of O'Brien, and is more 
than twenty miles in length. Plymouth creek, with a course of ten 
miles, has its mouth in section thirty-one, township ninety-two, range 
forty-five. The valleys of these streams are all open, with wide fertile 
bottoms and very gentle slopes. In Woodbury county the Floyd re- 
ceives from the east several small streams, all of which enter the val- 
ley through narrow and deep ravines, cut precipitously into the bluff 
or drift formation through which they flow. 

Below the Floyd river, there are no streams reaching the Missouri 
within the limits of Woodbury county. Just below the mouth of the 
Floyd, and within the limits of Sioux City, the bluffs recede eastward 
from the river, and the great Missouri bottom commences. This re- 
markable tract of alluvium extends down the east side of the Missouri 
more than 150 miles, and in some places attains a width of more than 
twenty miles. On the south line of the county the width is about 
fifteen miles, and its entire area is more than 200 square miles, or 
nearly one-fourth of the county. It is never subject to overflow from 
the Missouri, but portions are occasionally flooded from the Little 
Sioux and its tributaries. No other county in the state has an equal 
amount of alluvial soil fit for cultivation. Through the eastern part 
of this vast alluvial plain, flows the sluggish swampy stream known as 
the Big Whiskey, which has its source in sloughs far up in the southern 
center of township ninety-one, range forty-five, and runs a little west 
of south, till it debouches on the great Missouri bottom about section 
thirty-two, township eighty-eight, range forty-seven, and its waters 
spread out to join Deadman's run and Little Whiskey, and form the 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 21 

broad slough that runs southeast to section thirty-six, township eighty- 
seven, range forty-six, where it resumes its open channel, and crossing 
the county line in section thirty-two, township eighty-six, range forty- 
five, falls into the West Fork of the Little Sioux, just south of the 
county line.* Into this slough falls Elliott and Camp creeks, aud 
some other smaller streams. 

Eecently this swamp has been partially drained by the excavation 
of a canal thirty -five feet wide at the top and eight deep, with side 
slopes of one to one. Its descent is for the first 3,000 feet, two inches 
per 100 feet, or eight feet ten inches per mile, thence for 2,900 feet, 
five and one-half feet per mile and the remainder from one to one and 
a half feet per mile. It has proved to be amply sufficient to carry off 
all surplus water, and has made cultivable many thousand acres here- 
tofore given up to bog, and swamp grass and rushes. 

The AA 7 est Fork of the Little Sioux has its source in Cherokee 
county, and passing to the southwest crosses into Plymouth county, 
and thence flows westerly and south, passing diagonally through town- 
ship ninety, range forty-three, and thence nearly south through Wood- 
bury county, entering the Little Sioux in Monona county. 

It receives in Plymouth county, from the north, a fine stream ten 
or twelve miles long, also Deer creek five miles long, and Clear creek 
twelve miles in length, and in Woodbury county from the northwest, 
Mud creek and several smaller streams. From the northeast comes 
Booth creek, which has a course of ten or twelve miles, receiving on its 
south side Bear creek about five miles iu length. 

There are no other streams of any magnitude entering the West 
Fork within the county. The West Fork is a very considerable stream, 
and drains nearly 100,000 acres in Plymouth county, and with its 
tributaries, in eluding Big Whiskey and Wolf creeks, more than 200,000 

* The naming of Big and Little Whiskey creeks was the outcome of a characteristic frontier in- 
cident. In the summer of 1S5S the inhabitants of Smithland and Woodbury (now Sergeant's Bluff), 
agreed to bridge the numerous streams between those points, to avoid traveling over the almost im- 
passable Missouri bottom, which was then one vast slough. They cut and hauled timbers and willows, 
and with the aid of grass and slabs, the latter supplied by a saw-mill at Woodbury, passable bridges 
were made. The two working parties met and completed their labors at what is now called Big 
Whiskey creek. In order to celebrate the event properly, according to the rule of the times, the Wood- 
bury men had provided a five-gallon demijohn and two-gallon jug of whiskey. By the time the larger 
package had been liberally sampled, all were feeling pretty well. John Lloyd concluded that they had 
had enough, and quietly secreting the jug in his wagon, he started for home. The loss was soon dis- 
covered, and Lloyd was pursued by horsemen and compelled to turn about and bring back Ms booty. 
Despite all effort to change them, the names have ever since clung to Big and Little Whiskey 
creeks. [Ed.] 



22 HISTOBY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

in Woodbury, making fully 300,000 acres of drainage area. In Plym- 
outh county its valley is wide, and the slopes very moderate, but 
below Booth creek the bottom lands are divided from the uplands by 
much steeper slopes, and in places, the bluffs are quite abrupt. There 
is, however, no rock exposure so far as is known to the writer. In 
Woodbury county the West Fork and its chief tributaries lie quite 
deep below the intervening country, the general level of the plain 
being from 100 to 180 feet above the beds of the streams, and the 
streams lying so near each other as to render the country very diffi- 
cult to cross with railroads. 

The principal tributary of the West Fork on the east, is Wolf creek, 
which rises in the center of township eighty-nine, range forty-three 
and running a little west of south, loses itself in a broad marsh near the 
south line of the county in township eighty-six, range forty-four, from 
which its waters reach the West Fork by a recently excavated ditch. 
Wolf creek has a course of more than twenty miles through a beauti- 
ful and rich valley bounded by gentler slopes than the West Fork, and 
occupied by some of the finest farms in the county. 

Entering Woodbury count} r near its extreme northeastern corner, 
the Little Sioux river flows somewhat west of south and passes into 
Monona county in section thirty-five, township eighty-six, range 
forty-four. It is by far the largest and most important stream in 
northwestern Iowa. Its sources are in the state of Minnesota, the 
Ocheyeclau branch issuing from West Okabeni lake at Worthington, 
Minn., in township one hundred and two, range forty, and its 
eastern from the West Heron lake in township one hundred and 
three, range thirty-seven west. These lakes are very nearly on 
the divide between the Missouri and Mississippi waters, at an ele- 
vation of 1,580 feet above sea level. The elevation of its con- 
fluence with the Missouri in Harrison county, Iowa, in township 
eighty-one, range forty-five is 1,030 feet above sea level, showing a 
fall from its source to its mouth of about 530 feet. Its course does 
not touch Plymouth county, though some small tributaries drain about 
nine square miles of its territory, but passes nearly across Woodbury, 
draining (without reckoning its larger tributaries, as Wolf creek and 
the West Fork and Whiskey) an area of 216 square miles. It has 
within the county a descent of two feet per mile measured along the 
valley, but, as by measurement the current meanders about two and a 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 23 

half times the length of -the railroad near by, the actual descent must be 
less than three-fourths of a foot per mile. At Correctionville, the 
crossing of the Illinois Central railroad and the Chicago & North- 
western railroad is 1,135 feet above tide water, or twenty-three feet 
above the railroad at Sioux City exactly west, a distance of thirtj T -one 
miles, and seven-eighths miles below the crossing, the bed of the river 
is 1,098 feet, or nine feet higher than the bed of the Missouri river at 
Sioux City, showing that here as all the way hence to the south line 
of the county, the descent westward is exceedingly small, if indeed it 
exists at all. The valley of the Little Sioux is wide and completely 
occupied by well-cultivated flourishing farms, presenting a spectacle 
of beauty and prosperity rarely equaled. High bluffs 300 to 400 feet 
high bound this lovely valley and make access to the upper level of 
the country somewhat difficult. The principal tributary of the Little 
Sioux is the Maple, which has a course of about seven miles through 
the south-east corner of the county, cutting township eighty-six, 
range forty-two almost from corner to corner. It is a large stream, 
having its source in township ninety-three, range thirty-eight in Buena 
Vista county and debouching into the Little Sioux in township eighty- 
three, range forty-four in Monona county. Its valley is seventy-seven 
miles long, it drains an area of 732 square miles, of which sixty-seven 
are in Woodbury county, and from its source to its mouth it descends 
398 feet or five and one-fourth feet per mile. In Woodbury county 
the rate of descent is about four feet per mile. It has a wide valley 
with slopes gentler than those of the Little Sioux, and fully as pro 
ductive. 

Its only important tributary in Woodbury county is Reynolds 
branch, about nine miles long and draining about twenty-five square 
miles. 

The Little Sioux receives, from the east, Miller creek, having a 
course of about nine miles and draining some twenty square miles of 
area, and Wright creek, running ten miles and draining about thirty- 
three square miles, and Bacon creek having a course of six miles 
due west from its source and draining eighteen square miles. These 
are all fine, rapid streams with open valleys, and Bacon creek is al- 
ready occupied by the Chicago & Northwestern railroad, while the 
Sioux City & Northeastern railroad company, have their surveys made 
along Wright creek where it will doubtless be built at an early day. 



24 HISTOEY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The Little Sioux receives from the northwest, Pearson creek, which 
has a course of thirteen miles and draining nearly forty squares about 
equally divided between Woodbury and Plymouth. Its valley has a 
rapid descent, but not too steep for railroad occupancy. Three Mile 
creek enters the river from the northwest, having a course of six or 
seven miles, and Rock creek runs southeast six miles. 

This multitude of streams has each its network of smaller streams 
so numerous that it is quite rare to find a section of land within the 
upland districts that has not its springs and perennial watercourses. 
As has been before said, the general appearance of the whole region, 
to one looking down from above, would be that of a smooth plane sur- 
face, sloping very gently to the southwest, and quite closely furrowed 
with watercourses fifty to one hundred and fifty feet deep, or in the 
case of the Little Sioux, three hundred to four hundred feet, and all 
tending in the general direction of the slope. 

On the north line of Plymouth county, at the crossing of the West 
Pork of the Ployd river, the ground has an elevation of 1,284 feet, as 
before stated, while directly west, about eighteen miles, the valley of 
the Big Sioux is 1,150 feet, showing a descent westward of nearly 
seven and one-half feet per mile. The Ployd descends southerly to 
Sioux City 171 feet, or about six feet per mile, and the Big Sioux falls 
thirty-seven feet to the Missouri near the mouth of the Ployd. 

The elevation of the ground where the valley of the Little Sioux 
merges in the Missouri bottom is 1,086 feet, making the descent from 
the north line of Plymouth county, where the West Pork of Ployd enters, 
to the south line of Woodbury, where the Little Sioux passes out, 198 
feet, or a little more than four feet per mile. The banks of these 
streams, and the bluffs bounding their valleys, afford the chief infor- 
mation as to the geological characteristics of the country; and 
■with the exception of Big Sioux bluffs and those of its tributaries 
near their entrance to its valley, the Missouri bluffs at Sioux City and 
Sergeant's Bluff, and the lower part of some small streams entering 
the Floyd from the east in Woodbury county, they show nothing but 
alluvium and drift. In effect both counties, outside of bhe alluvial 
bottoms, are covered with drift from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet 
in depth. There is no rock exposure except in the narrow line of 
bluffs above mentioned, with two or three doubtful cases on the west- 
ern bluffs of the Little Sioux; but this narrow line furnishes ample 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 



25 



evidence of the geological horizon to which the region belongs, and 
it has been supplemented by the borings at Le Mars and Sioux City, 
and excavations in various other places, until the general character of 
the underlying strata may be regarded as sufficiently settled. Of sev- 
eral borings upon Morton's farm, near Le Mars, all of which substan- 
tially agree in their showing, it is thought best to set down here the 
record of No. 3 upon the bluffs and No. 4 upon the Floyd bottom — 
placing them side by side for convenient comparison: 
No. 3— Section 7, Township 92, Range 45. 

FT. IN. 

1. Drift clay 46 

Sand 3 8 

Blue clay 4 4 

2. Sandstone 37 

3. Blue clay 1 

4. Sandstone 34 

5. Sharp, light colored sandstone 50 

6. Clunch clays, dark and light 

strata 46 

7. Dark blue clay, bituminous. . 4 6 

8. Light blue shale 11 6 

9. Dark clunch 6 

10. Lignite 1 6 

11. Fire clay 4 6 

12. Sandstone 35 

13. Red and white marl 15 

14. Blue clay 4 

15. Hard sandstone 8 

16. Light blue marl 3 

17. Oolitic beds, fine and coarse 

strata 52 

18. Hard sandstone 38. 

405 

Boring No. 1 on Morton's and the boring on Woodward's land, 
nearly three miles southeast, show substantially the same results, alike 
in passing through the thin beds of impure lignite, and terminating in 
a very hard sandstone ; and the same showing, so far as it goes, is 
made by a boring in the Broken Kettle valley, some six or eight miles 
above its entrance to the Big Sioux valley. 

The Artesian well bored at Sioux City to the depth of 2,011 feet, 
can not with exactness be compared with the Le Mars borings, by 
reason of the indefinite nomenclature used by the workmen, but, so far 
as can be seen, it confirms their showing, and extends our knowledge 
to a much greater depth. The record is subjoined: 



No. 4, one-half mile northwest of No. 1 
and on the Floyd Bottom. 

PT. 

1. Drift clay 25 

Sand 

Blue clay 

2. Sandstone 

3. Blue clay 

4. Sandstone 

5. Sandstones and shales alternate . . . 

6. Clunch clays 

7. Liguite at depth of 145 feet 2 

8. Shales and sandstones 76 

9. Lignite 1 

*Sandstones and shales continue to 

alternate 

*Red marl 

^Oolitic beds 

*Sandstone 

♦Record not complete ; thickness not given. 



26 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Artesian well at Sioux City — Section 29, Township 89, Range 47. 

1. Soil and clay, loess and drift 60 

2. Gravel, loess and drift, 25 feet 85 

3. Shale, 54 feet 139 

4. White sand, 2 feet 141 

5. Sandstone (brown, white and gray strata), 189 feet 330 

6. Chalk rock, 100 feet 430 

7. Gray limestone, 110 feet 540 

8. Silicious limestone (water rising within 12 feet of surface) 

30 feet 570 

9. Limestones (gray, silicious and white strata), 185 feet 755 

10. Light colored sandstone, 30 feet 785 

11. Gray limestone, 20 feet . 805 

12. Shale, 98 feet 903 

13. Limestone and shaly strata, alternate, 347 feet 1,250 

14. Sandy and marly strata, 65 feet 1,315 

15. Hard rock, 205 feet 1,520 

16. Niagara group (?) 340 feet 1,860 

17. Light colored limestone(?) 5 feet 1,865 

18. Hard rock, 146 feet 2,011 

These borings, in connection with the rock exposures above re- 
ferred to, seem to establish sufficiently well that this region belongs 
to the cretaceous horizon, and the succession from above downward is 
through the loess, then the drift, then the Niobrara group, then the 
Fort Benton group, then the Dakota group of the cretaceous rocks; 
and nothing below this group can be positively affirmed, although the 
record of the borings seems to show quite clearly that the cretaceous 
rocks lie directly upon the sub-carboniferous, and that the whole series 
of strata between the cretaceous and the sub-carboniferous, if it ever 
existed, was utterly removed before the cretaceous era. 

Evidently the oolitic beds in the Morton borings which appear 
only seventy feet below the cretaceous lignite, must be identified with 
the oolites of the upper Des Moines valley which are referred by 
Dr. White to the Kinderhook beds, and which lie far below the car- 
boniferous horizon. Just where the bottom of the cretaceous sys- 
tem is to be fixed in these borings it is difficult to say with precision, 
but possibly it may be that the sandstone No. 12 in the Morton bor- 
ing No. 3 is the lowest member of the Dakota group, and the gray 
limestone No. 7 of the Sioux City boring may represent the oolitic 
beds. As to all the strata below, sufficient data have not been col- 
lected to determine their exact position. Possibly the hard sandstone 
No. 18 of the Morton borings may represent the Sioux Falls quartzite, 




" ! 




& ^L*^L 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 29" 

and it may be considered quite certain that the hard rock, No. 15,. 
that is met in the Sioux City artesian well at the depth of 1,315 feet 
is the quartzite, and below that point to the bottom the rock is quartz- 
ite or granitic. One thing may be considered sure, there are no coal 
rocks exposed on the surface nor passed through in the borings, and 
therefore there can be no coal within these counties, unless there be 
some insignificant pocket outside the ground as yet examined, and 
there is very small probability that such is the case. It is to be 
hoped that no more money will be wasted in fruitless search for coal 
or any metallic ores. They do not exist in the cretaceous rocks of 
this region. In the rich alluvial soils of the bottom lands, and in the- 
loess and drift of the uplands are mines which, worked with plow 
and reaper, produce wealth with certainty and unparalleled abun- 
dance, and our people are richer by far than the possessors of mines of 
metal, even if they be of gold and silver. 

Probably one third of the area now under consideration is alluvial, 
and the present surface has been formed by the direct action of the 
intersecting stream wearing down its channel and widening and de- 
positing sediment along the widened valley. 

The process is going on under our own eyes and needs no further 
consideration, nor need much be said of the character or value of the 
soil so produced. It is the latest product of elemental action, and its- 
value is well understood to depend largely on the fineness of its parti- 
cles, and on the intermixture of matters that, having once passed 
through the processes of growth and life, are thereby better adapted 
to nourish and stimulate new growths. This is the deposit that 
always constitutes the flood plains and deltas of rivers and some of the 
terraces of their valleys. It is largely composed of sand and in places 
is of coarse material, but for the most part in this region it is very fine 
and silt like. 

The loess or bluff formation is older than the true alluvium, and of 
finer material. Its origin is much the same, indeed, in this region it may 
be counted exactly the same; though the silt was deposited when the 
Missouri spread out into a wide lake after the manner of Lake Pepin 
on the Mississippi, only vastly larger; and so, the water being quiet, 
and only the finest materials held in suspension in the lake, the loess 
is much finer and evener in its composition. This formation spread 
originally over a large extent in Iowa and Nebraska, and indeed fol- 



•30 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

lowed the river down as far as Missouri. Out of it the entire bed of 
the Missouri and of the tributaries within its limits has been exca- 
vated, so that only small tracts of the original area remain. Very 
little, if any, ever existed in Plymouth county, the northeastern shore 
of the old lake just cutting across the southwest corner of the county. 

In Woodbury it extended more widely, the line of shore being 
drawn irregularly from the Big Sioux river southeasterly, including 
the bluffs that border the Missouri bottom, and extending some dis- 
tance up the larger streams, reaching a point a little above Oto, on the 
the Little Sioux, and Danbury, on the Maple. The exact boundary 
has never been followed. Most of this area has been denuded by 
the larger streams, and the material has been used to widen and 
deepen the great alluvial plain, but it may be seen that the beau- 
tiful and peculiar bluffs that form so picturesque a feature of the 
landscape, owe their strangely beautiful rounded summits, and sharp 
«cut ridges, smooth and abruptly retreating slopes, and entire absence 
•of rocky ledges except at their bases, to the bluff deposit which 
mainly makes up their mass. This deposit, in places, reaches a depth 
of more than 100 feet, and near Sioux City sometimes exceeds 150 
feet. Its material can not be chemically distinguished from the sedi- 
ment now held in suspension by the river, and as a soil it is, of course, 
fully equal to the alluvium, and indeed in some respects is much 
superior, from its superior fineness and less compactness, as it was 
laid down very slowly, and has never suffered pressure. It has in 
consequence much of a sponge-like nature, and never suffers from 
drouth or from excessive rains, absorbing the rain as it falls through- 
out its whole depth equally, and continuing to furnish moisture to the 
surface as long as any remains in its mass. One singular and dis- 
tinguishing property of this peculiar deposit is that it stands securely 
with precipitous front. The Missouri bluffs have no rocky support, 
and yet are so steep that it is difficult for a man to climb their 
declivity, and in artificial excavations a front perpendicular, or nearly 
so, stands securely. For all practical purposes of building, the ground 
it composes is as secure as any other, yet it is everywhere easily 
excavated with the spade alone. 

It remains unchanged by atmosphere and frost, so that wells dug 
to great depth — 100 feet or more — need no walls except to a point 
above the standing water, and lime kilns and potter's kilns, and even 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 31 

stables and caves for the occupancy of man, have been successfully 
carved out and used without danger for years, though their sides had 
no support save the natural tenacity of the soil. Its composition is 

Silca 82.15 

Iron 3.89 

Alumina 67 

Carbonate of lime 9.66 

and this property of remaining unchanged, when exposed to the weather, 
is doubtless due to a slight cementation of the particles of silica by 
carbonated water percolating through the mass. The cementation, 
however, is never sufficient to interfere with its porosity, as is shown 
by the fact that nowhere within it does the water ever establish cur- 
rents, but any surplus it cannot hold always drains from the bottom, 
and wells dug in it yield no water until they pass its bed into the 
strata below. 

For agriculture this is probably as valuable as any soil in the 
world, and is practicably inexhaustible. Corn will grow luxuriantly 
in soil taken from any part of its depth, even 100 feet or more below 
the surface. As to the real geological age of the bluff deposit there 
can be no doubt. It must be more recent than the drift, because it 
rests upon it and is not later than the beginning of the terrace 
epoch, because river terraces are here and there formed in it. Few 
fossils are found in it, and these are all recent, such as fresh-water 
shells and land mollusks, no true branchiate shells except unios, the 
rest being pulmonate gasteropods. It contains no marine remains, 
and is therefore not of marine origin, but is a true deposit of the 
Missouri; and, if it were possible to dam the river, somewhere below, 
to a depth of 200 or 300 feet, in the course of ages the resultant lake 
would be filled with precisely the same matei'ial as that of the bluffs, 
and if, afterward, the lower end of the basin were to sink gradually, 
thus draining off the waters of the lake, the great river and its side 
tributaries would inevitably renew all the features and conditions 
which we now behold. Cotemporary with the bluff deposit which we 
have been considering, are found in places, considerable beds of gravel 
and boulders, generally stratified more or less, and inclined toward 
the lake on whose margin they have been formed. They lie in nooks 
and coves of the old lake border, generally where the waves, driven 
by the western winds, beat most violently against the shores. They 



32 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

have been formed by the wash against the drift, the water carrying' 
the lighter material back into the depths, while the coarser gravel and 
bowlders Lave accumulated in very considerable, imperfectly stratified 
masses. 

In some places, the joint action of wind, ice and water piled up 
the larger stones until they formed walls along the margin. Very 
considerable deposits of this gravel and bowlders and sand may be 
seen along the Big Sioux valley, and sometimes so placed as to be 
confounded with the genuine drif f from which they were formed. 

More than one-half of the exposed area of Woodbury county, and 
nearly all (except the alluvium) of Plymouth county, is buried deep 
beneath the drift. In a few places the streams have, near their 
mouths, cut through to the underlying cretaceous rocks, but these 
areas of exposure are insignificant, and it may be generally said the 
whole territory is good soil, susceptible of easy and profitable cultiva- 
tion. 

It has been said that the bluff formation was laid down in a fresh 
water expansion of the river. It is likely that during the deposit of 
the drift in this regin, this lake-like expansion was a veritable inland 
sea, and during a portion at least of the period, so connected with the 
waters of the ocean then filling the valley of the Mississippi and the 
lower Missouri, as to be properly counted an oceanic gulf, through 
which icebergs of some magnitude could pass to the ocean below. It 
is quite certain that during the glacial period a large portion of north- 
western Iowa, including at least Woodbury, Plymouth, Sioux and 
Lyon counties and portions of Osceola, Cherokee and Ida, was beneath 
water mostly shallow, but deep enough in places, especially along the 
valleys of the Little Sioux, the Floyd and Big Sioux, to float icebergs 
of considerable magnitude. In the earlier portion of this period it 
seems likely that tracts of some magnitude lay above the surface, or 
near enough to be acted upon hj the violent torrents that poured from 
the neighboring icefields during the torrid summers; for in a few 
places there are to be found at the very bottom of the drift, streams of 
sand and gravel more or less stratified, and much waterworn, precisely 
similar to recent formations along rapid streams. During the middle 
and later portions, it is probable that the water was deep enough to 
prevent abrasion of the bottom, and that there were no rapid currents. 

It is quite certain that the great ice sheet that covered the northern 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 33 

regions to such an enormous depth, never reached the borders of 
Plymouth county, though some thin outliers may have existed here 
and there within its limits. No moraines have been observed, and it 
is believed that none exist. The front of the great glacier that moved 
down from the far north seems to have split upon the head of the 
Coteau de Prairie near the sources of the Big Sioux, and its eastern 
branch crossed into Iowa with the Ocheyedan river, and thence 
stretched southward through O'Brien and eastern Cherokee to the 
neighborhood of Des Moines, and thence turned east and northeast- 
ward, so that the country between the Little and the Big Sioux rivers 
has no subglacial or true till, such as may be seen so extensively spread 
out in the hills about Spirit Lake and along the upper course of the 
Ocheyedan. There is here a marked absence of the commingled clay, 
sand, gravel and bowlders of diverse character — in places partially 
stratified, but for the most part firmly compacted into hard pan, tough 
and resistant, often poorly fitted to support vegetation, that form so 
prominent a feature in the morainic tracts along the borders of the 
ancient ice. The true till was subglacial in its origin that is formed 
beneath the ice, by the forward motion of the glacier over rocks and 
pre-existent soil, grinding subjacent material into paste, breaking up 
rocky ledges, and rolling angular fragments into smoothly rounded 
bowlders and pebbles, a,nd pushing forward and compressing the mass 
until it was laid down in irregular ridges and hills at the terminal edge 
of the glacier ; or more likely morainic deposits having a considerable 
width were laid down mainly under the thinned edge of the ice sheet, 
rather than at the exact margin, or under its deeper portion. It is 
made up of materials collected in the glacial bed, ground up and 
moved forward by the glacial current, and the distance from which 
they have been brought is generally not great. A marked character- 
istic of a morainic region is the frequency of small lakes, ponds and 
shallow bogs. The clays of this formation, compressed by the tre- 
mendous forces of the moving ice, are impervious to watei", and wher- 
ever the ridges were left so as to dam up older channels, permanent 
lakes were formed. No better illustration of the character of primary 
till and moraines in general can be found than is presented by the 
region around the head of the Little Sioux river, and indeed the entire 
plateau dividing the waters of the Little Sioux from those of the Des 
Moines river. 



34 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

As has been said, this formation has not been observed in the limit 
here under consideration. The upper, or englacial, and superglacial 
tills are quite similar to the subglacial, but are distinguished by their 
looseness — by the larger size and the angularity of the rock frag- 
ments, by the more sandy and porous character of the earthy base, 
and by the higher oxidation of the iron compounds. This is regarded 
as material embraced within the glacial ice, or borne upon its surface, 
and by its melting, let loosely down on the true till beneath. Of 
course it lies above the true till, and is a large constituent of terminal 
moraines. 

It is however, often found as a thin, irregular deposit, carried for- 
ward beyond the moraines by local aud temporary ice sheets not to be 
reckoned as true glaciers ; and some small tracts of this character may 
be found in the northern part of Plymouth county upon the higher 
grounds, so overlaid by the upper or berg till that their limits can 
not be determined. 

Almost the entire area of Plymouth county, and the larger part of 
Woodbury, outside of the alluvial bottoms, is covered with the berg 
or floe till so called, very similar in character to the true tills, but 
formed under water through the agency of floating ice and sluggish 
currents and distinguishable from them: first, by a more homogeneous 
clayey base; second, by a more uniform distribution of imbedded 
erratics; third, by occasional traces of indistinct lamination; fourth, 
by its distribution, and fifth, by its stratigraphical relations. It is 
clear that finer materials settling down from suspension in water 
would distribute itself with greater uniformity than is possible to clay 
accumulated under a moving glacier, and stones falling from floating 
ice would be dispersed with a general regularity, unless there were 
currents or other circumstances that determined concentration along 
certain lines or in certain areas. The rocks stand on their edges, or 
even on their points, as though they fell from melting floats of ice, and 
were received on a soft mud bottom. Where there is laminfe, the 
lower clayey leaves may sometimes be seen flexed beneath the stone, 
and the upper ones curve over it, as though it had depressed the former 
in its fall and the latter had been subsequently formed over it. These 
deposits were formed in the oceanic gulf before referred to, as preced- 
ing in time the river expansion of the bluff formation, along the mar- 
gin of the melting glacier. These shallow, brackish waters, inter- 



* WOODBUEY COUNTY. 35 

sected with deeper channels, were the receptacles of the issuing; 
silt-laden glacial waters and of the icebergs that floated from the gla- 
cier front, and as different portions varied in area, depth and glacier 
frontage, so the relative amount of coarse and fine material varied. 
In places the proportion of bowlders to clay is nearly that of the true 
till, and in such places the distinction between the two is doubtful. 
The surface aspect of these deposits assists in their correct identifica- 
tion. Where they occupy broad areas the surface contour is of a sub- 
dued, undulating outline — of a type readily distinguished from the 
surface of the true till. 

In confined areas, as narrow lineal valleys, they form concave 
sheets, the sides of which lean against the slopes, and terminate at a. 
definite height in shoulders on either side. These deposits are much 
more erodible than the till proper, and have been more sharply and 
symmetrically channeled where the slopes in post-glacial times have 
permitted it. It is this deposit that gives form and character to the 
landscape of most of northwestern Iowa west of the the divide, and it 
is through it that the multitudinous water courses have cut their chan- 
nels. It is this deposit that, re-enforced by the decaying vegetation 
of unnumbered centuries, has given to Woodbury and Plymouth 
counties a soil practically inexhaustible, and certainly unexcelled by 
any other region. 

It, and not the alluvial bottoms, has made the best, corn lands 
known. It has in a marked degree, the power of resisting drought 
and excessive rain as has been spoken of in connection with the 
loess. It was deposited in waters comparatively quiet, and has 
never been subjected to pressure, so that it has that same pecul- 
iar sponge-like capacity. Its entire depth, ranging from fifty to 
one hundred and fifty or more feet, must be saturated with water be- 
fore any excess can appear, and then that excess flows away at the base 
instead of standing on the surface to the injury of vegetation. Again, 
as long as any water remains in it, the moisture is available for use 
upon the surface. In this respect it has a vast advantage over the 
region of the true tills farther east, where the compact clays and fre- 
quent ridges of hard pan confine the water in shallow pools or ponds 
upon the surface or in depressions filled with soil, and where most of 
the rainfall, unable to soak deep in the ground, runs off at once in the 
rapid streams, and much of that left behind stagnates and sours, or 



36 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

evaporates speedily to the great detriment of life, both animal and 
vegetable. 

It is worth mentioning here that this formation, besides its great 
value for agriculture, has also in places, beds of the very best brick 
clay known. It is believed that this clay may be found in abundance 
along every valley, and it is already worked to a considerable extent 
at Sioux City on the Floyd, at Le Mars and in the Little Sioux valley. 
There is no limit to the supply, and if it were desirable, almost every 
farmer could have his brick kiln on his own premises. There are no 
fossils proper in this formation. 

It is not likely that life, either vegetable or animal, existed or could 
exist at the time when it was laid down. However, there are found 
occasionally, remains, mostly fragmentary, of animals that existed in 
the preceding time, and which have been floated hither from the ter- 
tiary or cretaceous regions farther north and west. A tooth of the 
elephas primigenious was found in the sand beds at Sioux City, and a 
tooth and vertebra of a mastodon were picked up near Mills' farm on 
the Big Sioux in Plymouth county, and silicified. wood is quite fre- 
quent. In many places among the coarser materials may be found the 
•characteristic shells of the adjacent chalk, but these are all foreign to 
the proper formation. 

Below this fruitful and beautiful surface lies the cretaceous series 
•of strata exposed in narrow limits along the Big Sioux and Missouri 
bluffs. These exposures have been quite carefully examined by com- 
petent geologists as to their horizon, and there is no longer any doubt 
that the strata are the genuine representatives in this region of the 
English and European chalk. 

They will here be treated of only in general terms as they have 
never been exhaustively explored, and, if the data were at hand, the 
space allotted to this paper is only sufficient for a very superficial 
view. But first it is proper to say a few words of what is below. The 
cretaceous strata lie nearly horizontal, with only a slight dip to the 
northwest, and disappear in that direction beneath the drift. In Lyon 
county the Sioux Falls quartzite belonging to the Laurentian rocks, 
as is believed, has a considerable dip southward and westward, and it 
disappears beneath the drift. No one has so far observed the connec- 
tion between the chalk rocks and the quartzite, nor is there anywhere 
between, any indications of intervening strata. It is, therefore, pre- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 39 

sumed that the nearly horizontal strata of the chalk, abut against the 
more rapidly sloping quartzite, and that such is the case also with any 
strata of intermediate age that may lie between. That there are such 
strata is clearly shown by the borings at Le Mars and Sioux City, and 
that these strata belong to the sub-carboniferous series, and all other 
strata, if they ever existed (which is not probable), were eroded and 
totally carried away before the commencement of the cretaceous period, 
has been previously intimated in this article. The writer has no 
doubt whatever that these borings in every case terminated in the 
quartzite or the granitic rocks below. 

It is to be understood then that the quartzite at Le Mars lies about 
400 feet below the general surface of the ground, while at Sioux City 
it is as least 1,200 feet below; that at Le Mars, between the creta- 
ceous rocks and the quartzite, intervenes only eighty or ninety feet of 
marls and sandstone and oolitic rock, while at Sioux City, if the gray 
limestone No. 71 represents the oolitic beds, these intervening rocks 
must have a thickness of over 800 feet. However, the data are to be 
considered, as has been heretefore stated, only in general terms. The 
existence of the strata in the order given, and their geological hori- 
zon, may be relied on, but not their exact thickness, nor the exact point 
of juncture of the different overlying formations. 

The cretaceous rocks of this region have been the subject of 
greater interest and have attracted the attention of more scientific 
men than any single formation in the United States. It was for a 
long while contended that they were not cretaceous, and eminent scien- 
tists from Europe, and even the great Agassiz himself, came to Sioux 
City to see and determine for themselves. But these questions have 
long since been settled, and what will be said, therefore, will be more 
like a popular lecture than a scientific treatise. First let us look at 
the general area occupied by this formation, and its conditions when 
the rocks began to be laid down. Away back in the illimitable past 
there was in this region an intricate maze of narrow, shallow seas, full 
of islands, some quite large, all of low elevation, no mountains, nor 
any but moderate hills on islands or shores, many of them flat and 
just above the surface of water. The general conformation of the 
country was much as would be shown were the present surface to sink 
until the water nearly reached the summits of our river bluffs. In 
fact, in the preceding epoch, a vast area lay at the bottom of deep 



40 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

sea, and gradually rising at the commencement of this period, had just 
emerged from the waters enough to afford considerable areas of dry 
land, and the process of upheaval had ceased and slow depression just 
set in. Every bit of land had its stream or streams according to its 
size. 

The valleys of the Missouri, tbe Floyd, the Big and Little Sioux, 
and of some other streams, existed long before, but now they were be- 
neath the waters of the sea, and filled with debris of the older land 
which had existed and sunk in a former epoch. 

The higher ground along the courses of these ancient streams was 
the boundary of straits, bays and currents of the shallow seas. 

The eastern boundary of this sea has not been traced to the Gulf 
of Mexico, but it is found in northern Texas, and passes northerly 
through eastern Kansas and Nebraska, crosses the Missouri valley 
below Council Bluffs, passes as far east as Guthrie county in Iowa, 
and thence to the point where the Des Moines river crosses the Min- 
nesota line, thence north to the mouth of the Big Cottonwood. It has 
been seen 130 miles farther north, reported in British America, and 
is well known to have reached Greenland and the Arctic seas. Its 
western boundary is not fully determined, but presumably it is to be 
found in the foot hills of the Rocky mountains. It has been exam- 
ined for a width of more than 200 miles in the Arkansas valley, and 
in Iowa and Nebraska from sixty to one hundred miles. Through 
this archipelago of low islands, in channels intricate and sometimes 
of considerable breadth and depth, but usually narrow and shallow, 
the mighty gulf stream probably poured its tepid waters into Arctic 
seas. We behold, as the result of low level and tropic currents, a 
landscape draped in continual mist and frequent rains — no snow or 
frost — full streams, so full that the estuaries and bays were freshened 
into brackishness till fresh water shell-fish could maintain life there- 
in. The vegetation is tropical or subtropical ; luxuriant even in Green- 
land, beyond the vegetation of our present era. Every foot of land 
was clothed with trees, for the most part so densely as to preclude 
undergrowth, and so the remains of lower vegetation are few and of 
inferior grade. Nevertheless, the general effect of latitude or life is 
plainly apparent. Proceeding northward we observe that vegetation 
is not less abundant, yet it diminishes in size and in the number of 
species. In Kansas are found sassafras leaves a foot across, in Wood- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 41 

bury county one six inches broad is a large leaf, and in Greenland the 
sassafras still grows, but with much smaller leaves. So also in regard 
to the trunks of trees. In Greenland have been found only 28 species, 
representing 16 genera of dicotyledonous trees, while in Iowa, Kansas 
and Nebraska have been gathered more than 50 genera representing 
at least 111 species, and the formation in Greenland has been very 
carefully explored. Among the Greenland trees are cottonwood, fig 
trees, sassafras, magnolias, sumach, and others akin to our forest 
trees, but here we find two species of sequoia (the California giant 
trees), 1 araucaria or South American pine, 2 firs, 1 bamboo, 1 
palm, 2 sweet gum, 5 poplars (cottonwoods and aspens), 4- trees 
(their near relations), 6 willows, 1 tamarisk, 1 birch and one of its 
kin, 1 alder, 2 beeches, 6 sycamores, 1 fig, 2 laurels, 7 sassafras, 
2 cinnamon, 1 ivy, 5 magnolias, 3 tulip trees (better known as 
southern poplars), 1 maple, 1 box elder, 1 walnut, 1 sumach, 1 
pear, 1 cherry and numerous other dicotyledonous trees. There 
had been discovered up to 1875, at least 2 orders, 7 genera, 7 species 
of cryptograms (mosses, lichens and ferns), and of phanerogamous 
plants, gymnosperms (pines, firs, cedars, etc.) 2 orders, 7 genera, 
9 species, monocotyledons (bamboo, palms, etc.) 3 orders, 3 genera, 
9 species, and of dicotyledons (deciduous forest trees) 16 orders, 52 
genera, 111 species, making in all no less than 23 orders, 69 genera, 
130 species, and this number has been largely increased by later dis- 
coveries and doubtless many more remain unobserved. 

Besides this luxuriant vegetation there are several vei - y notable 
facts to be observed at this period. First, the apparent equability of 
climate. There seems to have been no storms. Impressions of rain 
drops are abundant, but the rain fell in a quiet atmosphere. Impres- 
sions of rippling waves are frequent, but they indicate only gentle 
motion. The streams were dull and sluggish. There are no accumu- 
lations of leaves and brushwood, such as are left by rapid currents or 
are brought from a distance by torrents. The leaves fell quietly on 
the margin of the stream or sea, and were buried, mostly in horizontal 
position, by the sediment from quiet or gently moving waters. 

A second fact is the absence of animal life. In the sea a few shell 
fish were found, but no fish or reptiles; on land, so far as known, nor 
bird nor beast existed. The forests were like the dense forests that 
now clothe the middle slopes of the Alaskan mountains, the abode of 
death and desolation. 



42 HISTOID OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

At the close of the preceding epoch Death seems to have passed 
over the earth and left no living thing throughout this whole region; 
not even a shrub, a spear of grass or a sea weed survived the general 
fate. With the beginning of this period a new creation began with 
the vegetable world. 

We can see here that one day life was not, but soon as certain con- 
ditions prevailed it was luxuriant and varied. Below this group of 
strata in all the world, no trace of dicotyledonous trees has been found. 
Hitherto ferns, giant bulrushes, pines, firs, araucarias and cycas made 
the world's great forests. At once they give way in this epoch to 
deciduous hardwood trees in wonderful variety, no less than 111 
species, comprised in fifty-two new genera and sixteen new orders. 
What became of the old? Whence came the new? These are ques- 
tions which we have no time now to consider; they are still much in 
the dark. One thing further must be remarked, and that is that all 
these new species are identical, or near of kin with species now living, 
while of the species of larger plants in preceding eras, not one re- 
mains; only a few genera, a few orders of very simple structure still 
exist to connect the living present with the dead past. Here, at the 
base of the Dakota group, we stand between the dead and the new 
creation. Here, in place and time, so far as this region is concerned, 
God made the vegetable world. I have said before that at the very 
beginning of this epoch the progress of elevation had ceased and 
depression commenced. This depression seems not to have affected 
the eastern border of the area, but to have extended westerly, and more 
particularly to have been greater toward the northwest. During this 
slow sinking were deposited the various strata of yellowish, reddish, 
sometimes white sandstones, that make up most of the Dakota group. 
There are occasional alternations of various colored clays, and beds 
and seams of impure lignite, none of which are of economical value. 
In all the strata more or less silicified wood, and great numbers of 
leaves of higher types of dicotyledonous trees occur, but most of all 
in the very hard stratum of sandstone found at the bottom of the soft 
yellowish, heavy sandrock at the base of the Missouri river bluffs, 
and a softer, thinner sandstone some twenty-five feet higher. Down, 
gradually, the earth subsided, the water scarcely deepening, the ma- 
terial deposited nearly or quite keeping up the bottom level, until the 
accumulated strata gain a general thickness of some 400 to 500 feet of 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 43 

which about 150 feet are exposed to view in this vicinity. In all this 
thickness the only remains of animal life are a few unimportant species 
of gasteropods. Not a bone, not a tooth or scale of vertebrate fish, or 
air-breathing mammal, bird or reptile is found in the entire thickness. 

Toward the close of this period the rate of depression seems to 
have rapidly increased, especially toward the northwest and west. 
Indeed it seems possible that some sudden catastrophic sinking 
occurred, for vegetable life disappeared as suddenly as it came, except 
perhaps along the new and distant shores. 

Islands and adjacent mainland appear to have sunk suddenly be- 
neath the expanding sea. With increased depth came multitudes of 
shellfish in great variety, and so abundant, that many feet in thick- 
ness of the deposit succeeding, are made up almost exclusively of the 
shells of a single species, the well-known inoceramus problematicus. 

The pi-ogress of descent again resumed a slow and regular charac- 
ter, and there were deposited the strata of the Fort Benton group, 
attaining on the upper Missouri a thickness of 700 or 800 feet of dark 
gray, laminated clays, alternating in the upper part with seams and 
layers of soft gray and light-colored limestone. This group has not 
much thickness in Woodbury and Plymouth counties, if it exists at all 
in Woodbury. Probably the sinking during this time was slight in 
this part of the seas, and the deposits, were therefore thin, while 
toward the northwest the depression was much greater. 

The third or Niobrara group seems here to lie closely related, if 
not in actual contact ■with No. 1, or the Dakota group. The fact seems 
of little importance, for it is very difficult to draw a distinguishing 
line between No. 2 and No. 3, the overlying Niobrara rocks being so 
finely developed along the Big Sioux at Talbot's farm, just on the 
south line of Plymouth county, and all along the river upward as far 
as Mill's farm, and more especially on the Nebraska side of the Mis- 
souri, near the mouth of Aioway creek. At the beginning of the 
Fort Benton (No. 3) epoch, the rate of descent toward the northwest 
seems to have increased rapidly, and the general depth of water in- 
creased also, the sediment failing to keep pace with the descent, as it 
had nearly done while the Dakota group No. 1 was laid down. 

Now with the disappearance of land and increasing depth of water 
came animal life. At first shell, few in species, small in size, includ- 
ing a few survivors from the Dakota group. 



44 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Oysters, nautilus, ammonites, and most of all, several species of 
inoceramus in countless numbers, until the upper strata are one mass 
of shells many feet in thickness. The inoceramus beds common to 
the Fort Benton and the Niobrara groups, suggest the waste heaps of 
some ancient gigantic oysterman, being absolutely made up of shells 
alone. This can be readily observed at any of the many abandoned 
lime quarries along the Big Sioux valley. 

In the upper beds of the Benton group, appear for the first time 
vertebrated fish, a shark, a flying fish, an apsopelix and a crocodile, the 
vanguard of the multitude of marine monsters soon to take possession 
of the deepening, widening sea. The sea was now deepening rapidly, 
and deposits of yellowish, whitish limestone, largely made up of shells, 
and mixed with scales and spines, and occasionally entire skeletons of 
fish, are slowly accumulating at the bottom. As the sea grew deeper, 
life increased in variety and in multitude. At its greatest depth the 
waters seem to have been alive with minute, almost microscopic shell- 
fish, whose shields fell quietly to the bottom, and formed thick beds 
of lead-grey, calcareous marl, whitish, sometimes resembling chalk, 
and the nearest representative of the English chalk found in America. 
Fine exposure of these beds are to be found at Pegar's, Dermody's and 
Mill's farms, and at other places in the Big Sioux valley. These beds 
abound in fish scales, teeth of sharks mixed with oyster and inocer- 
amus shells in great numbers. Now appears life of a higher order, 
and as the Dakota group represents an epoch of creation, and luxuriant 
growth in the vegetable kingdom, so the Niobrara group marks the 
first appearance in this region, of abundant and monstrous vertebrate 
life, comprising orders, perhaps some genera or even species now ex- 
isting. This is the beginning of animal lijle in forms with which we 
are familiar, though possibly all its particular species were swept 
away by succeeding catastrophes. 

These rocks have yielded two genera of lizard birds, with teeth and 
bony tails, and two species of swimming birds, one deinosaur, a 
gigantic kangaroo shaped monster, sometimes exceeding the elephant 
in size, four pterodactyls, an elasmosaur, the mightiest and most awful 
of created things, one plesiosaur and one polycotylus, four gigantic 
turtles, twenty-six pythonomorphs or serpent saurians, and forty- 
eight species of fish. Among the shellfish may be mentioned the 
giant haploscaph, of which one shell was found measuring twenty- 
seven inches across. . 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 45 

All these fossils may possibly be discovered here in this region, 
and many of them have been. Some years ago an elasmosaur ( ?) or 
mosasaur ( ?) was discovered in the bluffs of the Niobrara group near 
Ponca, Neb. The vertebra found, measured nearly forty feet in 
length and it seemed likely that the living monster must have been 
quite seventy feet in entire length. In comparison with such a mon- 
ster the ancient tales of dragons of the sea shrink into insignificance, 
and dragons of the air that in old-folk lore terrified even men of 
mature age, are scarcely worth mentioning by the side of pterodactyls 
whose jaws were thirty inches long and wings expanded more than 
. twenty feet. Some pythonomorphs, notably the liodon dyspelor were 
probably longest of all reptiles, and indeed as large in bulk as the 
great pinner whales of modern oceans. 

Are any of these monsters still in our modern seas? It is certain 
that in this group of rocks appear the first affinities to our modern 
vertebrates, and it is equally certain that of the many descriptions of 
sea serpents seen, or supposed to have been seen, in these later years, 
most would pass well for a description of the -awful liodon dyspelor, 
the tyrant of the Niobrara seas, or the elasmosaurus the most fright- 
ful and destructive of all its class. 

Before the close of this period, the land in this vicinity seems to 
have oscillated upward again — other cretaceous deposits ensued during 
the process of elevation, but probably they were very thin here, though 
of great thickness farther west and north. After a season the uprising 
land appears to have cut off the channels that poured warm water 
along far northern shores. Probably the quartzite, which stretches at 
least from the Missouri eastward across the Mississippi to the granitic 
rocks of Minnesota, rose high enough to form an impassable barrier. 

There does not seem to have been any downward movement since 
the close of the cretaceous period, the drainage of the great lake in 
which the loess was laid, being probably brought about by the more 
rapid rise of the upper portion of the Missouri valley rather than by 
any sinking of the lower portion. Indeed it is the opinion of many 
scientists that the process of elevation is still continuous. It would 
be interesting, perhaps profitable, to examine the reasons for such a 
belief and the consequences of the process if it be actually going on, 
but for that there is now neither time nor space. Upon the close of 
the cretaceous period, succeeded the great 'cosmic winter with its 



46 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

enveloping ice and destitution of all life. Of this we have already 
treated, and in conclusion we would only say a word or two of the 
economic value of the cretaceous rocks. It is true that very few strata 
are compact enough to be useful in building large or permanent struct- 
ures exposed to the elements, but in many places stone may be found 
of considerable value for common use, and in the Dakota group there 
are sandstones hard enough to be useful and durable in all rubble 
work. The inoceramiis beds furnish an inexhaustible supply of lime 
of fair quality, though generally the cost of shipping them and work- 
ing them, is, near the railroads, greater than the cost of lime brought 
by rail from more favored regions east, and so the lime kilns of 
Woodbury and Plymouth are now mostly closed. In the Dakota 
group there are some thin ferruginous strata that, if ground finely, 
make a red paint of most excellent quality. There are also in the 
Dakota group at Sergeant's Bluff and Riverside, and in the Niobrara 
group in many places, shales, which, when properly treated, make the 
best of pottery clays. There are many places where these shales have 
been exposed and have become disintegrated, forming large beds of 
the finest clay ready for use. At Sergeant's Bluff pottery has been 
made successfully for many years, and recently large kilns have been 
erected and are now successfully worked at Riverside in Sioux City. 

Clays equally good can be found almost anywhere along the Big 
Sioux in Plymouth county, and for some distance up the Broken Ket- 
tle, and doubtless in many other places. In the abundant material for 
the manufacturing of fine building brick, fire brick, tile pipe and pottery 
of every kind, these counties are far richer than if their streams 
flowed over golden sands and their hillsides were seamed with occa- 
sional veins of golden quartz. 




Jy$&y&Ui£ /%/z^f. 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 49 



CHAPTEE III. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF SIOUX CITY AND VICINITY. 

Change to Civilized Life— The Clark and Lewis Expedition of 1804 — 
Sergeant Floyd's Death — Expedition of 1839— American Fur Com- 
pany — Thompson's Settlement in 1848— TheophileBruguier's Settle- 
ment on the Big Sioux— "War Eagle" became His Father-in-law — 
Settlement of Robert Perry, Jo. Leonais, Paul Pacquette and 
Gus. Pecaut — First White Family — First Child— Mrs. Sangster's 
Story— The Canadian-French— Wild Game— Pioneer C. K. Smith's 
Recollections— Dr. John K. Cook, Founder of Sioux City— Sioux 
City by the Pen of Dr. S. P. Yeomans— Life in the "Fifties"— "Ongie 
War" — Fur Trade — Big Sioux Bridge History. 

TO the readers of local history, the chapter relating to the early- 
settlement of a country is of general interest. Especially is this 
the case with pioneers themselves; those who have witnessed the 
changes that have been made ; who have seen a trackless prairie trans- 
formed into a beautiful country and filled with an enterprising, happy 
and prosperous people. The pioneer here reads slowly and critically, 
every word recalling memories of the dead past, which for a whole 
generation have been buried among the host of recollections, which 
now rise up before him like a half vanished dream. The old-time 
associations, the deeds, the trials and battles against hunger and cold, 
Avhile the settlers were few and far between; when the Avolves howled 
about the little log cabin, sending a chill to his heart; when the wind 
drove the shifting snow through the crevices — all now rise vividly before 
him. Often it is with pleasure he can recall these recollections, view- 
ing with satisfaction the thought that he lived to see a wealthy land 
dotted with school-houses and churches, villages and cities. 

But again, it will be with sadness that the past is recalled, and 
thoughts will spring up of the dark and painful side of those early 
days. How a wife, whose virtues, bravery and simplicity will always 
be remembered, or a child prattling in innocence, was called from 
earth to the eternal home, and laid away under the sod, in solemn 
quietude, by the rough, yet tender hands of a few hardy pioneers. 



50 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Time had partially allayed the sting, but the wound is now uncovered 
by the allusion to days gone by, and the cases are not few when a tear 
of bitter sadness will course down the cheek, in honor of the memory 
of those who have departed. 

Pioneers are born, not made. Not every man or woman has the 
sterling qualities of the pioneer. Not every nation can produce them. 
The colonizing germ is not found with every race. The Anglo-Saxon 
race is pre-eminently a race of pioneers. Its greatest glory has been 
to plant colonies and form states. 

Notwithstanding, however, the many disadvantages and even sor- 
rows attendant upon the first steps of civilization, and the adversities 
to be encountered, the pioneers led a happy life. The absence of the 
aristocratic and domineering power, which is to-day so apparent, must 
have been a source of comfort. Then, merit alone insured equality, 
and this could not be suppressed by traditions. The brotherhood of 
man was illustrated in a sincere and practical way, and hospitality 
was not considered so much a Christian trait as a duty to humanity. 

But a few decades ago and the Indian tribes held this goodly heri- 
tage as a hunting ground, but some one must be the first to look upon 
the fair domain with the view of setting up a Christian civilization. 
In 1804 the famous Clark and Lewis expedition was sent out and 
passed up the " Big Muddy" (Missouri) river to its headwaters. On 
August 20, that year, one of their number, Sergt. Charles Floyd, 
died and was buried on the bluffs now bearing his name. A cedar 
post marked the spot for many years; finally the river washed in upon 
his narrow resting place, and the remains of the early explorer were 
deposited farther back from the river, where they still repose. Both 
Sergeant's Bluff and Floyd river take their name from him. 

In 1839, about one hundred men, trappers and explorers, left St. 
Louis on the steamer " Antelope " for the regions of the upper Mis- 
souri, Avhere they were engaged with the American Fur Company. 
They proceeded with the steamer as far as Little Cheyenne island, 
and then they were obliged to leave the boat on account of shallow 
water. These hardy adventurers made themselves a Mackinaw, and 
by the use of drag ropes proceeded on their way to the headwaters, 
where they engaged in hunting, trapping and trafficing with the In- 
dians. Some remained there while other's found the way back to 
civilization, and a portion of the party located in and near Sioux City. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 51 

Among them were Joseph Leonais, Albert Peltier, Paul Pacquette, 

John La Plant, George L. Tackett, Le Blanc and Gustave Pe- 

caut. Johnny Brasos (colored), whom many of the eai'ly settlers 
remember as the violinist, and who was about eighty years of age in 
1860, claimed he came up the Missouri river to this point with the 
notorious outlaw, Mike Fink; and one day when sunning himself on 
the river bank, had his projecting heel shot off by that historic char- 
acter, as a mere sample of his marksmanship. Johnny Brasos always 
affirmed that he was the "first white man " to invade this locality. Still 
he was black as the blackest of his race. 

In the summer of 1848, William Thompson settled near Floyd's 
Bluff, and was soon followed by an older brother, named Charles, and 
another man whose name is now forgotten. They were the only 
white men to spend the winter of 1848-49 in Woodbury county. An- 
ticipating an immense immigration, he laid out a town there and 
named it in honor of himself, calling it Thompsontown (known in 
record as Floyd's Bluff). For a short period this was looked upon as 
the coming town. A log house was built there, and when the county 
was organized in 1853, this point was made the county seat. It was a 
sort of post for Indian traders for some years, but the roughness of the 
land thereabouts would not admit of the final building of a city, and 
all trace of a town site has long since been obliterated. 

During the month of May, 1849, Theophile Bruguier, a native of 
Canada, but of French descent, settled at the mouth of the Big Sioux 
river, about two miles above Sioux City. He had visited the spot 
and selected the location some three years before. He had been in the 
employ of the American Fur Company a short time, but left them and 
joined the Yankton Sioux Indians and finally married a daughter of 
the celebrated chieftain, War Eagle. Bruguier became a prominent 
man in the tribe. After he remained with them about ten years he 
concluded to change his mode of living, and with his Indian wife 
and children, came down the river and settled on the spot that had at- 
tracted his attention years before. War Eagle, his father-in-law, died 
at his house in 1851. His remains, with those of Bruguier, wife and 
two daughters, now repose on the summit of a lofty bluff at the mouth 
of the Big Sioux. From this spot may be seen, for many miles, the 
windings of the broad Missouri, the far-off Blackbird hills of Nebraska, 
the islands, the rich bottom lands, and the groves of Iowa, Nebraska 
and South Dakota. 



52 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Some time during the autumn of 1849, Robert Perry, a somewhat 
eccentric character, but a man of fine education, came from Washing- 
ton, D. C, and effected a settlement on the creek now bearing his 
name. He remained only two years. 

In 1850 Paul Pacquette settled two miles up stream from the 
mouth of the Big Sioux. 

In 1852 Joseph Leonais purchased of Bruguier, before mentioned, 
the quarter section on which is now situated the business portion of 
Sioux City. He resided on the tract about three years. 

Gustave Pecaut, a Frenchman, who was with the party employed 
by the American Fur Company, went to the head-waters of the Mis- 
souri river in 1848, remained until 1852, when he came back as far 
as the present Sioux City. Louis Phillip, a clerk for the fur com- 
pany, returned with him, and both located lands here. Pecaut squat- 
ted on land just north from the Pacquette place. In about 1856 he, 
in company with Judge Griffey and others, platted the town of Coving- 
ton, Neb. On that plat Mr. Pecaut lived for twenty-six years. He 
now resides in Sioux City. 

The First Family. — The subjoined interview with Joseph Leonais, 
the first settler at Sioux City, gives much information concerning the 
first event of this locality. This interview took place in January, 
1887. 

Joseph Leonais is a short, spare, well-preserved Frenchman. 
The sixty-seven winters that have nipped him, have but slightly sil- 
vered his hair or slowed his quick step. It was in 1837 he left St. Louis 
for a trip up the Missouri. The year previous he had left his home 
in Lower Canada to seek his fortune in the west. He says St. Louis 
was a small town then, and that he was offered the best located lot in 
the place for $25. He saw the first trace of Indians at St. Joseph, 
Mo., which place was a mere Indian trading post for the American 
Fur Company. Leonais went up the Yellowstone, visiting Ft. Ben- 
ton, Ft. Pierre, Ft. Buford and Ft, Vermillion. He worked for $15 
per month for the fur company. On each up-bound Mackinaw boat 
were twenty-five men. For miles the boat had to be pulled along by 
ropes — "cordelling," they called it. At other places the boat was 
pushed along by poles, while the men in charge sometimes waded in 
water to their necks. The goods purchased along the way were left 
at the posts, where the fur company kept from thirty to a hundred 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 53 

men. The furs were bought at about one-fifth their commercial value. 
The trip going down stream was pleasant, and the cargo of buffalo 
robes, bales of furs, etc., was very valuable. 

The only trouble with Indians was their habit of thieving. The 
Omahas, on the Nebraska side, never fought the Sioux unless forced 
to. Sometimes the small-pox would break out among the tribes car- 
rying off whole villages in a single week. When the fever seized 
them, if in winter, they would roll naked in the snow, and if in summer 
plunge into the river, which nearly always caused death. Leonais 
finally gave up his roving, and in 1852 settled down at the mouth of 
Perry creek. About three years before that Theophile Bniguier had 
built his cabin on the Big Sioux. He had rolled a few logs together 
at the mouth of Perry creek and broken up a little land by which to 
hold his claim. Leonais bought him out for $100. This claim may 
be described as 160 acres of land bounded by the Missouri river, 
Perry creek, Seventh and Jones streets of to-day. 

When Leonais was asked if he knew Robert Perry he replied: 
"Oh yes, when I was going to Bruguier's to buy my claim, I saw the 
blue smoke curling up from between the trees growing about his 
cabin, which was about where Smith's greenhouse is now (corner of 
Ninth and Pearl streets). I went to see him, but he could not talk 
much French and I but little English. He made me understand that 
he had raised some potatoes, turnips and corn, and that Sioux Indians 
had stolen all he raised. He seemed greatly .alarmed about Indians. 
He was a very strange man, somewhat crazy I believe. He lived in 
his cabin for a year after I settled in mine, then gave me what corn 
he had left, about five tons of hay, loaded his household goods on a 
little sled, hitched his pony to the sled and went down the valley. I 
never saw or heard of him afterward." 

Leonais built his cabin on Second street, near Water street, and 
put in a small store and traded with the Indians. The Santee Sioux 
were more numerous than other Indians here then. This old pioneer 
raised three crops of corn in 1852, 1853 and 1854 on his land, which 
came down as far as Pearl street. In the spring of 1855, he sold his 
claim to Dr. John K. Cook and Capt. Ryder, for $3,000. They told him 
they wanted the land for an orchard, all of which pioneer Leonais did 
not believe, but thought $3,000 a good sum and closed the trade. 

David Dodson was one of the few "squatters" of 1855; he 



54 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

claimed land where now stands the Krumann dairy. He was a North 
Carolinian by birth, but moved here from Bloomfield, Iowa. He 
located early in March, 1855. Charles, his son, the first child born 
within the limits of the present plat of Sioux City, was born April 
17, of the same year. The father, a few years later, 1857-58, was 
selected to locate the Santee Indians on their reservation near "Dod- 
son's Landing," a hundred miles or so above Sioux City. There the 
family remained several years, and were engaged as Indian post trad- 
ers. From that point Mr. Dodson went back down the river and was 
among the pioneers at Covington, Neb. He died in Sioux City 
in 1880. The mother now lives at Buffalo Gap, Wyo. Her son 
Charles, the first-born of this city, has been a western traveler, speaks 
four Indian dialects, has been engaged on the Sioux City police 
force for the past seven years, and is now city poundmaster. 

The first white woman was Mrs. Sangster, a sister of Leonais and 
the widow of Mr. Lapore, who came from Canada in 1851 and joined 
her brother at Sioux City. 'In an interview with her it was learned 
that she found it quite lonesome with no white ladies near. She 
opposed her brother in selling his claim to Cook & Ryder, and Cook 
promised her a house and lot if she would allow the trade to go on. 
She says she never got the promised property, however. 

When asked about Indians she said they were very numerous, but 
behaved well, except that they would steal whenever they could. She 
relates that their dead were placed on scaffolds on "Prospect Hill." 
The bodies remained there until the birds first, and afterward the 
wolves, had a pick at them, leaving nothing but the bones to remind 
the passer-by of the human form. 

Mrs. Sangster (then Mrs. Lapore) married Mr. Charles Sangster 
March 12, 1856— this being the first wedding in Sioux City. Febru- 
ary 15, 1857, a son was born to them, named Charles, which by 
many is thought to be the first white male child born here, but this is 
not correct, as Charles Dodson Avas born April 17, 1855. 

The next white woman to come to Sioux City was Mrs. S. H. Cass- 
ady, who was the mother of the first female child, born April 25, 
1856. She grew to. womanhood, married, and died at Council Bluffs 
in 1877. 

The Howe Affair. — Mrs. Sangster said: "I want the following to 
go into history, as a false idea has got out regarding the early French 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 55 

settlers. Young Eowe had a claim on the Floyd river, just above the 
present mill property. He engaged a half-breed to live on his claim 
while he went east. When he came back the half-breed would not 
give up the land, and Eowe built another claim cabin on the same 
tract. He was in love with a very pretty half-breed girl by the name 
of Victoria, but she sided with the half-breed who was trying to get 
Rowe's claim. Rowe was boarding at Austin Cole's hotel in town, and 
We-Washeta, an Indian girl who waited on the table, was persuaded 
by a friend of the half-breed to pour poison in his coffee. As the 
person who persuaded the girl to do this told me long years afterward, 
a vial was given We-Washeta, with the poison — some Indian drug — 
in it. The girl had the vial in her sleeve and poured it in Rowe's 
coffee. It did not kill him at once, but made him insane. He was 
taken east to his home and died. It would be very unjust to charge 
this to the French people, who were always friendly to the Ameri- 
cans." 

Wild Game. — In interviewing pioneer Leonais he remarked, when 
asked about wild game: " I have seen the bluffs black with buffalo, 
turkey and deer. Elk were plenty, and bears had dens in ' Prospect 
Hill,' and lived on choke-cherries and wild pears that grew on the 
bluff-side. The beavers had a dam across the Floyd river, just east 
of town. Otter crossed the Missouri from the Nebraska side, and 
there never was a better country for game until the winter of 1856-57, 
when the snow was over four feet deep on the general level, with a 
sharp crust on top. At that time much game starved to death. The 
deer would break through the crusted snows, and if they were chased 
it cut their legs to the bone. The wolves killed a great many, and the 
settlers had no trouble in killing them with clubs. From that date 
forward settlement was more rapidly made and game grew scarcer." 

Canadian-French — Here, as in most if not all the great valleys 
west and south of the lakes, the Canadian-French were the earliest 
pioneers. At Vincennes, Dubuque, Detroit, St. Louis, Vermillion, 
Kaskaska and Fort Benton they planted the first settlements in the 
states in which these cities are found. 

Their Mackinaws (boats) were on every navigable river, their trail 
on the prairie, and their trading post in the shelter of the bluff, long 
before the English-speaking settlers came to claim the glory of being 
the first. Hardy, hospitable, simple, peaceful, just as Longfellow 



00 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

pictures them in his " Evangeline," the Acadians of Grand Pre, these 
'Countrymen of Evangeline have been the forerunners of civilization 
and usually the first actual settlers. 

Pioneer C. K. Smith's Recollections. — In an interview with Pio- 
neer C. K. Smith, regarding the first settlement in and near Sioux City, 
it was learned that Mr. Smith came with Dr. Cook — not upon Cook's 
1854 trip, but in 1855. His party when he first came, consisted of 
■George Chamberlain (who laid claim to the quarter section coming 
south to Seventh street, who was killed during a cyclone up Perry 
creek, July, 1881, having but little Sioux City property when he died), 
Frank Chappel, and men named Rowe and Ruth. It was claimed that 
Rowe was poisoned. [See account elsewhere.] 

When Mr. Smith arrived he found Joseph Leonais just on the east 
side of the mouth of Perry creek. His cornfield was upon the bot- 
tom, the center near where the vinegar works were afterward located. 
He had bought the land from Bruguier. Mr. Traversee lived on 
what later was known as the Spalding farm, east from the Floyd on 
the road to Sergeant's Bluff. St. Onge lived on the Floyd east of the 
brickyard afterward owned by Woodley; and Kirkie (""Wild French- 
man") lived farther up the Floyd in the grove opposite the Tredway 
farm. Thompson lived east of the Floyd at the foot of Floyd's Bluff, 
and was the only American settler anywhere near when Dr. Cook first 
came in with his surveying party. 

Farther down, in Lakeport township, George Murphy had claimed 
land, and two miles north of Onawa a man named Ashton had named 
a town site after himself. This constituted all the settlement until 
one came to the Little Sioux river, an account of which settlement 
Avill be found in the various township histories within this volume. 
There was but little settlement, however, away from the Missouri bot- 
tom, except here and there on the Maple and Little Sioux streams. 
The Mormons had effected a settlement at Council Bluffs in 1849, and 
extended out into the fertile valleys, both north and south. 

Mr. Smith also states that the making of a real city here has 
wrought many topographical changes in this locality. The " bench " 
was then from Fifth or Sixth streets north, and rose about eight feet 
pretty abruptly. It was very wet and marshy on the bottom, just at 
the foot of the bench, and near the corner of Fourth and Jackson 
streets there was a wide pond of water standing for years. Between 



WOODBURY COUNTY. Dy 

Perry creek and Prospect Hill there was a big grove of native timber, 
with many wild grapevines of big proportions. There is where the early 
picnics and Fourth of July celebrations were held. At the time the 
United States soldiers were camped here, this fine grove was nearly all 
cut down and ruined. There was a wagon road up the west side of Perry 
creek. The stream has long since cut its channel in there and taken 
the spot where Liege Robinson built the first brick house in Sioux 
City. Kobinson there burned the first brick, a part of which went 
into his own house and a part toward the construction of Schuster's 
store, the oldest brick business house in the city. 

At first there was no trouble on account of Indians. Gen. Har- 
ney came down with his troops from beyond the Big Sioux, in 1854. 
The Sioux tribe followed him as far as that stream, stopping at Sioux 
Point timber. There they were thick enough, but did not attempt 
hostilities on this side of the river. Indeed they could gain nothing 
by coming over, as nearly all the droves of buffalo were on the west 
side, while elk and deer were plenty on either side of the Big Sioux 
river. 

It may be said in this connection, that Dr. John K. Cook, the 
founder of Sioux City, was a practicing physician, and the only one 
here for some time. Cook was agent for, and member of, the town- 
site company. The firm was known as Henn, Williams & Cook. 
Henn and Williams lived at Fairfield, Iowa. Henn was in congress 
and, aided by Gen. Jones, of Dubuque, and Gen. Dodge, of Burling- 
ton, United States senators, was successful in getting the government 
land office established at Sioux City. 

Gen. Lyon, the brave soldier of the Civil war, who fell at Wilson's 
creek, was also a land owner here, and was connected with the early 
operations hereabouts; also Hiram Nelson and Marshall Townsley. 

During the month of December, 1854, Dr. John K. Cook com- 
menced to plat Sioux City. He was of a government surveying party 
and was charmed by the advantages seen in this locality. At the 
mouth of Floyd river he found encamped, many Indians, including 
Smutty Bear, their chief, who ordered him to desist from the work of 
surveying, under threats of violence upon the part of his warriors, 
whom he would summon from the "upper country." Dr. Cook replied 
(through a French interpreter), that if he were not peaceable he would 
go at once for white men of sufficient numbers to exterminate his tribe. 
Being thus intimidated the savages struck their teepes and departed. 



60 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Dr. Cook having faith in the natural location for a city, claimed 
land here, as did several of his party and at once begun laying out 
what has come to be the "Corn Palace City." The weather being 
delightful, work progressed rapidly and was completed January 9, 1855. 
So mild was the winter that men drove stakes, in their shirt sleeves, and 
the Missouri river was frozen over but eleven days during the winter. 

The next spring Dr. Cook purchased the Joseph Leonais quarter 
section, and upon it laid out Sioux City's "East Addition." 

In the early settlement of Sioux City, the Indians were somewhat 
troublesome, and the citizens were several times ordered to leave the 
county by the chiefs of the Yankton Sioux Indians, but no bloodshed 
occurred, to speak of. Large parties of Indians passed through the 
town with war-paint upon their dusky faces, and their war-whoop was 
not unfrequently heard, accompanied by the scalp dance of the sav- 
ages. 

In the spring of 1855 there were two log cabins where now Sioux 
City stands. A post-office was established in July, and a United States 
land office established in December, but was not open for the transac- 
tion of business until 1856. In June, 1856, the first steamboat 
freighted for Sioux City landed, bringing provisions and ready-framed 
houses. The population increased that year to about 400, and about 
ninety buildings were erected. Great excitement for western land 
prevailed, real estate commanded high prices, and the land office did 
an immense business. The county seat of Woodbury county was 
removed from " Thompsontown" (Floyd's Bluff), by popular vote that 
year. 

Early in 1857 Sioux City, by a special act of the general assembly, 
became an incorporated town. It was also in 1857 that Seth W. 
Swiggett started the first newspaper — the "Sioux City Iowa Eagle;" the 
first number appearing July 4, 1857. A complete file is now in the 
city library. [See press chapter.] 

A great portion of the early settlement treated on thus fax, in this 
chapter, relates more especially to that effected by the French-Cana- 
dians. The subjoined will serve to show those who chiefly formed the 
first American settlement at Sioux City. They are given under the 
sub-heading of years in which they effected settlement, except in a few 
exceptions in the 1855 list, in which case, some came prior, but were 
here in that yeai*. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 



61 



John K. Cook (deceased, 1854). 

George W. Chamberlain (deceased, 1854). 

Theophile Bruguier (1849). 

George Weare. 

M. F. Moore. 



A. W. Hubbard (deceased). 

A. M. Hunt (deceased). 

Joseph W. Stevens. 

John C. Flint (deceased). 

Luther C. Sanborn. 

G. L. Tackett. 

J. L. Follett. 

John Powleson. 

L. H. Dese3 r (deceased). 

William B. Tredway. 

Charles Kent (deceased). 

S. T. Davis (deceased). 

John Hittel. 

T. J. Kinkaid. 

R. W. Powleson. 

TJlrick Jarvis. 

Dr. William Remsen Smith. 



D. T. Hedges. 

Charles E. Hedges (deceased). 

J. C. C. Hoskins. 

John P. Allison. 

William F. Faulkner (deceased). 

F. J. Lambert (deceased). 

John Fitzgibbon. 

James Hutchins. 

John Gertz. 

Samuel Krumann. 

A. Groninger. 

William Reinke. 

John Donavon. 

P. W. Pritchard. 

James A. Sawyer (removed). 

Joshua Lewis (removed). 

James E. Booge. 

Charles P. Booge (deceased). 

Isaac Pendleton. 

George W. Kingsnorth. 



Paul Pacquette (deceased). 
L. Letiller. 
Joseph Leouais. 
George Murphy (1854). 
Gustave Pecaut (1852). 

1856. 

J. J. Ogg (removed). 

J. J. Saville (removed). 

Gottleib Hattenbach (deceased) 

O. Lamoreaux (deceased). 

N. W. Pratt (deceased). 

John H. Charles. 

Charles K. Smith. 

A. J. Millaid. 

G. R. McDougall. 

John Currier (deceased). 

John Hagy. 

Thomas J. Stone. 

A. R. Appleton (deceased). 

James Dormidy. 

Adam Falk. 

Charles K. Poor. 

Charles Collins (removed). 

1857. 

Newell Sawyer (removed). 

E. R. Kirk. 

J. M. Collamer (removed). 

H. M. Sharp (deceased). 

John Beck. 

Jerry Kelley. 

R. W. McElhaney (deceased). 

Joseph Brittingham (deceased). 

L. B. Atwood. 

Daniel R. Hartnett (deceased). 

Patrick Gossen. 

John Schlupp (deceased). 

J. Kinney. 

W. L. Joy. 

O. C. Tredway. 

John W. Lewis. 



1858. 



John W. Allen (removed). 
William Freney (removed). 
Matthew York. 
Joseph Borsch. 



* Many years ago an attempt was made to organize an old settlers reunion society, and at that 
time the above was complied by the pioneers themselves and is doubtless correct. 



62 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Fred Munchrath. Daniel Kelley (deceased). 

Samuel Cameron (deceased). John Golwey (deceased). 

Jolm Doss. AVilliam Lubbert. 

Fred Doss (deceased). Charles Launsbach. 

Christian Doss (removed). Jacob Schlawig. 

Of the ninety-three pioneers who settled at Sioux City up to the 
autumn of 1858, the present whereabouts are as follows: Twenty-four 
are now dead; ten have removed to other parts and fifty-nine are still 
residents of Woodbury county. And among them may be found 
some of Iowa's most wealthy, highty-esteerned and public characters. 
Prominent among such men are A. W. Hubbard, who became judge, 
and finally held a seat in several terms of the United States congress, 
the Hedges and Booges, Weare Allison, Dr. William R. Smith, who Lave 
all come to be wealthy citizens through their enterprise and good busi- 
ness qualifications. William L. Joy and Isaac Pendleton have long 
since won high legal standing; E. K. Kirk is the present efficient 
postmaster of Sioux City, while many of the remainder are leading, 
active business men of to-day, or else retired with a handsome com- 
petency. In this connection it may be well to state that Sioux City, 
a frontier town, and now the "Corn Palace City," has always been ad- 
vanced by a genuine business tact, with considerable capital to oper- 
ate on from an early day. The following is exhibited to substantiate 
this assertion, and was taken from the internal revenue reports as 
found in the United States census, and bears date of 1888. 

NAMES. INCOME. NAMES. INCOME 

Allison, J. P ' I 3,763 Faulkner, William F $ 4,188 

Appleton, 4,715 Follett, Judson L 8,050 

Bray, T. N 1,329 Golwey, John 1,500 

Bacon, J. M 4,747 Gertz, John 1,440 

Brown, L. M 2,898 Goldie, Robert 1,165 

Beck, John 1,726 Gore, Mahlon 2,076 

Buckwalter, 1,120 Groninger, A 6.629 

Booge, James E 16,000 Hutching, James 2,057 

Booge.JohnI 1,32*1 Hoskins, J. C. C 2,781 

Cole, R. W 2,700 Hunt, Andrew M 1,500 

Collamer, D.H 2,800 Haviland, S. W 2,592 

Collamer, J. M 1,728 Hedges, D. T. and 

Cleghorn, John 4,109 Hedges, C. E 6,520 

Currier, John 1,101 Hittel, John 1,340 

Charles, John H 5.412 Holman, W. P 1,837 

Doss, Christian 1,440 Howard, C. K 2,000 

Dennis, J. P 1,816 Holman, C. J 1,837 

Felt, G.W 1,317 Joy, Wm. L 3,306 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 63 

NAMES. INCOME. NAMES. INCOME. 

Kinkaid, T. J 1,200 Smith, B. F 1,800 

Eingsnorth, G. W 1,390 Smith, William R 4,027 

Kent, Charles 1,846 Sawyer, Col. J. A 4,200 

Kirk, E. R 2,700 Skinner, L. E 1,500 

Lawrence, Jac 14,000 Sharp, H. M 1,776 

Livingstone, W. H 1,300 Sanborn, L. C 7,250 

Lambert, F. J 1,282 Selzer, R 1,625 

Millard, A. J 1,350 Smith, C. K 1,500 

Maloney, James 2,550 Spalding, J. D 1,320 

McCarthy, L 2,075 Spalding, E. B 1,607 

McDougall, G. R ' 1,350 Stites, U. W 1,250 

Magoun, J. A 2,510 Stone, Thorn. J 8,104 

McElhaney, R. W 1,200 Turner, R. F 1,210 

McKewen, James 1,500 Wortrnan, W. H 1,218 

Powleson, R. H 1,550 Woodford, Luther 2,384 

Parmer, L. D 4,100 Wright, A. R 2,415 

Pendleton, Isaac 2,605 Webster, E. P 3,745 

Peavey, F. H 1,120 Weber, John 2,267 

Neff, Pius 1,300 Wise, M 1,713 

Runyan, J 1,600 Weare, George 3,763 

Seabold, F 1,428 Vinton, Allen 1,400 

In tlie spring of 1856, Sioux City contained 150 people; two stores, 
one ki a log-mud hut and the other kept in a tent, near the banks of 
the river. 

The same spring, by a vote of fourteen majority, the county seat 
was removed from Floyd's BlurT to this point. 

The 1st of July, a steam-mill was put in for the cutting of native 
lumber, near the mouth of Perry creek. 

July 5, 1856, the survey of the Dubuque & Pacific railway was 
commenced from Sioux City, running east, in accordance with an act 
of congress approved May 20, of the same year. During the year, 
fifteen steamboats landed at Sioux City. 

Early in 1856, during the winter of 1855-56, the Indians, who 
were encamped three miles above Smithland, discovered some un- 
husked corn under the deep snow in a field below the settlement, and 
set the squaws to gathering it. As they passed through the settle- 
ment, carrying the corn in blankets slung on their backs, they were 
accused of stealing it from cribs. Messrs. O. B. Smith and John 
Howe procured switches and began whipping the squaws, who dropped 
their burdens and ran to the camp, pursued and punished all the way 
by the aforesaid gentlemen. This so aroused the ire of the Indians 
that they began to kill the settlers' cattle in revenge. The whites 



64 H1ST0EY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

now assembled and surrounded the Indian camp — most of the bucks 
being absent in pursuit of game — and took away all the guus found 
in the teepes. This was more than the vengeful redskins would 
brook, and, instead of going down the river to visit the Omahas as 
they had intended, they at once broke camp and started up the stream. 
This expedition, marked by depredations from the time they left 
Woodbury counter, culminated in the Spirit Lake massacre. 

During 1858, 1859 and 1860, the Santee Sioux Indians became 
very troublesome to the settlers of the northwest. They made fre- 
quent raids on the settlers, stealing their most valuable stock, and not 
unfrequently murdering some unoffending citizen. So frequent and 
alarming were such depredations, that, in the spring of 1861, it was 
thought necessary to use military force to awe the savages into sub- 
jection. Accordingly a company of " home guards " was formed, a 
full history of which will be found under its proper heading within 
this work. 

Sioux City's Infancy. *A Eeminiscence by S. P. Yeomans. — 
The location of Sioux City was rather accidental. Sergeant's Bluff 
was already an established town, well known, and having the •sup- 
port of men of influence and means. Floyd's Bluff was also so much 
of a success as to have secured the honor of being the county seat. 

The former was conceded to be a desirable and attractive location, 
hence efforts were made by those having interests there, to concentrate 
all business matters at that point. These efforts failed for the reason 
that Dr. Crockwell, Clark, and others, were so sanguine of success that 
they refused to make amicable division of their interest in the town 
site. This failure resulted in determination to start a rival town, the 
friends of which, secured the location of the land office, and this alone 
enabled them to speedily distance all competition. Sioux City then 
owes its birth to the short-sighted policy of the proprietors of the 
ground where Sergeant's Bluff and Floyd's Bluff were located, and its 
success to the aid rendered by Gen. Dodge and Gen. Jones, together 
with Bernhart Henn, who gave the town the benefit of all the favors 
congress could grant, and ever continued the firm friends of the youth- 
ful aspirant for city fame. * * * * 

I reached Council Bluffs on my way to Sioux City in October, 

*S. P. Yeomans was the first register ot the United States land oCflce at Sionx City, and con- 
tributed this article to the Sioux City Journal in 1881. 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 65 

1855. I found there a large number of mail pouches filled with blanks 
and documents for the Sioux City land office, and learned upon in- 
quiry that there was no public conveyance north from the bluffs. 
However, I prevailed upon the stage company to send up a coach, in 
which I was the only passenger - . We were two days in making the 
trip, stopping the first- night at Ashton, and I think this was the first 
stage that ever entered Sioux City. The post-office had been estab- 
lished and Dr. John K. Cook appointed postmaster, and it was said 
that what few letters he received at first, he carried in his hat, giving 
them out as he chanced to meet the parties to whom addressed. No 
contract had as yet been let for carrying the mails, but the same was 
sent by any person who chanced to go that route. 

The appearance of the town at that time was very unpromising. 
There were but two cabins on the plat, and the town site was pretty 
much covered by a large encampment of Indians. In the tree tops at 
the mouth of Perry creek, were lashed a number of dead Indians, 
while upon scaffolds upon the summit of the bluffs west of town, were 
a number more sleeping the long sleep that knows no waking. 

The eating was all clone at Dr. Cook's table, and I trust no offense 
will be taken, at this late day, if I express the opinion that the cuisine 
of his establishment did not measure up to the standard of Delmon- 
ico's; he did as well as any man could have done without supplies, and 
I don't know but the bill of fare was as good as that served at the 
"Terrific" and other early-day Sioux City hotels. 

The land office was opened in the fall of 1855, I being the first to 
take charge of it. 

There were repeated Indian alarms at that early day, and many 
were much disturbed by apprehensions of danger. William Tredway 
will remember the arrangement at the Hotel de Cook whereby it was 
understood that an attack was to be announced by the prompt military 
order, " Every man to his pants ! " 

The first sermon was preached at Sioux City by a presiding elder 
in the Methodist Episcopal church, from Mount Pleasant. I think 
his name was Lathrop. The first Methodist preacher assigned to 
the work was Rev. William Black, a young man, who if not a brilliant 
preacher, was full of zeal and courage. He is now a lawyer. * * 

The first practicing attorney at Sioux City was John Currier. He 
was a good lawyer and a native-born gentleman. He had the one 



66 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

failing which has ruined many another promising attorney. Among 
the early members of the bar were Isaac Pendleton, S. T. Davis, 
O. C. Tredway and Hudson & Joy. 

The first regularly practicing physician was Dr. A. M. Hunt; Dr. 
Cook only prescribed and practiced for a time among his near friends. 
An epidemic occurred that was very fatal, and that troubled the med- 
ical gentleman. In these days it would be termed diphtheria. We 
also had an epidemic of cerebro spinal meningitis that proved quite 
fatal. A Mr. French, it was though, lost his life through fright and 
I could name another who was scarcely less frightened, and for whom 
I prescribed tablespoonful closes of a solution of asafoetida, and thus 
tided him over a peril that might have made the number of your pres- 
ent Sioux City bankers one less! 

The first real estate firm was Cassady & Moore, who were soon 
followed by George Weare, Bigelow, Chamberlain & White and Charles 
& Stutsman. 

I look back over those early days with much pleasure, and feel a 
personal pride in the prosperity of Sioux City, for the reason that I 
was closely identified with everything connected with the first part of 
her history. I rejoice at the success of those who have well-nigh 
fought the battle of life there. They have used well the small means 
they took there, and have achieved a noble victory. 

[Signed.] S. P. Yeomans. 

Life in the Fifties. — An "Old Settler" is responsible for whatever 
of information, as well as laughter, there may be in the following : 

Our resources for locomotion in those early days, were the dugout, 
scow ferry, steamboat, stage coach and Indian ponies, which latter 
used to be fed in winter on what now might not be considered a very 
nutritious article of food, viz. : cottonwood limbs ; though we have al- 
ways maintained its advantages over the post and rink feed, not un- 
■ common in these more degenerate clays. Sometimes when there was 
no bottom to our rich and inexhaustible soil, our stage coach would 
dwindle down to a large dry-goods box placed on the axle and two 
wheels of the common wagon ; about which Pioneer Pizey, of Dakota 
City, who was known far and near as " Old Pveliable," could give many 
incidents. 

We shall never " forget to remember" the time in those early days 
when he brought us in his dry -goods box a bright, clapper, span new 




■pH- 




WOODBUEY COUNTY. b\} 

school teacher (who came clear from Pennsylvania), when the mud 
upon our highways was all the way from six inches to two feet deep — 
the look of utter blank and profound astonishment which stole over 
the countenance of the landlord of the old Sioux City hotel, and some 
twenty or more guests, gathered around him, when on the arrival of 
the teacher he asked the landlord if he couldn't have, his boots blacked. 
The request seemed to be flying in the face of Providence. Our good 
teacher, however, and he proved to be a good one, lived to do good 
service for his country, with the rank of captain, enlisting at Council 
Bluffs. 

There was a time in the history of Sioux City when her denizens 
were blessed with a great deal of leisure, and hence, it is said, were 
pre-eminently distinguished for their social qualities. It was then 
that some of them completely mastered the art of resting! For an 
example: One of the early settlers was sent by his spouse down town 
to get some biitter, and on his way home indulged his social instincts 
to such an extent that when he arrived home his better-half, greatly 
to the souring of her amiability, discovered that, under the magic of 
a hot sun, the butter had all melted and run off the plate, scarcely 
leaving a respectable grease spot as an evidence of her husband's 
errand down town ! 

The merchants in those days were sociable beings — a band of 
brother traders, always on the alert for each other's (and their own) 
interests. Every morning they would mingle together to consider 
how much their goods should be marked up until the next consign- 
ment was received. They were men of clear heads and understood 
the tricks of their calling. For illustration we need only' speak of 
their manner of selling fried and boiled eggs. Fried eggs were fifteen 
cents a piece and boiled ones ten cents. The reason assigned for the 
great difference was, that fried eggs had to be good, i. e., like Csesar's 
wife, above suspicion, while boiled eggs were sold at the risk of the 
purchaser. 

In this connection it is certainly befitting to speak of the scratch- 
ing habits of the old settlers. It is said that custom breeds a habit in 
man. The "prairie digs," in those times, generated a universal habit of 
pioneer scratching. The stoic may bear pain without flinching, the 
philosopher misfortune without signs of grief, but no one can help 
scratching when they itch. The reader may have heard of the lady 



70 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

who was sick and longed to be poor that she might have the "itch," on 
account of the solid comfort, not to say downright luxury, of scratch- 
ing. Had she lived in Sioux City in the " fifties " she could have en- 
joyed herself right famously! Besides, the " prairie digs" is no vul- 
gar disease, it is quite an aristocratic affair, as much so as the gout, 
and being such it would not be at all wonderful if it should make its 
advent as one of the aristocratic events among our new settlers. In 
this degenerate day it is anything and everything for style. 

The Ongie War. — The "Ongie War," as termed by early settlers, 
grew out of a determination of the Claim Club to enforce their con- 
ception of right and justice, with reference to claims. A pre-emption 
of 160 acres of land was regarded as a very fair thing, but was wholly 
insufficient for an old settler to " spread himself on," so under the 
superior ruling of the Claim Club, he appropriated 360 acres for that 
commendable purpose, and woe to the unlucky wight who presumed 
to violate this supreme law of the land. A land law of congress that 
presumed to conflict with an old settler's notion of things, was at once 
practically squelched so far as he was concerned. Any one who ig- 
norantly violated the law of the Claim Club was at once waited upon, 
and in the name of the Great Jehovah invited in true Arkansas style, 
to "git! " If the offender did not "git," war was at once declared. 

A man named Howe, whose name occurs in one account of the early 
settlers, took a claim across the Floyd river, not far from the present 
Exchange flouring mills. He became enamored of a beautiful half- 
breed maiden, known as " Prairie Flower," but whose true name was 
Victoria Ongie. To have his charmer near him, Rowe invited her 
father and his whole family to take up their abode in his humble cabin, 
which they did. He loved well, but alas not wisely; at any rate he 
became insane and died. His mother did not enter into her son's ro- 
mantic ideas of matrimony with a hearty zest, and after his death she 
came on, and sternly invited the Ongie family to betake themselves to 
other quarters. Her cause was espoxised by the Claim Club. The 
eagerness to wreak vengeance on the Ongies might have found solution 
in the possible fact that some of the " clubbers " were rejected lovers 
of Victoria. 

Be that as it may, an attack was projected, and in the course of a 
few hours, after the plans were matured, those gallant sons of right 
and justice might have been seen deployed in true skirmish style, ad- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 71 

vancing on the ill-fated Ongies. They placed, themselves in position 
for a final and successful assault. Two lawyers characteristically took 
up a position on the side of the cabin, where there were no openings, 
and hence where there could be no danger from a return fire. The 
Ongies having sniffed the battle from afar, were making preparations 
for defense, and by accident discharged one of their guns. At this, 
the aforesaid legal gentlemen, forgetting the safety of their well-chosen 
position, found safety in their heels, with Victoria, the " Prairie 
Flower," in close pursuit. She overtook them and by her wiles and 
smiles, succeeded as an intermediator between the Ongie forces and the 
club in bringing about a cessation of hostilities, and thus ended the 
Ongie War. One of the brave (?) lawyers, who ran away, lived to 
fight another day, and by many gallant deeds as a Union officer placed 
himself among the honored of history, and died as governor of Wash- 
ington territory. 

The Fur Trade. — The fur trade of Sioux City at an early day, was 
an item of no small commercial importance, as will be seen by the 
single local paragraph extracted from the " Sioux City Eagle " of 1857 : 
In addition to the large number of buffalo robes and skins brought to 
this place by friendly Indians, immense quantities are brought 
here by Mackinaws (small boats). Messrs. Frost, Todd & Co. are 
the heaviest dealers in furs. During one week in June. (1857) they, 
received, by steamboat, from the head-waters of the Missouri and 
Yellowstone, furs and skins to the value of many thousand dollars, 
one consignment alone containing 7,567 buffalo robes (tanned) ; 739 
beaver skins; 32 elk skins; 14 bear skins; 1 moose skin, and 35 pelt 
packages. 

Sioux City Market Report — 1857. — The subjoined was copied 
from the "Eagle" of August 14, 1857: 

Flour per Bbl §12 00 

Meal " Bushel 2 50 

Corn " " 2 00 

Beans '* " 6 00 

Dried Apples per lb , 25 

Prime Brown Sugar 20 

White (crushed) " 25 

Tea per lb 75 to 1 25 

Rice " " 12* 

Star Candles per lb 35 

Soap per lb 12 



72 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Butter " " 40 

Lard " " 25 

Side Meat per lb •' 19 

Best Pine Lumber per thousand .-.100 00 

Cottonwood " " " 3500 

Lath " " 1200 

Whiskey per gallon 40 

An odd advertisement appeared in the " Eagle " in 1859, at least it 
would seem odd to-day. It was the advertisement of Charles P. 
Booge & Co., general dealers, and contained the following: 

Headquarters, St. Louis, Mo. Branch House, Sioux City, Iowa. * * * 
Sugar, Molasses, Hams, Corn, Rio CofEee, Codfish, Tobacco, Soap, Candles, Whiskey, 
Brandy, Gin, Beer, Wine, Powder, Shot, Caps, Gun Wadding, Indigo, Glass and Nails 
all cheap, but cash must come before delivery. 

And now, after this somewhat broken history, we drop the thread, 
which might be of interest to trace out into farther detail, were it not 
for the fact that the township historian will visit each subdivision of 
the county, and from the oldest remaining pioneers, gather early settle- 
ment facts for the various civil townships as now constituted. As 
much will be gleaned upon this subject as can be, from all reliable 
sources; however, as one attempts to grasp the whole and reduce it to 
a few pages, it widens and expands, growing in importance and mag- 
nitude. Though yet comparatively new, a complete history of Wood- 
'bury county, its growth from the beginning, a mention of its heroes, 
living and dead, would fill a vast volume. Very exact and patient 
of research must he be who can do justice to all and fully perpetuate 
the memory of every event, even for the brief period which has trans- 
pired since the first settlement in 1848. The township histories will 
carry it to a later date than this chapter. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 73 



CHAPTEE IV. 
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 

The Location— County-Seat Commissioners— First Officers— Territory' 
Embraced — County-Seat History— County' Buildings — Renting Of- 
fices—Present Court-house— The Poor Farm — First and Early 
Events. 

WOODBURY COUNTY is situated on the western border of the 
state of Iowa, with the Missouri river flowing along the south- 
western border, and the Big Sioux on the northwest. It contains 
twenty-four civil townships, and nearly twenty-five congressional town- 
ships of six miles square each. It is, consequently, one of Iowa's four 
"big" counties: Pottowattomie, Kossuth, Woodbury and Plymouth. 
For the subdivision of the county into township organizations, the 
reader is referred to the chapters on township history in this work. 

One can scarcely realize the fact that all western Iowa was one 
vast prairie wilderness forty years ago, but such is true. Five years 
after Iowa was admitted to the Union, the territory now known as 
Woodbury county, was established and named Wahkaw. The south- 
ernmost tier of townships was at one time a part of Benton county, 
and the remainder was included in Buchanan. 

An act approved January 12, 1853, provided for the organization 
of the county from and after March 1. Charles Wolcott, of Mills 
county; Thomas L. Griffey, of Pottowattomie county and Ira Perdue 
of Harrison county, commissioners appointed to locate the county 
seat, were to meet July 2. Thomas L. Griffey was made organizing 
sheriff, and the name given to the new county seat, by the same act 
of the Fourth general assembly was "Floyd's Bluff." 

Prior to this time, this territory had been included in Polk, for 
revenue, election and judicial purposes. The above act was to go 
into effect upon its publication in the "Western Bugle." On the 
same clay another act was approved, which changed the name of the 
county to Woodbury. It was named in honor of Hon. Levi Wood- 



74 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

bury, of New Hampshire, an eminent man of his time, who succeeded 
Judge Story on the supreme bench. 

At that date the laws of Iowa provided that any organized county 
might petition the county judge of the nearest organized county, and, by 
his authority, become attached thereto as a civil township, for judicial 
purposes. Hence it was that Woodbury took in all northwestern Iowa, 
each county being a civil township. Cherokee county was the first to 
be set off and organized, in 1857, as a county by itself, Plymouth fol- 
lowing a year later. 

Marshall Townsley was the first county judge. Judges Smith, 
Cook, Campbell and Allison, each serving prior to 1861, when the 
office of supervisor was created, had much to do with the organizing 
of the county. Under their guidance the first civil townships were 
created; the first highways, bridges and schools were all founded by 
the wise administration of these pioneer county judges. 

The County Seed. — -The county seat commissioners, before named 
in this chapter, selected a part of section one, township eighty-eight, 
range forty-eight, as the place for the seat of justice. It was styled 
on the plat books as Floyd's Bluff, and there the first official acts in and 
for Woodbury county were performed. William B. Thompson and a 
few other pioneers, named elsewhere, intended to build up a city at that 
point, but when Dr. John K. Cook came to these parts, in 1854, to survey 
lands in northwestern Iowa, he saw that near this point, some day, 
would stand a great commercial center, hence he formed a town site 
company, platted Sioux City, and, through the aid of Iowa congress- 
men, succeeded in having the United States land office established 
at the new town. This naturally brought hundreds of men from all 
directions, some of whom were impressed with the location, and be- 
came citizens and hearty supporters of all measures regarding the 
advancement of the new town, including the establishment of a post- 
office in 1855. This caused the former lively interest in the town site 
at Floyd's Bluff to slacken somewhat. 

About three miles farther down the bank of the Missouri river, 
another town was platted in 1857, known as Sergeant's Bluff City, 
which was located on the same quarter-section with another plat styled 
Sergeant's Bluff. April 2, 1855, a vote had been taken, however, 
upon the question of the county seat being removed to that point. 
There were twenty-four votes, all of which were cast in favor of re- 
moval. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 75 

In March, 1856, the county judge was presented with a petition, 
headed by George Weare and others, praying to have the county seat 
removed to Sioux City. At the same time a remonstrance, headed by 
T. El wood Clark, J. D. M. Crockwell and many others who were 
directly interested in the future well-being of Sergeant's Bluff City, 
was placed on file. 

At the April (1856) election, there were ODe hundred and sixteen 
votes polled, seventy-one of which favored the removal of the county 
seat to Sioux City, and forty-five of which opposed it, and as a conse- 
quence the April term of county court was held at the new seat of 
justice. 

Comity Buildings. — The first county officers, of necessity, had to 
occupy the rude log houses in which they lived. Magnificent struct- 
ures were the last things thought of by the pioneers. Upon the 
final location of the county seat at Sioux City, in 1856, there were 
various opinions regarding the propriety of erecting a court-house. 
It is found by the minute book of the county judge, that Judge John 
K. Cook, whose portrait adorns the frescoed walls of the beautiful 
court room in the Temple of Justice to-day, in Sioux City, was pre- 
vailed on in June, 1857, to award the contract of laying the foundation 
of a court-house, to John Fitzgibbon, for the sum of $850. This 
building was to be located on the public square. In 1858, Judge 
Campbell was petitioned by G. W. F. Sherwin, A. Leech, F. M. 
Ziebach, S. P. Yoemans and over one hundred others, to build a 
county jail. The question being submitted to a vote of the people in 
June, the same year, the measure prevailed, and the contract was let 
to J. W. Bosler for the sum of $14,800. It was a block-house 
enclosed in brick work, and was located on lot eight, block forty-seven. 

In April, 1859, Judge Campbell made a contract with S. H. Cas- 
sady for a large brick building and a part of lots one, two and three, 
in block thirty-four, of the middle addition to Sioux City. The 
price contracted for was $25,000 in bonds and five-year warrants. 
This contract, however, was canceled, and the county rented offices in 
various business houses, one officer being in one part of town and 
others in another part. In 1874 Weare & Allison made a proposition 
to the supervisors, to erect a building for the use of the county. It 
was to be on the comer of Fourth and Douglas streets, and the county 
was to pay them $4,000 a year for the use of the same. This 



76 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

proposition, however, did not meet with approval, and the people 
having become tired of paying rent and having no home to call their 
own, a vote was taken on this question at the October election in 
1875. The vote stood largely in favor of erecting a court-house at a 
cost of $75,000, the fund to be raised by bonding the county. In 
accordance with that vote, the supervisors at once commenced looking 
about for plans for the building. The report of their building com- 
mittee will be found in the " board proceedings " elsewhere in this 
work. 

The Poor Farm. — For matters concerning the Woodbury county 
poor-farm and poor-house, situated near Sergeant's Bluff, the reader 
is referred to the "Acts of the Board of Supervisors," elsewhere. 

First and Other Early Events. — Under this heading is given a 
number of the more important events that transpired in Woodbury 
county and Sioux City, in the earlier years of their history: 

The first actual settler in Woodbury county was William B. 
Thompson, who located at Floyd's Bluff in 1848. 

The first town site platted was Floyd's Bluff, known as "Thompson- 
town." It was made the county seat until 1856, although only one 
log house ever graced the spot. 

The first election for county officers was held August 1, 1853, at the 
house of William B. Thompson, the first settler in Woodbury county, 
when sixteen votes were polled. 

The first bill against the county was made payable to Judge 
Thomas L. Griffey, for the amount of $18, for services in locating the 
county seat. It was dated January 27, 1854. 

The first post-office in the county was established at Sergeant's 
Bluff in 1855, with Leonard Bates as postmaster. J. W. Betz brought 
the mail (not by government contract) from Council Bluffs, as did 
also Gibson Bates, in an ox wagon, collecting and distributing mail 
matter along the road to persons whom they knew. 

The first saw-mill was constructed at Sergeant's Bluff in 1855, by 
Thomas Robes, and commenced operations early in September. There 
was quite an excitement over the event, and a struggle to obtain the 
first board sawed, and for a long time it was exhibited by its possessor, 
as being the pioneer saw-cut board made in Woodbury county. 

The first foreigner to become naturalized, in Woodbury county, 
was Clement Lamoreaux, February 4, 1856. 




WOODBURY CO. COURT HOUSE, SIOUX CITY, IOWA. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 79 

The first presidential election held, was in the month of Novem- 
ber, 1856, during the Fremont-Buchanan campaign. 

The first steam ferry was operated at Sioux City in 1857, the boat 
being the " Lewis H. Burns." 

The first flouring-mill was run in connection with a saw-mill, by 
Bedard & Roesch. The saw mill-was commenced in 1859, and the 
flouring-mill, a small concern, in 1860, near the mouth of the Floyd. 

The first wagon bridge over the Big Sioux was built by the gov- 
ernment in 1866-67. 

The first railroad bridge to span the waters of the Missouri, was 
built by the Chicago & Northwestern railroad company in 1887. 

Sioux City was platted by John K. Cook, in the autumn of 1854, 
and the work completed early in January, 1855. 

The first white man to locate on the plat was the French Canadian, 
Theophile Bruguier, in 1849. 

The first hotel was conducted by the founder of the city, Dr. 
John K. Cook, in 1854-55. Austin Cole came next. The Terrific 
and Severe were early hotels, about which many of the old timers 
now talk, giving many laughable experiences connected therewith. 

Cassady, Myers & Moore started the first bank at Sioux City, in 
October, 1855. 

The first attorney was M. F. Moore, who came in 1855. John 
Cassady came about the same time. 

The first regular frame house in the place, was erected from a 
ready-made frame shipped up the river for the tin shop of J. C. Flint 
and his partner, Daggett, in 1856. John K. Cook had, however, erect- 
ed what might be termed a " claim shanty," a rough board struct- 
ure, the year prior to this. 

The first brick house was that of Liege Robinson, who burned the 
brick for his own, and enough more to build the Schuster building — 
the first brick business house. 

The first marriage was that of Mrs. Lapore to Mr. Charles Sang- 
ster in March, 1856. 

The first female child was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. H. 
Cassady, born April 25, 1856. She was born on the original plat, 
while Charles Dodson was born up the Floyd river, and not then in 
town. 

The first general election was held in the land office building in 
August, 1856. 



SO HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The first Fourth of July celebration was held in 1857, at the foot 
of Prospect Hill, within a little clump of native timber. 

The pioneer school was taught in 1857 by Miss Wilkins, now of 
Omaha. 

Yankton, Dak., Avas platted in 1859, by a company partly made 
up of Sioux City men. It was first spelled in all newspapers and 
record matters as "Yancton, Dacotah, Ty." 

The first account of "picture taking" at Sioux City was in the "Eagle" 
in 1858, in the way of an advertisement as follows: "Ambrotypes — 
Go to the City Gallery and 'secure the shadow ere the substance fades.'' 
Slade & Dunbar, at the residence of J. R. Sanborn." The art of pho- 
tography was not developed until about 1863, and ambrotypes were all 
the rage in Sioux City homes, and they now form antique curiosities, 
of which this generation know but little. 



CHAPTER V. 
COUNTY GOVERNMENT, ETC. 

The First Election — County Court— Removal of the County Seat — 
Several Northwestern Iowa Counties Set Off— Acts of the Boari> 
of Supervisors— The Jail— The Poor Farm— The Court-IIouse— A 
Defaulting Treasurer— Marriage Record— Population of County 
by Townships— Recorded Village Plats of County. 

WHEN Woodbury county was organized in 1853, the local gov- 
ernment was vested in what was termed the "county court," 
which consisted of the county judge, the district clerk and the sheriff. 
The judge had supreme control of matters which can now be brought 
before the district court, as well as those financial matters now in the 
hands of supervisors. His office was one of much importance and 
ofttimes abused. 

At the general election of August, 1853, at William Thompson's 
house, seventeen votes were cast and the following officers elected: 
Marshall Townsley, judge; Hiram Nelson, treasurer and recorder; Eli 
Lee, coroner; Joseph P. Babbitt, district clerk. 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 81 

County Court. — The first pages of " Minute Book A," the official 
record of the county court, contain but little, except entries of the 
amounts of small hills allowed for sundry items, and generally for 
service rendered by some one of the county officials. The year 1854 
was not eventful, and the county court had little else to do than issue 
petty warrants, and canvass the election returns. In 1855 a petition, 
signed by twenty-six names, was presented to the county judge, 0. B. 
Smith, calling for a vote on the question of removing the county seat 
of justice to Sergeant's Bluff City. In March, 1856, George Weare 
and others petitioned the court to submit the question of removing the 
county seat to Sioux City. A remonstrance was also presented by T. 
Elwood Clark, J. D. M. Crockwell and others. In May, 1857, acting 
upon proper petition, the county judge organized Dickinson county. 

July 7, 1857, the few freeholders then residing in what is now 
Cherokee county, petitioned to the Woodbury county authorities to 
be set off and duly organized. S. T. Davis was then acting judge. 

March 17, 1858, a ferry license was granted, by Judge J. L. Camp- 
bell, to C. Gagnon, to operate a ferry-boat across the Big Sioux river. 
April 10, the same year, license was granted to Paul Pacquette, to 
operate another ferry at another point on the Big Sioux. The minute 
book of the early county court was, in fact, principally filled up with 
marriage licenses, description of warrants issued and road notices. 

June 5, 1858, Ida county was set off and duly organized by Judge 
Campbell. In October, the same year, Plymouth county was set off 
and duly organized. Clay county was organized at about the same 
date, and thus rapidly the great domain originally in "Woodbury 
county began to assume separate county organizations. In October, 
1858, Buena Vista county was organized and an election called. 

In September, 1859, Hon. John A. Kassonwas allowed $500 for 
his legal services in behalf of AVoodbury county. 

Nothing of marked historic importance is found recorded in the 
county judge's book for the year 1860. The close of that year marked 
a new era in the government of every county in Iowa, for it was at this 
time that the law was changed ; doing away with many functions of 
the county judge's office, the same being transferred to the newly 
created board of supervisors, made up, at that time, by one member 
from each township. 

Acts of the Board of Supervisors. — January 7, 1861, was the day 



82 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

fixed upon by act of the general assembly, for the first board of 
county supervisors to meet. The first to hold such office in Woodbury 
county were: Samuel Cameron, chairman, A. S. Bacon, John House- 
holder and Elijah Adams. Their business during the four regular 
sessions held in 1861, was principally routine work, laying out roads, 
auditing accounts, levying taxes, etc. A complete list of the boards 
will be found in the " political chapter." 

In 1862 the supervisors let the contract to build a bridge across 
the Floyd river. 

At the October session of 1864 the following members were serv- 
ing: Luther Woodford, chairman; Samuel Cameron, John S. Ed- 
wards and A. B. Griffin. The minutes of that session present the fol- 
lowing: 

Resolved, That a sufficient tax be levied on all taxable property in Woodbury 
county to pay tbe sum of three hundred dollars to each soldier who has or may enter 
the Union army to fill the required quota under the last call of President Lincoln for 
300,000 more troops; this to also include those who may be drafted into service. Such 
fund, when raised, to be known as the " Special Bounty Fund." 

To bring this about a ten-mill tax was levied. 

The board of 1865, the last year of the Civil war, was composed 
of the following named gentlemen: Luther Woodford, chairman; 
Thomas J. Kinkaid, W. O. Slyter and A. S. Bacon. 

At their January meeting they voted to pay a bounty of $300 
to men who would fill up the quota required under Lincoln's call for 
300,000 more men, in county warrants drawing six per cent interest. 
The county funds were then at a very low ebb, and money was scarce. 

From 1865 to 1867 but little of an eventful character transpired 
on the board of supervisors. 

In October, 1870, the board, which then consisted of AVilliam B. 
Tredway, William P. Holman, William Mathers, Bufus Beal, Eli 
Lee, F. W. Davis, L. Yokey and M. J. Sogers, investigated the poor- 
farm question, and finally purchased of W. Clark, for $1,150, the 
northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section thirty-three, 
township eighty-eight, range forty-seven, situated a mile and one-quar- 
ter from Sergeant's Bluff depot. On this land, which was all well 
fenced, was a fair house, good outbuildings, and the whole was under a 
good state of cultivation. 

At the January session, 1871, the board appropriated (under the 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 83 

laws of Iowa) the sum of $1,000 to the Woodbury Agricultural So- 
ciety. The same year, in June, the board organized and set off the 
territory known as Osceola county. 

In July, 1871, an appropriation from the " poor-farm fund " was 
made to the amount of $175 to erect an addition to the poor-house. 

In June, 1873, Woodbury county was still without a court-house, 
for the board paid a bill of rent to Booge & Spalding, amounting to 
$225, for the quarter ending June 10, that year. 

Iu June, 1874, the boai'd voted unanimously to bond the county 
(under a recent law allowing it) for the purpose of paying off its in- 
debtedness. 

In September, 1874, Weare & Allison proposed to rent a business 
block, then being contemplated, on the corner of Fourth and Douglas 
streets, to be used by the county for offices and court purposes, at 
$4,000 per year, but the proposition was not accepted. 

In June, 1875, James Y. 'Kennedy, J. L. Follett and James Hor- 
ton were appointed from the board as a committee to build a brick 
poor-house, not to exceed $4,000 in cost. 

At the October session the board canvassed the election returns, 
including the vote on the court-house question (the proposition being 
to build a court-house at a cost of $75,000), also the question of bond- 
ing the county for said amount. The canvass proved that a majority 
favored the building as well as the bonding. At the same meeting 
James A. Sawyer's building, on Pearl and Second streets, was re- 
leased, at $2,500 a year, until the new court-house should be ready for 
occupancy. The court-house bonds were made payable before ten 
years, at ten per cent interest. The board, at their October session, 
1875, selected a committee on court-house and jail as follows: J. L. 
Follett, James S. Horton and Norman Patterson. 

At the January term, 1876, the following were seated as members: 
James S. Horton, J. Follett, Ed. Haakinson, Norman Patterson and 
P. C. Eberley. Their first official act was to appoint William P. Hol- 
man overseer of the poor-farm for 1876. 

The court-house and jail committee then reported in substance as 
follows : 

We have visited the stone quarries of Minnesota and believe the Kasota stone the 
best for our purpose. We went to Milwaukee to view their court-house, and were not 
favorably impressed with the structure. We then visited Freeport, 111., Chicago, and 
other points in Illinois and Iowa. We now recommend the plans shown us at Des 
Moines by Architect William L. Foster. 



84 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The plans referred to were finally adopted. 

At their March session, 1876, the board appointed J. L. Follett to 
obtain the stone for the foundation, the same to be on the court-house 
site by April 25. 

April 6, 1876, " Centennial year," a contract was awarded to 
Charles E. and D. T. Hedges, for the erection of the court-house, 
which now adorns the public square. The contract price was $74,700, ' 
and the plans and specifications spread upon record in Minute Book D, 
cover twenty-three closely written pages, but the record shows that 
about $4,800 extra was expended before the superstructure was fin- 
ished. The building was to be completed on or before January 1, 
1878. The jail in the basement is comfortable and secure, while each 
office in the superstructure is spacious and well planned. The various 
vaults are fireproof and well suited for the preservation of public 
records. The court-room is of a modern design and beautifully fres- 
coed. The symmetrical dome, which adds beauty to the building, is 
surmounted by a life-size statue of Justice, whose womanly form is 
facing the west, emblematic of the "Star of Empire." 

During the January session of 1879, the board authorized the 
attorney, then in the employ of the county, to settle a claim for dam- 
ages asked by one L. D. Wellington for injuries sustained through a 
defective bridge near Smithland. The limit they allowed him to pay 
was $500. At the same session John P. Allison was appointed to fill 
the unexpired term of Charles Kent as county treasurer, and gave 
bonds to the amount of $100,000. The board settled the salary of 
sheriff at $100 with fees ; and that of county treasurer at $1,500. They 
also appropriated $100 toward constructing a 1,000 barrel cistern near 
the court-house as a fire protection. 

At the February session, 1880, the board settled with the bonds- 
men, the case of county treasurer, Charles Kent, a defaulter, by their 
paying the sum of $17,000. The same session a petition was sent to 
Hon. C. C. Carpenter, then in congress, urging him to work for the 
holding of United States courts at Sioux City. 

During the years 1881 and 1882 the board appropriated $200, each 
year, toward the Agricultural Society. 

During 1884 the board passed resolutions canceling all the odds 
and ends of delinquent taxes over which there could be any legal 
question. Some of these claims ran back to 1855, and the resolution 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 85 

covered all between 1855 and 1877. In 1884, also, the county aided 
the Agricultural Society to the amount of $300. 

The points touched on in the "proceedings of the board of super- 
visors " as above given, were but a small percentage of their work, 
but cover the chief public interests, suitable for a record of county his- 
tory. The thousands of bridges and well-planned highways built 
since 1861, have all been fostered and managed by these various 
boards of supervisors. 

Marriage Record. — The first marriage recorded in the marriage 
books of Woodbury county is dated April 30, 1854. The contracting 
parties were V. S. Slagar and Elizabeth Aurah, and the ceremony 
was performed by his Honor, J. M. Townsley, county judge. There 
may have been, quite likely were, other marriages in the county prior 
to that date, for the early marriage records in all western counties were 
not preserved in a very excellent manner. There were, moreover, a 
few united in marriage prior to the organization of the county, but 
those were mostly half-breeds or cases where Frenchmen married 
Indian women. In 1854, also, there was one other marriage in the 
county, Francis Bercia and Mary Lasharitie, who were made man and 
wife by County Judge Townsley, May 21. The next marriage recorded 
was that of Zachariah G. Allen and Harriett Shook, May 5, 1855. 
Four marriages occurred in 1856: Louis Benoist married an Indian 
lady, June 4; Joseph W. Stephens and Nancy Mozier, were married 
August 10; Finley B. Denham and Elizabeth Courtney, September 
24; Henry Paschall and Anna Kasberg, December 26. 

The following shows the total marriages from 1854 to August 1, 
1890, by years: 

1854 3 1874 96 

1855 1 

1856 6 

1857 13 

1858 7 

1859 7 

1860 18 

1861 21 

1862 8 

1863 15 

1864 24 

1865 28 

1866 22 

1867 41 

1868 55 

1869 97 

1870 95 

1871 125 

1872 142 

1873 119 



1875 


118 


1876 


134 


1877 


81 


1878 


88 


1879 


124 


1880 


155 


1881 


144 


1882 


221 


1883 


231 


1884 


253 


1885 


237 


1886 

1887 


231 

307 


1S88 


395 


1889 


442 


1890 (to August 1.) 

Total 


160 

4,364 



86 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Population of the County. — The following gives the population for 
the entire county, at different dates: 

In 1854 the county had a population of 170; in 1856, it had in- 
creased to 950; in 1860 the population was 1,078; in 1863 it was 1,106; 
in 1865, it had 1,291; in 1867, it had 1,969; in 1869, the population 
was 4,000; in 1870 it had 6,119; in 1873, the number was 6,946; in 
1875, 8,518. The census of 1880 (C. S.) gave the county, 14,785, 
while the State census of 1885 gave the total of Woodbury county as 
32,289. 

The subjoined table shows the population by townships, for 
1885: 

1885. 1885. 

Arlington 361 Moville 276 

Banner 226 Rock 487 

Concord 408 Rutland 524 

Floyd 303 Sioux City 611 

Grange 186 Sloan 652 

Grant 529 Union 1,341 

Kedron 485 West Fork 521 

Lakeport 763 Willow 495 

Liston 864 Wolf Creek 570 

Liberty 1.065 Woodbury 678 

Little Sioux* 1,102 Incorporation Sioux City 19,060 

Miller 328 

Morgan 454 Grand Total 32,289 

Recorded Plats. — The following shows the facts connected with 
the platting of all the original villages of the county: 

What was in early days styled Thompson town (after William 
Thompson, its projector), was recorded in the plat books of Pottawat- 
toniie county, before Woodbury county was fairly organized, the record 
name being Floyd's Bluff. It was situated on the southeast quarter of 
section one, township eighty-eight, range forty-eight. The date of its 
platting was 1853, but there was never any showing toward a town, 
however. 

Sergeant's Bluff City is the title of the first plat found in the books 
of Woodbury county. It was platted on section thirty, township 
eighty-eight, range forty-seven, November 20, 1854, by T. Elwood 
Clark, Samuel F. Watts, Moses Shinn, and others. 

*Oto was created after 18S5. 




IsUJ?- 



e 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 89 

Sioux City (proper) was platted May 5, 1855, by Dr. John K. Cook 
and others. 

Correctionville was platted September 25, 1855, on section thirty- 
five, township eighty-nine, range forty -two, by George W. Chamberlain, 
Hiram Nelson, Francis Chapell, Charles B. Kustin, Horace C. Bacon, 
of the town-site company of Henn, Williams, Cook & Co. 

East Sioux City was platted May 14, 1856, by E. Bedard & Co. 

East addition to Sioux City was platted September 16, 1856, by 
Dr. Cook's town-site company. 

Smithland was platted September 23, 1856, on section twenty-six, 
township eighty-six, range forty-four, by Orrin B. Smith. 

Sergeant's Bluff was platted July 14, 1857, by a number of persons, 
and spread on record a year later, July, 1858. The name appears on 
all early records and plats with a final " 's " to both the words Ser- 
geant and Bluff, but latterly the " s " has been dropped from the word 
Bluff, and the locality is known as "Sergeant's Bluff," whereas the 
United States post-office department calls it Sergeant Bluff, which is 
also the spelling given in B. G. Dun's Shippers' Guide. It was named 
in honor of Sergt. Charles Floyd, who died en route up the Missouri 
river, and was buried on one of the bluffs overlooking the Missouri. 

Sloan was platted on the southwest quarter of section twenty-nine, 
township eighty-six, range forty-six, July 29, 1870, by the Missouri 
Valley Land Company. 

Anthon was platted February 17, 1888, on sections thirty-two and 
thirty-three, township eighty-eight, range forty-three, by the Cherokee 
& Western Town Lot & Land Company. 

Salix was platted on the west half of sectiou thirty-five, township 
eighty-seven, range forty-seven, July 29, 1875, by the Missouri Land 
Company. 

Danbury was platted on section twenty-seven, township eighty-six, 
range forty-two, November 1, 1877, by Daniel Thomas and wife. 

Oto was platted February 25, 1879, on section six, township eighty- 
six, range forty-three, by Samuel B. and O. S. Day. 

Lucky Valley was platted July 22, 1882, by J. B. Jerman and wife 
and W. H. Brady and wife, on sections two and three, township eighty- 
seven, range forty-four. 

Pierson, on section twelve, township eighty-nine, range forty-three, 
was platted by the Blair Town Lot & Land Company August 3, 1883. 



SO HISTOHS OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

dishing was platted on section one, township eighty-eight, range 
forty-four, by the Blair Town Lot & Land Company May 10, 1883. 

Hornick was platted by the Milwaukee Land Company on sections 
twenty-eight and twenty-nine, township eighty-six, range forty-five, 
April 4, 1887. 

Moville was platted by the Western Town Lot Company April 23, 
1887, on section twenty-nine, township eighty-nine, range forty-four. 

The above plats all represent town sites of to-day, the most of 
"which are flourishing places, except Sergeant's Bluff City, platted in 
1854, which is not known to-day. 

Leeds, now annexed to Sioux City, was platted April 12, 1889, by 
the Leeds Land & Investment Company. 



CHAPTEK VI. 
POLITICAL HISTORY. 



Eakly Politics— Early Elections— County, State and National Rep- 
resentation — Special Issues — List of County Officers by Years. 

WOODBURY COUNTY was organized three years before the 
republican party was. As will be seen by the official 
returns in 1856, when the republican party ran John C. Fremont 
against James Buchanan, the democratic nominee, this county gave 
the former 43 votes and the latter 108. In 1860 the -issues which 
finally brought on the Civil war placed a different complexion on the 
politics of this county in common with all Iowa. In the election 
returns of 1860, when Lincoln ran against Douglas, the result here 
was a complete reverse — Lincoln received 129 votes and Douglas only 
68. From that time on, through all the succeeding campaigns, Wood- 
bury county gave a good round republican majority until the prohib- 
itory liquor question was sprung in Iowa in 1882. At the next guber- 
natorial election, in 1883, the returns show a decided change in favor 
of the democracy. Buren R. Sherman had 1,825 votes, and L. G. 
Kinnie 1,847 votes, another radical change on a pure state issue. In 
1885 the republican nominee for governor, William Larrabee, received 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 91 

a small majority, as he did two years later, when re-elected. But 
Woodbury county, in common with all Iowa, made another radical 
change in the election of Gov. Boies, democrat, in 1889, when the county 
gave him over a thousand majority. The republicans claim they 
were not on guard, and did not poll their usual vote, which to some 
extent was true. But aside from local state issues, Woodbury county 
has always gone largely republican when coming to the vote for 
presidential electors. 

State Representation. — The following Woodbury county men have 
represented their county in the Iowa legislature: 

Samuel H. Cassady, member of the house during the seventh 
assembly, in 1858. 

Isaac Pendleton, during the ninth assembly, in 1862. 

William L. Joy, during the tenth assembly, in 1861; also in the 
eleventh assembly, in 1866. 

Constant R. Marks, during the thirteenth assembly, in 1870. 

A. R. Appleton, in the fourteenth assembly, during 1872. 

James H. Bolton, during the seventeenth assembly, in 1878. 

John B. Belfrage, during the eighteenth assembly, in 1880. 

Elbert H. Hubbard, during the nineteenth assembly, in 1S82. 

Squire W. Haviland, during the twentieth assembly, in 1884. 

Br. B. Bice, of Smithland, during the twenty-first assembly, in 
1886. 

Willis G. Clark, of Sioux City, during the twenty-second as- 
sembly, in 1888; also the twenty -third, in 1890. 

In the state senate, Woodbury county has been represented by 
home men as follows: — George D. Perkins, during the fifteenth and 
sixteenth assemblies — 1874 to 1878; and Job A. Lawrence Avho was 
elected in 1887. 

The state binder from 1874 to 1878 was Henry A. Perkins, of 
Sioux City. 

Judicial. — Marshall F. Moore, of Sioux City, was elected judge of 
the Twelfth judicial district of Iowa in April, 1857. He presided 
over the territory now embraced in the fifteen northwestern Iowa 
counties. 

Asahel W. Hubbard was elected to the office of judge of the 
Pourth judicial district in October, 1858. and was succeeded in 
1862, by Isaac Pendleton. 



92 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Congressional Representation. — Woodbury county has furnished 
two representatives to the United States congress: Hon. Asahel W. 
Hubbard, who was elected by a large republican majority, and served 
from 1863 to 1869, three full terms, during which time no other con- 
gressman from Iowa made a more enviable record than did Judge 
Hubbard, as he was an able man, and worked for the great north- 
west with a hearty good will ; the second is Congressman George D. 
Perkins, of Sioux City, who is the able editor of the " Sioux City 
Journal." 

Other Representations. — Dr. William R. Smith, of Sioux City, 
had the honor of representing his district at the Paris Exposition of 
1878, and W. I. Buchanan is one of the two commissioners to the 
World's Fair (Columbian Exposition) of 1892, from Iowa. 

State and National Election. {Vote on Governors). 1851 — 
James W. Grimes (W. ). 

1857— Ralph P. Lowe (R.), 120; Benjamin M. Samuels (D.), 144. 

1859— S. J. Kirkwood (R.), 132; A. C. Dodge (D.), 163. 

1861— S. J. Kirkwood (R.), 133; W. H. Merith (D.), 111. 

1863— William M. Stone (R.), 122; James M. Stone (D.), 103. 

1865— William M. Stone (R.), 112; Thomas H Benton (D.), 87. 

1867— Samuel Merrill (R), 253; Charles Mason (D.), 237. 

1869— Samuel Merrill (R.), 475; George Galespy (D.), 313. 

1871— C. C. Carpenter (R.), 708; J. C. Knapp (D.), 236. 

1873— C. C. Carpenter (R.), 952; J. G. Vale (D.), 523. 

1875— S. J. Kirkwood (R.), 1,099; Shepherd Lefler (D.), 719. 

1877— John H. Gear (R.), 899; John P. Irish (D.), 710; D. P. 
Stubbs (G. B.), 90. 

1879— John H. Gear (R.), 1,262; H. H. Trumble (D.), 947. 

1881— B. R. Sherman (R.), 1,305; L. G. Kinnie (D.j, 858. 

1883— B. R. Sherman (R.), 1,825; L. G. Kinnie (D.), 1,847. 

1885— William Larrabee (R.), 2,557; Charles E. Whiting (D.), 
2,446. 

1887— William Larrabee (R.), 2,997; T. J. Anderson (D.), 2,913. 

1889— James G. Hutchins (R), 2,969; Horace Boies. (D.j, 4,051. 

Presidential Vote. — 1856 — John C. Fremont (R. ), 43; James 
Buchanan (D.j, 108. 

1860— Abraham Lincoln (R.), 129; Stephen A. Douglas (D.),68. 

1864— Abraham Lincoln (R.), 153; George B. McClellan (D.), 93. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. ' 93 

1868— U. S. Grant (R), 430; Horatio Seymour (D.), 323. 

1872— U. S. Grant (R), 790; Horace Greeley (D.), 439. 

1876— Eutherford B. Hayes (E.), 1,034; S. J. Tilden (D.), 937. 

1880— James A. Garfield (E.), 1,453; W. S. Hancock (D.), 995. 

1884— James G. Blaine (R), 2,805; Grover Cleveland (D.), 2376. 

1888— Benjamin Harrison (R), 4,169; Grover Cleveland (D.), 
3,588. 

County Judge. — Early in the history of Woodbury county this 
office, as has been stated, was one of great importance. It embraced 
the work now attended to by the entire board of supervisors as well as 
that of auditor, besides much legal and probate court business. In 
short, it was a sort of one-man power. Many of the functions of this 
office ceased, however, in 1860, and in 1868 it was abolished alto- 
gether. In 1861 the supervisor system relieved the office of much 
power, and many of its duties; and the office of county auditor, created 
and commencing to work in conjunction with the members of the 
board of supervisors, January 1, 1869, left no room for the office of 
county judge. The following is a list of those who have filled the 
office: 

Marshall Townsley, from 1853-54; O. B. Smith, 1854-55; John 
K. Cook, 1855-57; John L. Campbell, 1857-59; John P. Allison, 
1859-61; John N. Lavering, 1861-65; John H. Snyder, 1865-69. 

Drainage Commissioner. — The following shows how this office was 
filled during its term of existence: 

I. D. M. Crockwell, in 1854; Curtis Lamb, from 1855-57; Ezra 
Millard, 1857-59; Luther Woodford, 1859-61; O. B. Smith, 1861-65; 
S. E. Day, 1865-69; N. Cerfing, 1869-71; Ed. Sharpe, 1871-73. 
The office was abolished early in the seventies. 

County Treasurer. — The office of treasurer included recorder of 
deeds until 1864, and has been filled as follows: 

Hiram Nelson, in 1853; Leonard Bates, 1854; Lewis Cunningham, 
from 1854-55; T. Elwood Clark, 1855; Samuel H. Cassady, from 
1855-56; Charles E. Hedges, 1857-61; Thomas J. Stone, 1861-66; 
B. E. Smith, 1866-71; Charles Kent, 1871-79; John P. Allison, 
1879-85; Ed. Haakinson, 1885-87; D. T. Hedges, 1887-89; W. A. 
Kifer, in 1889. 

County Recorder. — From the organization of Iowa until 1864, the 
offices of treasurer and recorder were embraced in one. The following 
gives the names of recorders proper: 



94 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

A. Groninger, from 1866-68; P. I. B. Marion, 1868-70; F. J. 
Lambert, 1870-72; O. A.Smith, 1872-74; W. I. Hepburn, 1874-76; 
W. S. Follis, 1878-80; Phil Carlin, 1880-88; Charles A. De Mun, 



Sheriff. — This office has been filled as follows: 

Thomas L. Griffey (organizer), 1853; Hiram Nelson, 1854; George 
W. Chamberlain, from 1854-55; Francis Chapell, 1855-58; George 
L. Tackett, 1858-59; William H. Frame, 1859-61; F. J. Lambert, 
1861-67; George W. Kingsnorth, 1867-71; John M. McDonald, 
1871-79; S. B. Jackson, 1879-81; Daniel McDonald, 1881-87; D. A. 
Magee, 1887-89; David P. Magner, 1889. 

Superintendent of Schools. — When this county was organized the 
office of school superintendent had not yet been created. All school 
matters were looked after by what was known as the school fund 
commissioner, whose duties were untrammeled, apparently, as he 
could loan the school fund to private parties, and do about as he saw 
fit in all such matters. 

The office was created in 1857-58, since which time the following 
have served: 

H. H Chaffer, from 1858-61; Isaac T. Martin, 1861-65; J. E. 
Eockwood, 1865-67; Marshall Tingley, 1867-69; A. M. Hunt, 1869- 
71; Carrie A. Bassett, 1871-73; A. E. Wright, 1873-77; S. Eogers, 
1877-79; N. E. Palmer, 1879-83; J. S. Shoup, 1883-87; N. E. 
Palmer, 1887-89 ; J. S. Shoup, 1889. 

County Surveyor. — This office has been filled by George W. Cham- 
berlain, in 1854; George Murphy, in 1856; J. C. C. Hoskins, from 
1862-66; O. Plato (appointed), in 1866; S. AV. Davis, from 1866-71; 
A. C. Hoskins, 1871-81; George W. Oberhotzer, 1881-83; L. F. 
Wakefield, 1883-87; W. P. Whitten, 1887-89; John M. Lewis, 1889. 

Coroner. — The office of coroner has had the following incumbents: 

Eli Lee, from 1853-55; Samuel Euth, 1855-58; Louis D. La 
Tillier, 1858-61; Abel Smith, 1861-65; Leroy Snyder, 1865-67; Oli- 
ver D. Fisher, 1867-69; G. W. Vanderhule, 1869-71; S. L. Orr, 
1871-73; A. J. Weeks, 1873-74; J. J. Saville, 1874-75; W. O. Da- 
vis, 1875-83; H. B. Clingan, 1883-85; G. F. Watterman, 1885-87; 
E. E. Camiff, 1887-89; William Jepson, 1889. 

County Auditor. — This office was created in 1868, and the first au- 
ditor elected in 1869, when the office of county judge was abolished. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 95- 

It has 'been filled as follows; George W. Wakefield, 1869-73; David 
W. Moffatt, 1873-77; M. L. Sloan, 1877-83; AV. C. Hutchins, 1883- 
87 ; J. J. Jordan, 1887-91. 

Clerk of the Courts. — The following persons have served in this 
office in the years indicated: Joseph P. Babbitt, 1853-54; R. E. 
Bowe and B. E. Knox, 1854-55; Theophile Bruguier and John K. 
Myers, 1855-56; T. Elwood Clark, 1856-58; James N. Eield, 1858- 
65; E. J.. Lambert, 1865-70; E. B. Spalding, 1870-76; James Mc- 
Kewon, 1876-78; E. B. Spalding, 1878-80; J. H. Bolton, 1880-88; 
E. E. Sackett, 1888-90. 

County Supervisors. — Prior to January 7, 1861, there were no- 
boards of county supervisors. From that date to January, 1871, each 
civil township was represented by one member of such a body; but 
since then, counties have been divided into supervisor districts, and 
one officer is elected from each district annually as a rule. The fol- 
lowing have served as Woodbury county supervisors: 

1861 — Samuel Cameron (chairman), A. S. Bacon, John House- 
holder, Elijah Adams. 

1862 — Samuel Cameron (chairman), Luther Woodford, Elijah 
Adams, A. S. Bacon. 

1863 — Samuel Cameron (chairman), A. S. Bacon, Elijah Adams, 
Luther Woodford. 

1864 — Luther Woodford (chairman), Samuel Cameron, John S. 
Edwards, A. B. Griffin. 

1865 — Luther Woodford (chairman), Thomas J. Kinkaid, W. O. 
Slyter, A. S. Bacon. 

1866— P. J. Kinkaid (chairman), Luther Woodford, W. O. Slyter, 
A. S. Bacon. 

1867 — John W. Lewis, Luther Woodford, Nicholas Gambs, A. D. 
Graves. 

1868— John W. Lewis, Luther Woodford, Eufus Beal, A. S. Ba- 
con, Morris Kellogg, Elijah Adams. 

1869— Luther Woodford, Eufus Beal, M. Metcalf, P. Morris, A. 
S. Bacon, F. W. Davis, Johu W. Grost. 

1870— William B. Tredway, William P. Holman, William Math- 
ers, Eufus Beal, Eli Lee, F. W. Davis, L. Yokey, M. J. Eogers. 

1871 — John Galway, W. P. Holman, James S. Horton. 

1872 — John Galway, W. P. Holman, James S. Horton, Harvey 
Ingerson, George Everts. 



96 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1873 — John Galway, J. S. Hortori, George Everts, J. Y. Kennedy, 
Harvey Ingerson. 

1874 — James S. Hortori, George Everts, J. Y. Kennedy, J. L. Fol- 
lett, Henry Arnold. 

1875 — James S. Horton, James Y. Kennedy, J. S. Follett, Ed. 
Haakinson, Norman Patterson. 

1876 — James S. Horton, J. Follett, Ed. Haakinson, Norman Patter- 
son, P. C. Eberley. 

1877— P. C. Eberley, M. W. Murphy, L. M. Brown. 

1878— M. W. Murphy, P. C. Eberley, L. M. Brown, J. J. Woods, 
W. H. McClusky. 

1879— M. W. Murphy, P. C. Eberley, TV. H. McClusky, J. J. 
Woods. 

1880— P. C. Eberley, TV, H. McClusky, D. T. Gilman, TV. C. 
Cameron. 

1881— P. C. Eberley, W. C. Cameron, D. T. Gilman, John Nairon, 
A. J. Weeks. 

1882— D. T. Gilman, John Nairon, A. J. Weeks, J. S. Horton. 

1883— A. J. Weeks, E. R. Evans, M. L. Flinn. 

1884— James S. Horton, M. L. Flinn, E. E. Evans. 

1885— M. L. Flinn, E. R. Evans, D. P. Green, George Chase. 

1886— D. P. Green, M. L. Sloan, J. B. Crawford. 

1887— M. L. Sloan, M. L. Jones, J. B. Crawford 

1888— M. L. Sloan, J. B. Crawford, D. P. Green, A. L. Wilkinson, 
TV. TV. McElrath. 

1889— M. L. Sloan, J. B. Crawford, D. P. Green, A. L. Wilkin- 
son, TV. TV. McElrath. 

1890— W. W. McElrath, F. O. Thursting, Walter Strange, TV. H. 
Adams, J. O. Jerman. 

County Attorney. — This office was created by an act of the legis- 
lature that convened in the winter of 1885-86, and the first to be 
elected as county attorney in and for Woodbury county, was S. M. 
Marsh, who served one term, two years, and was succeeded January 1, 
1889, by Thomas F. Bevington. Prior to the existence of this office, 
the board of supervisors for the several counties engaged the services, 
from year to year, of some resident attorney to look after the legal 
business of the county, while each judicial district had one district 
attorney who looked after the state's interest, making all the criminal 



JrPI W^ 




fiyX aXernanWZ 



WOODBURY COUNTY. yy 

prosecutions, etc. This work now devolves upon the county attorney, 
who draws a salary according to the population of the county. 

Special Elections. — April 2, 1855, the state of Iowa took a vote, 
by counties, relative to the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating 
liquors. Upon the canvass of the vote in Woodbury county, the 
returns showed that thirteen were in favor of prohibition and eighteen 
as being opposed to it. 

Again, June 27, 1882, the people of Iowa had submitted to them 
the question of making it illegal to make, sell, or keep for sale, any 
intoxicating liquor, including ale, wine and beer. It was proposed to 
make this prohibitory measure a part of the constitution. It was 
carried in the state by nearly thirty thousand majority, but became a 
dead letter by reason of the gross neglect of an enrolling clerk; but 
the following assembly enacted a statutory law, prohibiting the sale 
of all liquors contemplated in the amendment voted upon. The vote 
in Woodbury county stood 1,163 for, and 1,220 against the amend- 
ment. 

At a special election held in Woodbury county, February 11, 
1867, upon the question of donating the "swamp lands " of the county 
to the Sioux City & Pacific railroad, the vote stood 289 for, and 169 
against the proposition. 



L-^BWS 



100 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER VII. 
EDUCATIONAL INTEBESTS. 

The First, Early and Present Schools of Sioux City — Woodbury Coun- 
ty's Rank— Schools of Smithland— Sergeant's Bluff— Oto— Sloan— 
moville — salix — llston — coritectionville— rural districts— pri- 
VATE Schools— Business College— The University— School Fund Com- 
missioners— Superintendents —Yearly Enrollment — Teachers' In- 
stitutes — Norma ls— Etc. 

THE first school organization in Sioux City was effected in the 
early part of the year 1857. The first board of education con- 
sisted of Dr. S. P. Yeomans, president, Dr. J. J. Saville, secretary, and 
Gen. Andrew Leach, treasurer. At this time no money had been 
apportioned to the district, and as the citizens were exceedingly 
anxious that immediate action should be taken toward opening a 
school as soon as possible, a paper was circulated amongst the 
business men, and a sufficient amount pledged to insure a ses- 
sion of six months. The subscribers to this enterprise were: Messrs. 
Moore & Clapp, Charles & Eyall, Hudson & Joy, Weare & Co., J. M. 
White & Copelin, Culver & Betts, Bosler & Hedges, Henry Thompson, 
Gen. Andrew Leach, Dr. S. P. Yeomans, Dr. J. J. Saville, Messrs. 
C. B. Eustin, Ezra Millard, Enos Stutsman, J. N. Eield, N. W. White, 
T. J. Stone, Ezra Thompson, L. D. Parmer, Dr. Marion Hunt. 

Miss Mary E. Wilkins, of Keosauqua, Iowa (now Mrs. C. B. Eus- 
tin, of Omaha, Neb.), received the appointment of teacher for this 
first school. She arrived at Sioux City ou the first steamer of the 
season, the " Omaha," April 26, 1857. The school-house not being 
ready, there was a short delay before opening the school. May 8 
marked this important event. There were fifteen children present, 
and this little group, with three or four exceptions, had never been 
inside of a school-house before, having arrived at school age 
since their parents had been living on the frontier. In some instances 
there were almost grown children unable to read, though otherwise 
very bright and intelligent boys and girls. The teacher, in a private 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 101 

letter to the writer, says: "I devoted much time to these, as they felt 
very keenly their deprivations." The great disadvantage labored 
under at first, was the lack of proper school books. There were no 
book stores, and none of the merchants kept books in stock, so the 
teacher was obliged to make the best use of the few that some of the 
mothers had treasured up from childhood. The mother is the great 
educator, and while the father was looking forward to the accumula- 
tion of property, and the establishing of a permanent home, the 
mother was anxious to provide for the intellectual development of her 
children, and by this means some of these little ones had already 
made some progress in the way of learning. In many instances the 
teacher was obliged to draw largely on her own resources of gathered 
knowledge, until books could be obtained by the slow transportation 
of that period. 

Before the close of the first six weeks, the school had increased to 
twice the original number, had been strengthened by the accession of 
some excellent students, and a supply of books and school-furnishings 
had been received. The books used were Webster's spellers, McGuf- 
fey's readers, Kay's arithmetics, Mitchell's geographies and Wells' 
grammar. The pupils varied in age from five to nineteen. Before 
the first six months were over, the teacher had occasion to give in- 
struction from Newman's rhetoric, Andrews' and Stoddard's Latin, 
Davies' algebra, Davies' geometry and Comstock's philosophy. 

Seven hours a day the teacher worked faithfully, and her salary 
for the first six months was $50 per month. A daily record was 
kept, but no report was required. The absence of this report is 
accounted for by the teacher herself, thus: "The gentlemen who were 
responsible for the school had too much business of their own at this 
time, to attend to such outside affairs, besides, they were mainly 
young bachelors, and, perhaps, too gallant to think of such a step." 

In the spring of 1858 the apportionment of public money was re- 
ceived, and although Miss Wilkins had just finished a very success- 
ful term of school, taught under great difficulties, she understood that 
in Iowa all laws must be literally enforced, and one of these was that 
teachers paid from the public funds must pass an examination and 
receive a certificate. Hence, an examining board was formed, not 
specially for the purpose of assisting the county superintendent, by 
relieving him from an extra amount of work, as there were only three 



102 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

teachers in the county to be examined, but simply to comply with the 
requirements of law, and to relieve the compunctions of the incum- 
bent teacher. 

Then occurred the first examination of teachers held in Woodbury 
county. County Superintendent Chaffee, Rev. Mr. Chestnut and Mr- 
John H. Charles conducted the examination. All the members of this 
board were gentlemen of education and culture, and did their duty 
well. Miss Wilkins successfully passed the examination, and was 
granted a certificate. But now a new difficulty arose. It was new 
then, is still new, and will continue to arise as long as there is a school 
to be provided for. So long as the teacher was paid by private sub- 
scription, no objection was raised against paying $50 per month, but 
paying out the public money was a very different thing; the rights of 
the public had to be carefully guarded. Some of the people said $50 per 
month was entirely too much to pay to a young girl. The teacher thought 
differently, and, so we are pleased to record, did some of the board. 
They then struck upon a plan that was satisfactory to all parties. The 
teacher was to receive $30 per month for twenty-five scholars, and 
a proportionate amount for all above this number. The school proved 
to be so popular, that by this arrangement, the teacher received a 
larger salary than she did the previous term, more than sixty names 
being enrolled. "How plainly in memory," writes Mrs. Rustin, "do 
I recall many of the pleasant faces that greeted me as I entered the 
little school-house, half way up the hill! Maggie Appleton and her 
two brothers, Frank and Ollie; Miss Mary Chestnut and her younger 
sister; Mary, Maggie and Jamie Cameron; Julia Townsley, and an- 
other from that family; Walter Burgess; the little Ashes; Johnnie 
Oesterling; Mary Stafford; the Bemer boys; the McElhaneys; Will 
Robare; the four Lambs; Mattie Cole; Solon Hubbell; Henry and 
Charlie Cook, and the others — they all go trooping by, though it was 
more than thirty years ago. Parents visited the school, many of the 
business men called in, and at one time we had a visit in state from 
Gen. (then Capt. ) Nathaniel Lyons and his staff, who was on his 
way down from Fort Randall, where he had been stationed in com- 
mand. He was leaving this part of the country for a more active 
field, and looked in to say ' good-bye ' and offer a few words of en- 
couragement to the teacher and pupils." The house was a frame 
structure, 20x32 feet, one story high. " I can plainly see," continues 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 103 

the teacher. " the bell and tripod, the six steps and the little brick pil- 
lars in front." The paths to it were from all directions. It was seated 
with long wooden benches, and two long tables, or desks, were placed 
against the wall for writing purposes. It is described, by one who 
attended school there, as always being well lighted, very clean, and 
healthfully located. It was unpainted, and, compared with some of 
the magnificent school buildings in the same city now, would present 
a rather mean appearance, but it was filled with just as earnest learn- 
ers, and presided over by as conscientious a teacher as ever sought to 
lead a little group of pupils to look for something higher. It an- 
swered the 2">urpose for which it was erected, and many others besides. 

It was indeed a much-used structure, and served by turns as a 
music hall, a lecture-room and a lyceum. All the political and other 
public meetings were held here. On the Sabbath religious services were 
held, sometimes by one denomination, sometimes by another, all using 
it, except the Methodists, who had an edifice of their own. 

Miss Wilkins closed her second year's school in September, 1858. 
She handed in her report, received her money, and departed for her 
home, but she left behind her a record that the third of a century has 
not erased, for it was written on the hearts of her pupils. We have 
dwelt somewhat at length on this first school, for, compared with the 
present school system of the city, with its twenty-four school-houses, 
its more than one hundred teachers, and 9,600 pupils, it shows some- 
thing of the progress that has been made. Profs. Wright, Hunt and 
Earl were principals of the Sioux City schools under the old system, 
and were all thorough educators. Prof. Hunt died in 1873. He came 
to Iowa from Indianapolis, and engaged here in the school work, giv- 
ing it an impetus that has had much to do with forming the character 
of the subsequent schools. 

In 1869 the Independent district of Sioux City was formed. At that 
time there were two school-houses, seven teachers and 400 persons of 
school age. The city superintendents have been S. Rogers, Allen Arm- 
strong and Charles W. Deane. Prof. Rogers served seven years, Prof. 
Armstrong, twelve years, while Prof. Deane is now serving his second 
year. Prof. Armstrong was a man of great educational force, and 
was at one time president of the State Teachers' Association of Iowa. 
He was extensively known throughout the state, and was highly 
esteemed by all who knew him. During the first ten years of his 



104 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

work lie was ably assisted by his wife as principal of the high school. 
Sioux City has a full twelve years' course of study, the high-school 
course being one of the most extensive ones in the state. The princi- 
pals of the high school have been S. Rogers, Mary Armstrong, A. K. 
Del Fosse and W. F. Cramer. Of the many able teachers employed 
in the Sioux City schools, it is impossible to write and keep within 
the limits of this work, but it will be doing no injustice to the others, 
to make special mention of two, Mrs. Boehmler and Miss Nelon, who 
have each been connected with the primary education of Sioux City 
pupils for twenty consecutive years, and it is the wish of many who 
have had the benefit of their instruction, and have since grown to 
manhood and womanhood, they may long be spared to continue their 
good work. 

In 18S9 a training school was established by the board of edu- 
cation as a part of the system of schools. Mrs. Eva D. Kellogg was 
made principal for the first year. 

A class of nine young ladies was graduated last year, and it is to 
be hoped that a larger number will complete the work this year. Mrs. 
Eowe is now the principal. 

Sioux City schools have now 120 teachers and 8,000 pupils, eleven 
wooden buildings and twelve brick buildings, valued at §300,000. The 
schools are well supplied with apparatus of all kinds necessary for 
laboratory purposes. 

General Remarks. — In point of thoroughness and efficiency the 
schools of Woodbury county are equal to any in the state. The 
teachers as a class grade high, while the school officers generally are 
earnest, wide-awake, intelligent, energetic and progressive. Most of 
the school -houses are in good repair, well supplied with abundance of 
black-board surface, and good, comfortable seats. The following table 
will give some idea as to how Woodbury compares with the other 
counties of the state: 

No. of male teachers employed 65 

No. of female teachers employed 283 

Average monthly compensation of male teachers $42.83 

Average monthly compensation of female teachers !f>35. 61 

Average age of male teachers 25 

Average age of female teachers 22 

Average cost of tuition per month $1.78 

Average number of months of school 8.3 

No. of state certificates recorded 2 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 105 

No. of professional certificates granted "... 25 

No. of first-grade certificates granted 90 

No. of second-grade certificates granted 116 

No. of third-grade certificates granted none 

No. of rooms in graded schools 81 

Amount of school-house fund on hand $8,402.07 

Amount of contingent fund on hand $12,423.73 

Amount of teachers' fund on hand 156,485.88 

No. of counties that employ more male teachers \ 29 

No. of counties that employ more female teachers 5 

No. of counties paying higher salaries to male teachers. ... 5 

No. of counties paying higher salaries to female teachers. . 4 

Average age of male teachers in the state 25.5 

Average age of female teachers in the state 21.8 

Average cost of tuition per month in the state $1.79 

Average nurnher of months of school in the state 7.7 

No. of counties recording more state certificates 30 

No. of counties granting more professional certificates. ... 8 

No. of counties granting more first-grade certificates 41 

No. of counties granting more second-grade certificates.... 55 

No. of counties granting more third-grade certificates 59 

No. of counties having more rooms in graded schools 6 

No. of counties having more school-house fund on hand. . . 3 

No. of counties having more contingent fund on hand 2 

No. of counties having more teachers' fund on hand 2 

Smithland. — The first school -house in Woodbury county was 
erected at Smithland in 1855. It was built of hewed cottonwood logs, 
and the floors and doors were cottonwood puncheon. It was built 
principally by Mr. O. B. Smith, a small amount of the work on the 
building having been done gratuitously by others. The first school 
in the county was taught in this building by Miss Hannah Van Dorn, 
now Mrs. Burton, of Onawa. Only five or six children were in attend- 
ance, and these without suitable books. The school was wholly a sub- 
scription school, and Miss Van Dorn received $2 per week, Mr. O. B. 
Smith boarding her free of charge. This house was used as a school- 
building for a number of years, when a new one was erected. This 
was a frame building, and was afterward sold for a church to the Ad- 
ventists, and is now a part of the building used as a place of worship 
by this society. 

The present school building was erected in 1876. It is a two-story 
frame, 50x60 feet, with ceilings fourteen feet high, and is ventilated 
by means of double chimneys. The lower story is divided into two 
rooms, each having a seating capacity for fifty pupils. The upper 
story is all in one room, and contains seats for 100 pupils. Each 



106 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

room in the building is supplied with blackboard on all sides, and the 
halls and ante-rooms are well supplied with hooks for children's wraps 
and hats. The school is graded and has a three years' high-school 
course. 

Among the early teachers were Mrs. Price, Miss McCall, H. Scrib- 
ner and Charles Rice. The principals since the new building was 
erected have been Profs. William Craig, J. S. Shoup, J. S. McSpar- 

ran, C. P. Evans, Edmund Enwright, Hawley, W. E. Atkinson 

and C. F. Clark. Mrs. Helen Morgan, one of the very able teachers 
of the county, has served several years in this school as an assistant. 
The enrollment for 1889 was 190, with an average daily attendance of 
160. There are two other schools in this district. 

Sergeant's Bluff. — The first school at this place was taught in 
1857 by Hon. Addison Oliver, later a member of congress. We have 
been unable to learn the number of pupils, but the school was nec- 
essarily small. A. M. Holman, C. R. Woodford, Eev. Luther Wood- 
ford and Mrs. J. M. Coombs were members of this school. It was 
held in a little frame building that had been erected for a church, and 
which was the first frame structure in the county made of native lum- 
ber. Mr. Oliver taught but one term, and was succeeded by Mrs. W. 
P. Holman, who still resides at Sergeant's Bluff. She was a success- 
ful teacher and gave an impetus to the school work that was of much 
benefit. Among the early teachers we also note the names of L. C. 
Woodford, Lafayette Foster, Miss Gaylord (afterward missionary to 
Burmah), Tom Clark, Maggie Appleton (now Mrs. Ed. Spalding) and 
others who were employed for but a term at a time. W. P. Holman, 
Luther Woodford and T. E. Clark were the first board of directors. 

In 1859 this place was selected as a site for a Methodist college. 
The trustees were Presiding Elder Clifford, W. P. Holman, L. M. 
Brown and T. E. Clark. Land was donated, and work begun, but after 
the foundation was laid, from some cause, which we have been unable 
to learn, the enterprise was abandoned. In November, 1858, however, 
the county superintendent had reported twenty-six persons of school 
age, and one year later seventy-three. This rapid increase of school 
population made it necessary to build a school-house, and in 1859 a 
brick structure was erected; this was the first brick house in the 
county. Prof. Herriman was the first professional teacher, and had 
charge of the school three years; the principals since then have been 




jSz^ci <r._e y^*- 




WOODBURY COUNTY. 109 

Profs. Sherman, Abernethy, Frieze, Bowman, Westfall, Davidson,. 
Chatley and Brown. The brick school-house proved too small, and 
another smaller brick building was added. These were used until 
1888, when a new and more commodious building was erected. 
i The present building is situated near the center of a beautiful 
park of three or four acres. The grounds are well set in grass and 
well shaded, some of the trees being large elms, which add their beauty 
and grandeur to the appearance. The building is built of brick, and 
was erected in 1888, at a cost of nearly $10,000. The basement con- 
sists of three large rooms, floored and well lighted, which are used for 
play-rooms. The first story contains a hall, running the entire width 
of the building, two cloak-rooms, two stairways, the primary and inter- 
mediate rooms and a recitation room. 

The upper story contains a hall, two cloak-rooms, one assembly and 
study room, 32x50 feet, and a recitation room. The building furnishes, 
rooms for five teachers, and will seat about 240 pupils. Good black- 
boards were secured, a library case has been furnished, together with 
a complete set of the American Cyclopedia. The school has from time- 
to time added to the library, so that a goodly number of reference 
and reading books has been collected. Three years ago the school 
purchased about $20 worth of chemicals and apparatus for experiments 
in physics and chemistry. 

The school is properly graded according to a course of study, 
which embraces twelye years 1 work, three in each department. 

The high-school course includes rhetoric, English literature, gen- 
eral history, physical geography, botany, physics, civil government, 
algebra, geometry and Latin. 

The first class was graduated from Sergeant's Bluff school in 1887 
and consisted of five members; the second, in 1889, consisted of eight 
members. 

Of the graduates, Misses Bertha Dula, Ella Olson, Minnie Reed, 
and Messrs. John Mather and Fred Carter ai*e teachers in this county 
and in Monona county ; Herbert Reed is engaged in farming, Lula 
Iverson lives with her parents near town, Mrs. Eva Chezem [nee 
Purely) resides in town, Mrs. Emma Hall [nee Coombs) resides 
near Howard, Dak. ; Henry Knowles is continuing his studies at 
Sioux City; Edna Holman is attending college at Vermilion, Dak.; 
Luther Coombs is at Cornell College, Iowa, and Charles Gillette is 



110 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

attending college at "Washington, Penn. The total enrollment for this 
year is 188, twenty-four of whom are non-resident pupils. 

Oto. — The independent district of Oto, comprises the town of Oto, 
and parts of Oto, Grant and Little Sioux townships. The old school- 
house was a two-story building 50x40, but this has been sold, and a ne»w 
school-house is being erected at a cost of $4,000. The principals of 
this school have been Profs. Palmer, Goos, Gardner, Atkinson and 
Liverrnore. As soon as the new building is finished, which will be in 
September of this year (1890), a new line of study will be adopted 
with a full high-school course. There is one other school-house in 
this district. The enrollment for 1889 was 100, with an average daily 
attendance of seventy. 

Sloan. — The independent district of Sloan was organized in 1883, 
and the present school-house erected in 1888. It is a two-story frame 
structure, divided into four school-rooms, with halls and ante-rooms. 
The building is in good repair, is well ventilated and lighted. The 
principals have been Profs. J. S. McSparran and J. "W. Jayne. Four 
teachers are employed, a new course of study with full high-school 
course, has been adopted, and will be put in force this coming year 
(1890-91). The number of pupils enrolled in 1889 was 238. 

Moville. — The independent district of Moville was organized last 
year, and embraces the town of Moville and part of the township of 
Arlington. The building is a two-story frame, having two rooms. 
Prof. C. F. Bryant was principal last year, and Prof. "Wilson will have 
charge during the coming year. Moville is a growing town, and it 
will soon be necessary to have a new building, the enrollment this 
year being over ninety. 

Salix. — The school at this place is under the direction of Miss 
Lenna Prater, a very able and efficient teacher ; she is assisted by Miss 
McElroy. A new school-house will be built in the near future and the 
school properly graded. It has now an enrollment of 121 pupils. 

Liston. — The town of Danbury is part of the independent district 
of Liston. There are four school-houses in this district, the principal 
one being in Danbury. The building here is the same size and pat- 
tern as the one in Smithland, and was erected in 1880. The grounds 
consist of half a block, which is well fenced with a neat picket fence, 
and everything about the building is in good order. The school is 
well graded, having a three years' high-school course. The enroll- 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. Ill 

merit for 1889 was 210, with an average daily attendance of 150. The 
principals of the school have been Profs. J. S. Shoup, Will H. Demp- 
ster, C. P. Bowman, J. F. Young, and H. H. Halm. 

Correctionville. — The independent district of Correctionville was 
formed March 29, 1875. The old school-house, a two-story brick, was 
built in 1872. The school was for several years under the charge of 
Prof. Vierth. who was followed by Prof. Chapin. The present school 
building was erected in 1885, at a cost of $6,000. It is 40x60 feet, 
two stories high, and contains four large rooms, halls and recitation 
rooms. It is well ventilated and heated bj r steam. The school is now 
well graded, and six teachers are employed. The principals, since the 
school was graded, have been Profs. W. M. Wright, A. P. Hargrave, 
G. W. Scott and W. E. Atkinson. This school had a large graduating 
class last year. The enrollment for 1889 was 315, with an average 
daily attendance of 234. 

Rural Independent Districts. — Green Mound has one school, with 
twenty-three enrolled pupils; Harmony one, with thirty-three pupils; 
Spring Dale one, with twenty-six pupils ; Spring Valley one, with thir- 
ty-four pupils; Union one, with twenty-seven pupils; Little Sioux one. 
with thirty-five pupils ;Lum Hollow one, with twenty-three pupils; Park 
Hill one, with fifteen pupils ; Twin Creek one, with thirty-three pupils ; 
Denmark one, with twenty-five pupils; Liberty one, with thirty pupils ; 
Lone Elm one, with thirty-two pupils; Webster one, with nineteen 
pupils; Weed Land one, with sixty pupils; Habana one, with thirty- 
one pupils; Union Grove three, with thirty-four pupils; Bluff Center 
one, with thirty pupils; Fair Play one, with twenty-eight pupils; 
Hickory Grove one, with twelve pupils; Living Springs one, with 
thirty-seven pupils; Pleasant Valley one, with thirty pupils; Pat Col- 
lins one, with twenty-three pupils; Lone Tree five, with eighty-six 
pupils; No. Four one, with twenty-six pupils; Ridgeville three, with 
forty-nine pupils; Summit two, with thirty-two pupils; Summer Hill 
one, with twenty-four pupils; West Union one, with ten pupils. 

The new towns of Pierson, Cushing, Anthon, Glen Ellen, Luton 
and Hornick, at the present rate of growth, will soon have sufficient 
population to enable them to form independent districts and establish 
graded schools. 

The following statement gives the district townships of the county, 
and the number of sub-districts in each, together with the enrollment 
for 1889: 



112 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Arlington has six sub-districts, with 106 enrolled pupils; Banner 
has five sub-districts, with 75 pupils; Floyd has seven sub-districts, 
with 121 pupils; Grant has eight sub-districts, with 157 pupils; Grange 
has five sub-districts, with 61 pupils; Kedron has eight sub-districts, 
with 141 pupils ; Lakeport has six sub-districts, with 203 pupils ; Moville 
has seven sub-districts, with 116 pupils; Morgan has eight sub-dis- 
tricts, with 213 pupils; Miller has seven sub-districts, with 113 pupils; 
Butland has seven sub-districts, with 196 pupils; Sioux City has three 
sub-districts, with 50 pupils; Sloan has two sub-districts, with 48 
pupils; West Fork has nine sub-districts, with 125 pupils; Willow has 
seven sub-districts, with 200 pupils; AVoodbury has two sub-districts, 
with 55 pupils; Wolf Creek has eight sub-districts, with 155 pupils. 

Private Schools. — St. Mary's Academy was established in Sioux 
City, September 1, 1881. The institution has a magnificent brick 
building valued at $25,000, situated on Seventh and Perry streets. 
The course is thorough, including every thing from the primary de- 
partment through the high-school grades, besides music, embroidery 
and arts. It is presided over by the sister superior — Sister M. Isa- 
dora — -and six teachers are regularly employed. A class of six was 
graduated last year. One hundred and seventy-five pupils are en- 
rolled. 

Saint Patrick's School at Danbury, was organized September 5, 
1887. It is well graded, covering sixteen grades, besides a high-school 
course, which includes book-keeping, algebra, geometry, civil govern- 
ment, etc. The present principal is Sister M. Cecilia. Ninety-eight 
students were enrolled during the year 1889. The building is a two- 
story frame, 30x90 feet, valued at $5,000. 

The Northwestern Business College is situated on Fourth street, 
Sioux City, and was established in 1882. It is a regular business col- 
lege, and has connected with it a normal department. It has graduated 
a large number of students, and is under the immediate direction of the 
president, C. H. Clark. 

The University of the Northwest, at Morning Side, is a new institu- 
tion, now in course of erection (1890). The estimated cost of the 
buildings, to be completed before 1892, is $350,000. It embraces the 
following departments: College of liberal arts, college of com- 
merce, college of didactics, college of law, college of music, college 
of medicine, and all the departments are supplied with competent pro- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 113 

fessors and instructors. -J. C. Gilchrist, A. M., is dean of the college 
of didactics. Wilmot Whitfield, D. D., is president. 

School Fund Commissioners.- — The first election for school fund 
commissioners was held in August, 1855, whenF. Wixson was elected; 
at the election in April, 1856, I. K. Millard was elected; Mr. Millard 
resigned soon afterward, and Mr. George Weare was appointed to fill 
the vacancy. Mr. Weare remained in office until October, 1858. An 
act of the general assembly, having been approved March 23, 1858, 
provided that the office should be abolished October 1, of that year. 
The amount of notes and mortgages turned over by Mr. Weare at the 
close of his term was $1,840. 

County Superintendent s. — By an act of the legislature, an election 
for county superintendent of schools was ordered to be held April 9, 
1858. The duties of this officer were: To take general charge of 
the schools in the county- — to act as president of the county board of 
education, which was composed of all the presidents of the boards of 
directors, and to select two competent persons to assist in the exami- 
nation of teachers. The board of education were to meet at fixed 
times, arrange for the length of school terms, determine the branches 
to be taught, select text books, etc. We find no record that this board 
ever held a meeting. 

The first and only superintendent elected under this law was H. 
H. Chaffee, whose assistants on the examining board were Rev. Chest- 
nut and John I. Charles. Prior to this time teachers were required 
to be examined by a committee appointed by the board of directors. 
In 1859 the law was changed, to the effect that the county superin- 
tendent should be elected at the regular election in each odd-numbered 
year. The county board of education was abolished, and the superin- 
tendent given full control of the examination of teachers, without 
assistance. The following is the list of all the superintendents of 
this county: H. H. Chaffee, elected in April, 1858; J. C. Lininger, 
elected in October, 1859; Isaac T. Martin, elected in October, 1861; 
J. C. C. Hoskins, appointed to fill vacancy in 1862; Charles Kent, 
elected in October, 1863; J. E. Rockwood, elected in October, 1865; 
M. Tingley, elected in October, 1867; A. M. Hunt, appointed to fill 
vacancy in 1868; A. M. Hunt, elected in October, 1869; Carrie Bassett, 
elected in October, 1871; A. R. Wright, elected in October, 1873; A. 
B. Wright, re-elected in October, 1875; S. Rogers, elected in October, 



114 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1877; N. E. Palmer, elected in October, 1879; N. E. Palmer, re-elected 
in October, 1881; J. S. Shoup, elected in October, 1883; J. S. Shoup, 
re-elected in October, 1885; N. E. Palmer, re-elected in October, 
1887, and J. S. Shoup, re-elected in October, 1889. 

The following table shows the number of persons of school age, as 
shown at the different enumerations: 

Year. Year. 

1858 248 1875 3,115 

1859 319 1876 3,415 

1860 361 1877 3,735 

1861 375 1878 .3,792 

1862 417 1879 4,033 

1863 466 1880 4,822 

1864 508 1881 5,067 

1865 521 1882 5,999 

1866 545 1883 6,719 

1867 641 1884 7,735 

1868 814 1885 10,642 

1869 1,020 1886 11,307 

1870 1,113 1887 12,201 

1871 1,165 1888 14,227 

1872 1,204 1889... 14,589 

1873 1,270 1890 16,248 

1874 , 2,736 

Teachers' InstUuies. — In October, 1870, we find that an institute 
was held in Sioux City, of which Dr. Hunt, county superintendent, 
was president, Miss Carrie Bassett, secretary, and Maj. Durham, of 
Des Moines, conductor. The names of fifty persons were enrolled, 
but only twenty-nine of these were teachers of the county. Of this 
number but one, Mrs. Boehmler, remains engaged in the work. 

The next institute was held in October, 1871. Dr. Hunt was 
elected president, Mrs. Boehmler secretary, and Prof. Rogers con- 
ductor. The leading spirit in this institute was Prof. Jona. Piper, of 
Chicago. Fifty-two persons in all were enrolled, two of whom, Mrs. 
Boehmler and Miss Nelon, still remain as Sioux City teachers. 

Miss Bassett held an institute in 1872, at which Prof. Jahrnnot 
acted as conductor; the same lady held another institute in 1873, but 
we have been unable to find any record of it. These institutes were 
held for one week only, and were different from the present normal 
institutes, which are now so popular, but were more like a teachers' 
association than an institute. 

In 1874, a law providing for a normal institute in each county was 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 



115 



passed, directing that the state should pay to each county $50 annu- 
ally for this purpose, and that all teachers attending, should pay an 
enrollment fee of $1 each ; these sums, together with the examina- 
tion fee of $1, paid by each applicant for certificate, should consti- 
tute the normal institute fund. 

Following is a table of all the normal institutes held under this 
law in Woodbury county. The attendance, at first small, has gradu- 
ally increased, until now it numbers about 300. 

NORMAL INSTITUTES OF WOODBURY COUNTY. 



Duti-nuil l'lace. 



Length of Term. 



INSTRUCTORS. 



Aug. 25, 1874, 
Sioux City. 

Aug. 30, 1875, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1876, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1877, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1878, 
Correctionville. 

Aug., 1879, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1880, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1881, 
Sioux City. 

Aug., 1882, 

Smithland. 

July, 1883, 
Sioux City. 

July, 1884. 
Sioux City. 

July, 1885, 
Correctionville. 

July, 1886, 
Sioux City. 

July, 1887, 

Sioux City. 

1888, 

Smithland. 

1889, 
Sioux City. 

1890. 



2 Weeks. 
2 Weeks. 



2 Weeks. 
2 Weeks 

2 Weeks. 

3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 
3 Weeks. 

3 Weeks. 



A. R. Wright 
A. R. Wright 

A. R. Wright 

A. R. Wright 
S. Rogers. 

S. Rogers. 

N. E. Palmer. 
N. E. Palmer. 
N. E. Palmer. 
N. E. Palmer. 
J. S. Shoup. 
J. S. Shoup. 
J. S. Shoup. 
J. S. Shoup. 
N. E. Palmer. 
N. E. Palmer. 

J. S. Shoup. 



A. R. Wright, S. Rogers, M. A. 
Abernethy, J. S. Weaver, Miss B. 
M. Nelon, Mrs. A. C. Fay. 

A. R. Wright, S. Rogers, J. S. Wea- 
ver, J. H. Vierth, J. N. Oldham. 

A. Armstrong, J. H. Vierth, M. A. 
Abernethy, Mrs. Armstrong, A. R. 
Wright. 

A. R. Wright, J. S. Shoup, N. E. 
Palmer.A .Armstrong, J. H. Vierth, 
Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Boehmler. 

J. S. Shoup, MissB. M. Nelon, F. E. 
Chapin, J. H. Vierth. N. E. Palmer. 

J. S. Shoup, H. L. Pearsall, Miss 
C. A. Bassett, Mrs. Boehmler, M. 
A. Abernethy, C. P. Bowman. 

N. E. Palmer, J. S. Shoup, C. P. 
Bowman, A. Armstrong,Mrs. Arm- 
strong. 

J. S. Shoup, A. Armstrong, C. P. 
Bowman. 

J. S. Shoup, C. P. Bowman, A. Arm- 
strong, Mrs. Armstrong. 

S. Shoup, A. Armstrong, C. P. 
Bowman, Miss B. M. Nelon. 

J. S. Shoup A. Armstrong, C. P. 
Bowman, Miss B. M. Nelon. 

J. S. Shoup, A. Armstrong, C. P. 
Bowman. 

J. S. Shoup, A. 
Bowman, Mrs. 

J. S. Shoup, A. 
Bowman, Mrs. 

N. E. Palmer, . 
Atkinson. 

J. C. Yocum, J. S. Shoup, — 
Faulk, Mrs. Boehmler. 

J. S. Shoup, J . Breckenridge, W. E 
Atkinson, Mrs. C. E. Williams. 



P. 



Armstrong, C 

Boehmler. 

Armstrong, C. P 

Boehmler. 

. S. Shoup, W. E 



116 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

During the year 1881, a graded course of study was prepared for 
use in normal institutes; this course, slightly changed, is still in use. 
In 1884 a course of study for common schools was prepared and put 
in use. The institute course covers a period of four years. All teach- 
ers who complete this course satisfactorily, after having five years of 
successful experience in the school-room, are granted certificates with- 
out examination. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 
AGEICULTURE. 



Rapid Advancement Made— The Base of Stjccessfttl Farming Found in 
the Elements of Soil — The East in Contrast with the "West — 
Farm Statistics— Assessed Valuation— Stock Raising— The Agri- 
cultural Society. 

AGRICULTURE has in all ages been considered the foundation 
upon which all other interests of the civilized world must rest. 
Its advancement has been the key to all other advancement. Progress 
in it must precede progress in the other branches of human industry, 
for upon it most others dejaend. No one can even question its para- 
mount importance. 

The ambition we all feel for excellence in whatever we undertake, 
is increased when rivalry obtains. The inventor sees a patent; the 
author a copyright; the soldier a promotion, and the farmer a pre- 
mium, as the result of excellence in their various vocations. 

But, first of all, the agriculturist must needs secure suitable lands; 
and the fertility of the soil he possesses, and the nearness to good mar- 
kets, point out the path to his success, while the want of these leads to 
failure. That portion of America where rocks, ridges, stone piles, 
and shallow, barren soil abound can not be classed, at this clay, a good 
farming section. In raany of the eastern and middle states one-half 
the value of the crop harvested must be expended for some sort of 
fertilizer for the production of another crop. But not so in the great 
west, and the broad valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 119 

for here one finds an inexhaustible fertility of virgin soil. The cli- 
max, however, is reached along the latter stream. A section extend- 
ing fifty miles or more, on either side of the Missouri river, is not 
equaled in all the earth for richness and depth of soil. In many 
parts of "Woodbury and Plymouth counties the soil is twelve feet 
deep, and the lowest foot as productive as that above it. 

It can not be wondered at, that so many farmers, coming from the 
broken and rocky surface in New England and Pennsylvania, look 
with astonishment upon the soil found here. The absence of stones, 
the dark richness of the mold, and the mile-long furrows, without a 
single obstruction, make them discontented with the home of their boy- 
hood, and they go back, sell out to those less posted, and come to the 
beautiful prairie wonderland of the west, where in a single decade 
they make for themselves better homes and more profitable farms than 
it was possible for their fathers to make in a whole lifetime. 

The following table of products grown in Woodbury county, in 
1885, shows a condition of things which is indeed remarkable when 
one comes to consider and carefully compare the figures, which tell 
no idle tale, but each means just what it says; this array of facts for a 
county so recently developed, is a record of which it may well be proud: 

Average size of farms (acres) 163 

Acres improved lands 173,604 

Acres in cultivation 114.209 

Acres unimproved lands 102,004 

Farms operated by owners 1,313 

Farms rented (crop rent) 242 

Acres of Irish potatoes 928 

Bushels Irish potatoes 90,648 

Acres of corn raised 74,189 

Bushels of corn raised ,. 2,714,690 

Acres of wheat raised 17,364 

Bushels of wheat harvested 243,096 

Acres of oats raised 11,488 

Bushels of oats harvested 348,244 

Acres of planted timber 2,172 

Acres of natural timber 6,155 

Bushels of flax seed harvested 33,596 

The acreage of Indian corn alone, planted in 1885, covered one- 
eighth of the entire county, and had the hundreds of cornfields been 
thrown together in one tract, they would have measured six miles wide 
by eighteen miles long. Think of it! — 74,000 acres of corn — three 



120 HISTORY OF WOODBUItY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

full congressional townships and a little more! You who came from 
New England and Pennsylvania — from the rock-bound coast, and the 
hills and dales of the " Keystone State" — and you from the stump 
country of Ohio, where years and generations of men were required to 
subdue the forest lands — indeed did wisely, did well, when you came 
to Woodbury county, where the plow point never strikes a stone, or a 
stump puller is never seen ! 

Property here is assessed at about one-third of its actual value, 
and the following table, made up on this basis, shows the assessed 
valuation of Woodbury county in 1890: 

Amount. Assessed at. 

Acres of land 506,805 33,607,753 

Number of horses 16,361 416,491 

Number of cattle 40,566 262,480 

Number of sheep 2,318 2,318 

Total assessed value $4,289,042 

Stock-raising. — Early in the history of this county, farmers nearly 
all engaged in grain growing, making wheat the leader, but as Ameri- 
can wheat lowered in price, and facilities increased for successful stock- 
raising, the better class of farmers went into stock-growing and feed- 
ing, and this industry is Woodbury county's real farm wealth to-day. 
In fact, a revolution in this respect has swept all over Iowa since the 
Civil war, and to-day Iowa, in many respects, ranks second. to no com- 
monwealth in the happy union of states, as a producer of live stock. 
All parts of the state are well calculated for the growth of stock, but 
especially is this true in western Iowa, where pure water, cheap land 
and a luxuriant growth of both wild and cultivated grass abounds. 
Other lands and other climes can produce wheat cheaper than Iowa, 
but none can equal or compete successfully with her on corn and 
stock. 

Agricultural Society. — Any effort made by several persons in the 
same direction, is always more effective if organized, so that such per- 
sons may all act together. By this means energy, which might other- 
wise be wasted in foolish competition, is exerted for the common 
benefit. Organized effort is as necessary where the object is the 
furtherance of agriculture, as in anything else. For this purpose 
societies are instituted, whose object is to stimulate the efforts of all 
the farmers within their districts, by holding out the inducements that 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 



121 



the one who is successful shall receive a premium to which others 
shall contribute. Such an organization was the Woodbury County 
Agricultural Society, formed November 7, 1870, by William B. Tred- 
way, E. W. Cole, Henry Ford, John Currier, William B. Smith, C. 
E. Hedges, Luther Woodford and S. W. Haviland. 

The society was incorporated under the laws of Iowa, and by the 
terms of the charter was to continue for twenty years. The amount 
of stock was fixed at $10,000, of which $5,000 was soon taken, each 
share being $25. It purchased twenty-seven acres of land from D. 
Hartnett and Patrick Gossen on section twenty — up Perry creek, a short 
distance from the center of Sioux City, and for this it paid $2,800. 
This plat was fenced and improved, a race track provided, and the first 
annual exhibition was held in September, 1870. The first officers of 
the society were Pi. W. Cole, president; L. B. Atwood, vice-presi- 
dent; C. E. Hedges, treasurer; C. L. Wright, secretary; John Currier, 
W. B. Tredway and C. J. Holman, directors. The society stood fox- 
several years, but finally, through a united interest and effort, dis- 
banded, and to-day Woodbury county has no agricultural society or 
annual fair. 

An informal county fair was held in 1858, with O. Foote, as presi- 
dent, William Bigelow as secretary, and S. P. Yeomans as treasurer. 
While the exhibit was not large, much merriment was had. 



, f| ^r^C^^^ r 




"^^ip^^ 



122 HISTOKY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER IX. 
EAILEOADS OF THE COUNTY. 

The First Railway to Sioux City in 1868— The Land Grants— The Illi- 
nois Central Line— The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 
Road— The Milwaukee System— The Northwestern System— Con- 
nection with the Union Pacific— Sioux City & Northern— " Pacific 
Short Line"— Lines now Projected. 

SIOUX CITY was platted before Iowa had a mile of railroad within 
her fair domain. Railroading was in its infancy then — espe- 
cially in the western states. But the very early settlers commenced 
planning for the great civilizer — the iron highway, equipped with the 
steaming monster — and to-day Sioux City is one of the leading railway 
centers of Iowa. Part of this has come about by reason of her geo- 
graphical location, and partly through the enterprise and tact of her 
business men, who have ever been on the alert regarding railroad 
matters. 

A history, in brief, of the great government land grants by con- 
gress in May, 1856, will be found in the beginning of the railroad 
chapter of the Plymouth county portion of this volume, making it 
unnecessary to more than refer to it in this connection. 

Sioux City & Pacific (C. & N. W.). — The first road to enter 
Woodbury county and Sioux City, was the Sioux City & Pacific line, 
which was constructed by means of a munificent grant of land. It 
was completed from Missouri Valley, the point of juncture with the 
Chicago & Northwestern system, in April, 1868, at which time Sioux 
City entered upon a new era, and has ever since made wondrous strides 
in the matter of railway building as well as general commercial pros- 
perity. The road above mentioned is now operated by, and in con- 
junction with, the Chicago & Northwestern system. The stations on 
this road, within Woodbury county, are Sergeant's Bluff, Salix and 
Sloan. 

This line was originally intended to run westwardly from Sioux 
City, but a change was made in the charter, and the road was built to 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 123 

Missouri Valley, and thence by the way of Blair, Neb., to connect 
with the Union Pacific at Fremont. While it would have been far 
better for Sioux City to have insisted upon the line taking its original 
survey to the southwest, and bided its time for an eastern outlet, yet 
no more welcome road ever entered Woodbury county. The line be-- 
tween Sioux City and Missouri Valley is seventy-five miles long, and 
the distance from Missouri Valley to Fremont, via Blair bridge, is 
thirty-seven miles. Several years later the road, under the name of 
the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley, was extended up the Elk- 
horn valley to West Point, and a year or so later on to Wisner, where 
it remained until 1879. By 1886 it had been extended 500 miles 
westward, to the vicinity of the Black Hills. 

AVoodbury county, but not Sioux City, was benefited by the con- 
struction of the Kingsley branch of the Northwestern system, built 
southwest from Kingsley, in Plymouth county, to Moville, in 1887. 
At present there remains a gap of twenty-four miles between Sioux 
City and Moville, the object, upon the part of the company, being 
to gain all the long haul freight east, instead of the short haul to 
Sioux City ; yet the road is of benefit to the eastern part of the county. 
The Illinois Central. — The second railway into the county was the 
Iowa Falls & Sioux City (now the Illinois Central) road, which was 
built from both termini and completed in July, 1870. This gave all 
the great western Iowa country a fine outlet for Chicago and the sea- 
board, and also provided an ample supply of coal from the Des Moines 
river coal fields near Ft. Dodge. This road was built by a land 
grant, calling for ten sections of land to the mile of road, without any 
direct taxation expense upon the people. Along this line much 
of the east-bound freight, as well as the vast amounts of lumber, 
fuel and builders' material, which went toward building up this county, 
was transported to and from the east. The line starts from Sioux 
City and runs northeast into and through Plymouth county, and its 
track is used from Sioux City to Le Mars by the Omaha line. 

In 1887 the Illinois Central constructed a branch feeder, called the 
Onawa & Sioux Falls line, running north and south from Cherokee. 
This line passes through the extreme east end of Woodbury county, 
with stations at Correctionville, Smithland, Oto and Annetta. 

The Sioux City & St. Paul. — This was the next road constructed 
into the county, and is now generally known as the Chicago, St. Paul, 



124 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Minneapolis & Omaha line, as it is operated by them, and is really a 
part of the great Chicago & Northwestern system. It runs from 
Omaha to St. Paul, and from that point to Chicago. It is a royal 
route over which to travel. It was built by aid of a land grant of 
ten sections of wild land to the mile of road constructed, and was com- 
pleted to Sioux City in the summer of 1872. This gave Sioux City an 
outlet to the great lake region of the north, via St. Paul and Duluth; 
also connection with the Northern Pacific railroad and the Red river 
section of Minnesota and Dakota. From Sioux City this line uses the 
road-bed of the Illinois Central as far as Le Mars. The chief advantage 
given by this road, was the item of cheaper lumber and a more diversi- 
fied passenger outlet from western Iowa. It also gave direct con- 
nection with the Omaha system and the southwestern system of rail- 
way, which were built at about that time, making a rail thoroughfare 
from Lake Superior, at Duluth, to Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico 
in Texas. 

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. — One of the land grants of 
congress, in 1856, was the "McGregor & Sioux City " grant of ten 
sections to the mile, terminating at a point near Sanborn, O'Brien 
county. Had it not been for the Civil war coming on, with subse- 
quent financial stagnation, this road would have been constructed 
long years before it was. 

After some changes in ownership, on account of the old company 
failing to construct the road within the limits of the land grant con- 
tract, it finally became the property of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul company, which corporation now operates it. While the main 
line of the road runs west from Sheldon, via Canton and Rock Rapids, 
a branch was built south to Elk Point, Dak., where it intersects the 
old Dakota Southern road, which had been built, by the management 
of Sioux City men, from their city to Yankton. The first spike was 
driven on the last-named road August 12, 1872, and the track was 
completed to Yankton the following January. Chicago parties obtained 
a charter for the Sioux City & Pembina railway, and it was on this 
charter that the Dakota Southern was finally built to the Sioux bridge. 
The road secured the tax voted to the Pembina road by Sioux City 
township, and also $200,000 bonds from Yankton county, Dak., and 
a small sum from Elk Point. 

In 1875 the reorganized Sioux City & Pembina company began 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 125 

building at Davis Junction, and that year completed sixteen miles of 
the line, as far as Portlandville, Plymouth county, Iowa. This branch 
was leased to the Dakota Southern. After resting in Portlandville 
three years, work was resumed, and the road was completed to Beloit 
on the last day of 1878. The next year work was pushed on, and the 
road completed to Sioux Falls. In the early summer of 1879, the 
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system became a contestant for the 
possession of the Dakota Southern property. John I. Blair, who had 
become largely interested, sought to control it in the interests of the 
Northwestern system. This company had succeeded to the interests 
of the old McGregor & Sioux City, which had failed at Algona, Iowa. 
The Milwaukee, gaining an extension of the land grant, from the 
state, pushed the line into Sioux county in 1878, and the following 
year crossed the track of the Pembina road at Canton, and the same 
fall completed the road to Mitchell, S. Dak. As it now stands, the 
Milwaukee system embraces what was the Dakota Southern and the 
Pembina route. Trains run from Sioux City northwest to Elk Point, 
Dak., where a junction is made, one line going to Yankton, while an- 
other runs northeast through the corner of Plymouth county, with 
Akron and Westfield as stations, thence on north, finally intersecting 
the main line running from Mitchell, S. Dak., to McGregor, and so on 
into Chicago. 

In 1886 the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road (stimulated by 
the Sioux City & Des Moines company, then formed to connect the 
state capital with Sioux City), began to construct a road from Sioux 
City to a small town on its Council Bluffs line, known as Manilla, a 
distance of seventy-eight miles. This link of connection was com- 
pleted early in 1887, making thus for the Milwaukee, a short line to 
Chicago. The Milwaukee has ever been friendly toward Sioux City, 
which they realize is the gateway city of the Missouri river. 

The Union Pacific. — It was originally designed by Gen. Jones, of 
Iowa, then in congress (1856), that the great trans-continental rail- 
way, then talked of, should cross the Missouri river at or near Sioux 
City, but subsequent legislation marked its course via Omaha. But 
after all these years, the Union Pacific has been compelled (in 1889) 
to run a branch into Sioux City, and now leases the track for such 
purpose from Sioux City to Norfolk, Neb., of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
Minneapolis & Omaha line. So it is to-day, that Sioux City has a di- 
rect outlet over the Union Pacific system. 



126 HISTOBY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The Pacific Short Line. — By far the most important new Sioux 
City connection, and indeed the most important railway enterprise in 
the United States to-day, is the so-called " Pacific Short Line," occu- 
pying a route from Sioux City to Ogden, Utah. This route lies far 
north of the Union Pacific, and occupies the most convenient passage 
that exists through the Rocky mountains; it is 120 miles shorter than 
any road between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and can be built 
for a fraction of what the Union Pacific cost. 

The road is now in course of construction, and a magnificent 
wagon and railroad bridge is now being built from the very heart of 
Sioux City, across the waters of the Missouri river, to the Nebraska 
side, which will be second to none of the numerous bridges spanning 
this mighty American river. It is designed to have this entire route 
completed in 1891; 100 miles from Sioux City, southwest, are 
already in operation, and large forces of men are at work all 
along the line to Ogden. 

Sioux City and Northern. — This company is purely a Sioux City 
enterprise. It was organized, in 1886, to build a road that would con- 
nect with the upper lake and water route to the seaboard. The line 
was located from Sioux City to a point near Palisades, Dak., ninety- 
six miles north of starting point, and at what is now known as 
Garretson, at which place it connects with the Manitoba system, now 
styled the "Great Northern Railway." The Sioux City & Northern 
leaves Sioux City via, the Floyd valley, following up the line parallel 
with that of the Illinois Central as far northeast as Merrill, Plymouth 
county, at which point it bears to the north. A tax was voted in aid of 
the line, but never collected, as the company deemed it best to purchase 
the right-of-way, and build the line unaided. Its final construction in 
1889, was a marvel of railway building. On Jiily 1, 1889, it was 
merely a " paper road," and January 1, 1890, six months later, 
it was a well-built, finely-constructed road, nearly 100 miles long. 
All of its officers and stockholders are residents of Sioux City, 
and every dollar expended was their money. Its connection with the 
Manitoba system, a branch of which runs from Wilmar, Minn., 
to Sioux Falls, S. Dak., gives a northern outlet to the Red river 
valley country; also via St. Paul to the waters of Lake Superior. The 
building of this line has given Sioux City an opportunity of getting 
a better freight rate than was heretofore possible anywhere along the 




■/-3/t 



P3/C-MUT 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 129 

western slope. Sioux City now dictates rates to Liverpool, England, 
and is truly the gateway of the west. The officers, January 1, 1890, 
were T. P. Gere, president; John Pierce, vice-president; F. C. Hills,, 
secretary and treasurer; C. L. Wright, solicitor; Dr. J. N. Warren, 
surgeon; A. K. Shurtleff, chief engineer; J. G. Butterfield, master 
mechanic; James V. Mahoney, traffic manager; F. A. Seaman, claim 
agent. 

Among the lines now projected (and in course of construction) 
from Sioux City is the Sioux City & Northwestern, designed to run 
from Sioux City to the Black Hills, thereby entering the heart of the 
greatest mineral and stock-growing belt of the country. 

In conclusion, it may be stated that Sioux City is indebted to twc-> 
prime causes that have made her one of the most valuable of all rail- 
road centers in Iowa. First the place is by nature located well ; it is 
the only point in Iowa where the Missouri bluffs come right to the 
water's edge, and singularly enough, too, at the very angle of the- 
great south bend of a river system which has no equal on the conti- 
nent. At an early day the transportation facilities played an impor- 
tant part in building up Sioux City, bringing as it did its scores of 
heavily laden steamers from St. Louis, freighted with merchandise, 
which never broke bulk from Boston to Fort Benton. The effective^ 
work of Gen. Jones, of Dubuque, in congress, aided by Gen. Dodge 
and others, brought about the land grant act, which was the corner- 
stone and base of all main line roads across Iowa. 

The other prime cause for Sioux City being the railway center 
she is to-day, is the fact that her pioneer, and indeed present citizen- 
ship has been made up of thoroughly wide-awake business men who- 
from the first planned to build a great city at this point. One of' 
these men, whose name should never be forgotten as long as the place 
has a name among the great commercial marts of America, is one who 
stands out pre-eminently above all others. Deceased though he is, he 
still lives in the true spirit of business and prosperity of the city, and 
all western Iowa as well. We refer to Hon. A. W. Hubbard, who 
was judge, and for several terms represented this section of Iowa in 
the United States congress. Improving his opportunity, he was- 
largely instrumental in procuring the legislation which gave a grant 
of land to the McGregor & Western company, and another from Sioux 
City to the Minnesota line, making the last named city the objective 



130 



HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



point of both lines. He had Sioux City named, in the bill in congress, 
as the starting point for the northern line of the Union Pacific road, 
which finally took another course and went to the Missouri valley. 
In order to hasten on the railroad era, the people of this county voted 
the swamp land fund to bring about the desired end. The spirit of 
union has always prevailed here, and the vote on that question stood 
273 for and only one vote against it. Indeed, much of Sioux City's 
success is due to the fact that her people have always worked as a 
unit, and in no instance has this been more forcibly manifested than 
in the securing of her many railroads. 

The mileage of railroads in Woodbury county in 1890, was as fol- 
lows: Chicago & Northwestern company, forty-seven miles-; Illinois 
Central company, thirty-one miles; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha company, thirty-one miles; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
company, six miles; Sioux City & Northern company, six miles; total 
mileage, 121. 

Projected Railroads. — Sioux City is the objective point of the 
following proposed roads: The Winona & Southwestern; Sioux City & 
Northeastern; the Duluth, Red Wing & Southwestern; the "Soo" 
line; the St. Louis, Quincy & Sioux City, Missouri Pacific extension 
from Papillion, Neb. ; the Sioux City & Northwestern — Black Hills 
road; also a link connecting Sioux City with the Kock Island system. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 131 



CHAPTEE X. 

BENCH AND BAB. 

Their Saxon Origin— First Term of Court in "Woodbury County— The 
Judiciary — Presentation to the Hon. C. H. Lewis— Early Members 
of the Bar and Their Struggles — Land-Grant and Other Liti- 
gation. 

THE judicial records of Woodbury county verify the claim that 
the Anglo-Saxon race carries its institutions wherever it locates. 
Hard by the relics of barbarism, and while yet the moccasin track 
was fresh upon the trails of the red man, tribunals of justice were 
opened, and men, who for a quarter of a century had 'relied upon the 
revolver and knife for the assertion of their rights or redress of their 
wrongs, gladly submitted their affairs to the arbitrament of law. 

The early records of Woodbury county are filled with the names 
of those who formed the connecting link between civilization and bar- 
barism. Tears ago, almost the entire race who furnish so much busi- 
ness for the courts, followed the red man as he disappeared before the 
march of civilization, and the familiar names of August Traversier, 
Henry Goulet, Erancis Bercia, Amable Gallenaux, and a host of other 
names which are as familiar as household words to the diligent reader 
of the early records of the county, have entirely disappeared from the 
later records, and are heard of no more in the community. 

Until 1857 Woodbury county was a part of the Seventh judicial 
district. The first term of the district court was held September 
3, 1855, the Hon. Samuel H. Biddle, judge of the Seventh judicial 
district, presiding. J. K. Myers was clerk, and Erank Chappel was 
sheriff. Charges of willful neglect of duty as clerk were preferred 
at this term against Theophile Bruguier, but no action appears to have 
been taken upon the charges. 

The case of the State of Iowa vs. William B. Thompson appears 
upon the docket, charging him with the crime of manslaughter. The 
record recites that he appeared in person, and demanded a fair and 



132 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

speedy trial. From the character of this frontier man, we have no 
doubt the suggestion had weight with the court. He was one of the 
first settlers of the county, and proprietor of the town of Floyd's Bluff, 
the first county seat of Wahkaw, now Woodbury county. He was a man 
of giant stature, who had long been engaged in traffic with the Indians, 
and many stories of his desperate encounters and slain enemies were 
current in the community, and if armed, as he frequently was, with 
knife, revolver and rifle, when he stalked into the court-room in search 
of justice, we can very readily see that the court might be inclined 
to grant the request. To one acquainted with the circumstances and 
the man, much can be read between the lines of the journal entry. 
The trial commenced, but the names of the witnesses not appearing 
upon the back of the indictment, the state entered a nolle, the defend- 
ant giving bond to appear before the next grand jury. 

A. C. Ford, of Council Bluffs, and H. C. Bacon, of Sioux City, 
were admitted to practice in the district court upon the presentation of 
certificates showing they had been admitted to practice in other courts, 
This closed the business of the first term of a court now almost con- 
stantly in session in this county. 

Of the April term of court, which was previously held in a log 
building on the corner of Pierce and Third streets, no record was ever 
made. Several blank pages appear where the journal entries should 
be. E. D. Thompson is said to have been clerk, but no evidence of 
his labors appears upon the records. John Currier was appointed 
prosecuting attorney, Frank Chappel sheriff, John Braden and William 
B. Tredway deputies, Judge Riddle presiding. A grand jury was 
empaneled, of which Curtis Lamb was foreman and our distinguished 
townsman, George Weare, clerk. Indictments were returned against 
Elias Shook and AVilliam B. Thompson. Shook, who lived near Cor- 
rectionville, had trouble with a young man who lived alone in a cabin 
near him, about a land claim. A few days after, the young man was 
found dead in his cabin, having been shot and instantly killed. For 
this murder Shook was indicted. Thompson, at a dance near Ser- 
geant's Bluff, at which a large number of French, half-breeds and 
Indians participated, and fighting whisky flowed freely, got into a 
quarrel with a white man and in the general row that followed, beat 
him with a gun, inflicting wounds from which he soon after died. 
For this crime he was indicted at the first term of court for man- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 133 

slaughter, at this term for murder. Both Thompson and Shook were 
desperate characters. The county had no jail, and, while nominally 
in the hands of the sheriff, they were about at large, no one caring to 
enter a protest. A change of venue was taken to Harrison county. 
At the appointed time defendants appeared for trial, but neither 
were convicted, but why not, is one of the mysteries of those far-off 
days. It was rumored that the officers of the state were not very 
zealous in the prosecution, influenced, perhaps, by defendants' sug- 
gestion of what might happen in case of a conviction. 

The record of this term discloses the fact that the traffic in whisky 
was a fruitful source of grief, even then, and true bills were found 
against several citizens for selling the forbidden article. In the un- 
recorded records of this term, lay the foundation for the title of " high 
deputy sheriff" of Woodbury county, by which our townsman, Will- 
iam B. Tredway, was known for many years. 

The fall term of court commenced on November 24, 1856, Judge 
Biddle presiding. A grand jury was empaneled, of which Thomas 
J. Stone was foreman. 

The first case upon the civil docket is that of Henry Goulet vs. 
August Traversier. The first judgment in a contested case was ren- 
dered in the suit of Joseph Robideau vs. Francis Lachartre and Francis 
Bercia for $378.64 and costs. And the first jury trial was in the case 
of Marshall Townsley vs. August Traversier. The first recorded 
evidence of domestic infelicity is the case of Mary F. Cloud vs. John 
M. Cloud. The title is suggestive of the weakness of the race, and 
that the silken bonds of matrimony had become galling chains from 
which the gentle Mary sought and obtained release. 

The result of the labors of the grand jury are found in the State 
of Iowa vs. Frank Gardner and four other indictments, three of which 
were for selling intoxicating liquors contrary to law. The ardent 
believer in the great inalienable right to traffic in the forbidden article, 
looking backward, does not see the pathway strewn with roses. The 
traffic was surrounded with perils even in those good old days. 

The following are Mr. Joy's own words: 

The nest term provided by law was not held. I remember well the 
keen disappointment felt by the bar at the failure to hold this term of 
court. To several of us it was to have been our first experience in the 
courts of the state. Anxious days and nights had been spent in ex- 



134 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ploring the mysteries of the code practice and preparing cases for 
trial. But when the judge arrived, instead of opening court, he 
repaired to the saloon with A. C. Ford, of Council Bluffs, an attorney 
who practiced extensively at the bars outside of the court-room, and 
there, with congenial spirits, spent the time allotted for the term, in 
giving the infant city a crimson tint. To those of us accustomed to 
the dignified and formal proceedings of a New England court, where 
the judge was attended in his walks to and from his chambers to the 
bench, by a liveried and armed attendant, such proceedings sadly 
marred one of the idols of our early days, and taught us that even 
those in high positions are of the earth, earthy. 

In 1857 this portion of Iowa was very sparsely settled. Most of 
the unorganized counties in northwestern Iowa were attached to 
Woodbury for revenue and judicial purposes, and whatever law 
business there was in this vast region of country was done at Sioux 
City. It was also the outfitting post for all the trains leaving for the 
forts and agencies on the upper Missouri, and quite prominent in the 
early days as a steamboat landing, and afterward as headquarters for 
the boat lines running on the upper Missouri. It was also the point at 
which the returning miners from the Black Hills country first reached 
civilization. They came down the Missouri in large, open boats, con- 
structed upon the Yellowstone, carrying from twenty to fifty men, who 
brought back to civilization many of the reckless and unrestrained 
customs of the mining camp. This all contributed largely to the volume 
and variety of the business transacted in the courts, and gave to the 
attorneys a wider range of business than is usual in a frontier town. 
Then, too, the United States district court for the northern district 
of Nebraska territory, was held at Dakota City for several years. 
Many of the counties in northeastern Nebraska were attached to 
Dakota county for judicial purposes. The most of the business for 
northeastern Nebraska was done at Dakota City. Here the bar of 
Woodbury county for many years brought most of the important cases. 
At both Sioux City and Dakota City were United States land offices, at 
which, from time to time, almost every kind of land contests were tried. 

During the war, Sioux City was military headquarters for the Army 
of the Northwest, operating against the Indians. And while the troops 
were in camp during the winter, the military tribunals furnished many 
interesting cases in which the attorneys of the city took a prominent 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 135 

part. The proceedings before the different tribunals gave variety to 
the practice, and required of the attorneys constant study and exten- 
sive reading, and familiarity with many branches of the law. 

The first term of court held in 1857, was at Dakota City in the fall 
of that year; Hon. E. Wakely, United States district judge for the 
Northern district of Nebraska, presided. A large hotel had been 
built during the spring and summer of that year. The lower portion 
of the building had been finished. The fourth story was all in 
one room. Sticks, shavings and refuse lumber were scattered over 
the floor. At one end of the room, upon a board resting upon two 
nail casks, with a work-bench for a table, sat the presiding judge. 
The attorneys were seated upon planks laid across saw-horses along- 
side of another work-bench, while the grand and trial jurors and 
spectators, who composed a large portion of the male population of 
northern Nebraska, were seated upon planks placed across nail casks, 
and industriously employed the time, while the court was transacting 
business, in manufacturing into every conceivable form the sticks 
and strips of lumber covering the floor. At times it looked as though 
every man in the audience, except the judge on the bench and the 
attorney addressing him, was engaged in whittling. And the jurors 
while listening to the arguments of counsel, fashioned from the 
soft pine lumber, images which had the likeness of nothing in the 
heavens above, or earth below, or in the regions beneath. Primitive 
as were the surroundings, we soon felt we were in the presence of 
one whose patient, dignified bearing, skill in presiding, clearness in 
the statement of his views, and knowledge of the law, made him one 
of the ablest trial judges before whom it has been my fortune to 
practice. 

An incident occurred that shows under what difficulties the judg- 
ments of the court were enforced in those early days. The punish- 
ment inflicted upon some of the offenders, was fine and imprisonment 
in the county jail. The sheriff promptly suggested that the county 
had no jail, and he could not confine the prisoners. " Picket them 
out, then," responded the judge, and the business of the court went 
on. The attorneys soon became convinced that the laws were as 
faithfully administered and justice as nearly attained in the unfin- 
ished and unfurnished garret, as amid the forms, pomp and splendor 
of eastern tribunals. 



136 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In the fall of 1857, M. F. Moore, an attorney of Sioux City, was 
•elected judge of the Twelfth judicial district, which had been formed, 
embracing all northwestern Iowa, and held the first term in the new 
district on December 7, of that year. T. Ellwood Clark was clerk, 
F. M. Hubbell, deputy, and S. A. Ayers, sheriff. 

At this time appeared the two famous cases which aroused the vet- 
erans of the two parties, and arrayed them in support of the respective 
•claimants for the offices. The State of Iowa ex rel. John L. Camp- 
bell vs. John K. Cook, was a contest over the office of county judge. 
John L. Campbell claimed to have been elected to the office. John 
K. Cook was the incumbent, and sought to hold another term. But, 
upon the trial, the court Avent behind the returns of the canvassing 
board, and declared John L. Campbell entitled to the office, into which 
he was duly installed, but was afterward compelled to resign at the 
point of a revolver. The other case, the State of Iowa ex rel. Charles 
E. Hedges vs. Samuel H.. Cassacly, was a contest for the office of 
county treasurer, which was also decided in favor of the claimant, 
Charles E. Hedges. . 

At the February term of court, 1858, our distinguished townsman, 
J. C. C. Hoskins, appears as sheriff; at the April term, George I. 
Tacket; at the December term, William H. Frame, showing that the 
tenure of office was somewhat uncertain, even among men who filled 
the office with credit and ability. 

Judge Moore's term expired December, 1858. The duties of 
judge interfered with his gay and festive ways of life, and he gladly 
put off the ermine which he had worn for a brief term. He was a man 
-of integrity, a graduate of Yale college, and had a fair knowledge of 
elementary law, but knew little of what the courts had held, and did 
mot remain long enough upon the bench to learn much about the 
decisions of other courts. 

At the fall election of 1858, Hon. A. W. Hubbard was elected 
judge, and held his first term of court in August, 1859. J. N. Field 
was clerk, and S. A. Ayers, sheriff. With this term of court began a 
new epoch in the judicial proceedings of northwestern Iowa. Judge 
Hubbard brought to the discharge of his duties, the knowledge and 
experience gained by many years of active practice, and a familiarity 
with the code practice and the decisions of the courts, that was of 
great value in settling the practice under the code of 1851 and 



'V 





WOODBURY COUNTY. 139 

revision of 1860. Rules of court were adopted, and something like 
order took the place of the chaotic proceedings of the earlier terms, 
and the foundations were laid for a legitimate practice. The bar and 
community owe more to Judge Hubbard than they realize, for his 
labors in shaping the practice, expediting the transaction of court 
business, and giving dignity to the tribunal, that compelled respect for 
the court and its decisions. It was fortunate for northwestern Iowa 
that a man of his experience, knowledge of law and ability, was pre- 
vailed upon to take the position, from which he retired, all too soon 
for the good of the district, when elected to congress in the fall of 
1862. His clear and fearless exposition of the law,, his desire that 
justice be done under its forms, his recognition of, and adherence to, 
the cardinal truth that all judicial proceedings should be conducted 
with a view to the attainment of justice, and protection of the rights 
of the citizens, left their impress upon the court and bar of north- 
western Iowa. 

Hon. Isaac Pendleton was Judge Hubbard's successor. He was 
elected in the fall of 1862, and entered upon the discharge of his 
duties with a limited experience in the practice of his profession, and, 
following Judge Hubbard upon the bench, the contrast between age 
and experience and youth and beauty was very great. It was a hard 
place to fill, but the business of the courts was very light. We were 
then in the midst of the excitement and turmoil of the Civil war, 
and here, as elsewhere, amid the clash of arms, the laws were silent. 
For some time but few litigated cases were tried. This gave the judge 
an opportunity for study and preparation for the more arduous 
duties that came with the return of peace. Judge Pendleton had the 
advantage of a collegiate education, was accustomed to mental labor, 
and possessed fine ability. But he never delighted in the technicali- 
ties of the law. He saw clearly the right of a case, and endeavored 
to do justice between litigants. The manner of attaining the end was 
of minor importance. The judge improved and developed, becoming 
more familiar with the practice, until, during the last part of his 
term, the ground of complaint was his habit of never doing to-day 
what could be done to-morrow. On the whole he exceeded the expec- 
tations of his friends upon the bench, but was not as well adapted for 
the discharge of the duties of a judge, as of the advocate. In the 
presentation of questions of fact to a jury, and in the knowledge of 



140 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

what influences and controls men, he had but few superiors. " Here 
Richard was himself again." His term of office expired in January, 
1867, when he returned to the practice of his profession in Sioux City, 
where he had for many years an extensive criminal practice. 

In the fall of 1866, Henry Ford, of Harrison county, who had been 
district attoney, was elected to succeed Judge Pendleton. He held 
his first term of court in April, 1867. F. J. Lambert was clerk and 
John Hagy was sheriff. After his election he removed to Sioux City, 
and held the office for two terms and until 1875. Judge Ford had a 
fine presence, and presided with dignity; had a good legal mind, was 
never very industrious, making it necessary for the attorneys to make 
a full presentation of the authorities upon legal questions involved in 
the case. If these were fully presented, his judgment upon questions 
of law was very accurate. He had many of those traits of character 
which made him warm friends and followers, and had he not become 
demoralized and made reckless by whisky, there was no office in the 
gift of the people of his district to which he might not have attained. 

C. H. Lewis, of Cherokee, who had also been district attorney, was 
elected judge in the fall of 1874, and has now nearly completed his 
sixteenth year of consecutive service upon the bench. During the 
latter part of his term he has lived in Sioux City. The repeated elec- 
tion to the office which he has so well filled, speak more clearly than 
words, of the esteem and regard in which he is held, as a man and 
jurist, by those whom he has so long and faithfully served. 

Judge Lewis commenced the discharge of his official duties just as 
he was entering upon the vigor of manhood, and for sixteen years 
wore the judicial ermine without stain. The proceedings of the 
Woodbury county bar upon the last day of the last term held by him, 
when an elegant gold watch and chain with appropriate inscriptions, 
was presented to him by the bar, were very impressive, and the reso- 
lutions then adopted show the kindly regard and esteem in which he 
was held, by those over whom he had so long presided. Upon that 
occasion, William L. Joy, on behalf of the bar, presenting the watch 
and chain, spoke as follows: 

"The revolving days have brought us to the last hour of the last 
term in the sixteen years that your honor has served this district upon 
the bench, and it is well for the court and bar at this milestone, to 
pause for a moment in the busy cares of the clay, and review the path 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 141 

along which we have traveled so pleasantly, and, we trust, profitably 
together. Many of us remember the day upon which your honor put 
on the judicial ermine, and from that day on we have toiled, each in 
our chosen paths, and from the lessons of the past we may gain some 
consolation for the present and inspiration for the future. We have 
rejoiced as we saw the firm grasp that the years of toil and labor were 
giving your honor upon those great principles that underlie our juris- 
prudence; we have admired the skill and the wisdom that came with 
years and experience in your application of those great principles to 
the affairs of our every-day life. It is not customary — it is rare 
indeed — that so long a period of service is rendered a people, as your 
honor has rendered. Although, at the time you put on the judicial 
ermine, you were in the vigor of manhood, just entering upon its act- 
ive duties, yet I imagine that your most sanguiue expectation, as you 
looked down the future, could have hardly mapped out such a course 
of usefulness as it has been your honor's privilege and lot to confer 
upon this people and upon this bar, though at that time all the valleys 
were lit up with sunshine, and the mountain peaks were radiant with 
hope. 

"The lot that has fallen to you, to have so successfully administered 
the judicial affairs of this district for such a length of time, is cer- 
tainly a great commendation, and but few men attain unto that honor. 
Then, too, your honor, the territory over which you have been called 
to preside was then in its infancy; the embryo cities were springing 
up along the great thoroughfares of travel, but the country was sparsely 
settled, only here and there the smoke curled up from the cabin of the 
early settlers, when you commenced your duties upon the bench. But 
how changed! Your honor has applied the principles that underlie 
our jurisprudence, to the affairs of life in the infancy of this great 
country. It is an honor to have thus had a hand in shaping the juris- 
prudence of this vast region — vast to-day, vaster in the future, the 
home of millions yet to be, that shall refer to the record of your 
life and your work that you have left in the different counties in 
which your honor has presided, and they shall find written there, 
evidence, that in the earlier days, in the infancy of these different 
counties, the laws were faithfully, honestly and fairly administered. 
Tour honor will pardon the suggestion, and I make it for the benefit 
of the younger members of the bar, that by earnest, persevering toil 



142 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

in the God-given paths of industry, your honor has been able to 
achieve that wonderful success that has been yours; it is here, and in 
these paths alone, by these painstaking, careful and earnest labors, 
that men achieve that which is lasting, that which is worthy of attain- 
ing. The monuments that the court and bar leave to posterity, are 
largely the judicial records of the courts in which it is their duty to 
preside or practice. Tour honor, through northwestern Iowa, has left 
a record more enduring than marble or brass. You have recorded in 
the records of these counties, that which shall be read by your chil- 
dren's children; for sixteen years your honor has stood in the fierce 
light that beats around the throne ; your honor has stood where your 
every act, and where all the weaknesses of our common humanity are 
brought out in the strongest light, and yet you may point to that 
record and challenge investigation. Few, few, can lay down the ermine 
unspotted and untarnished after having worn it for the length of time 
that it has been your lot to wear it. And now, in behalf of the bar of 
Woodbury county, we desire to present some slight token of our 
appreciation and regard, and ask that your honor wear it as a slight 
memento of the warm hearts, and the affectionate regard of those 
over whom it has been your duty so long to preside, and we present 
it with the hope on the part of each, that it may mark for you only 
pleasant hours." 

E. H. Hubbard, presenting the following resolutions, said: 
"Ma}' it please the court and gentlemen of the bar: AVe do not 
willingly part with a dear friend with one farewell. We rather linger 
in our parting clasp and say ' farewell and hail,' again and again. And 
so, dear judge, in the^e hours of parting between us, as judge and 
members of the bar, it seems fitting that we should express to you, not 
alone in this personal memento, but in other ways that may endure to 
later generations, the appreciation that we have for an upright and just 
judge. For sixteen years you have sat in this place of honor. Most 
of us here are your children in the law. We have grown up under 
your administration; we have learned not alone to admire, but to love 
you as well, and it is nothing unseemly I think, at this time, but en- 
tirely fitting, that we should ask that there be placed among the records 
of this court, which have been in so large a part made by yourself, 
resolutions that may express our sense of your worth. I beg to offer 
to the members of the bar, resolutions as follows, and later, to move 
their adoption: 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 143 

"Whereas, After sixteen years of faithful service as judge of the district court of 
the Fourth judicial district of Iowa, Hon. C. H. Lewis is about to leave the bench, it is 
fitting that the bar of the court over which he has so long presided, should express to 
him their feelings of regret at his retirement, and of respect for him as man and judge; 
therefore be it 

" Resolved, 1. That the bar of Sioux City and Woodbury county tender to Judge 
Lewis their cordial and affectionate respect, recognizing in him those qualities which 
make a great judge; that unerring sense of justice which seeks for the right under 
whatever cloud of technicality; that promptness which takes from the law the re- 
proach of delay; that benevolent spirit which knows how to temper justice with kind- 
ness; that firmness which acts and fears not; that impartiality which looks wilh equal 
eye upon all men and all causes, measuring them only with the standard of truth. 

" 2. That as a lasting memorial of our regard, and as a fitting testimonial to one 
worthy of honor, we ask that these resolutions be spread upon the records of the dis- 
trict court." 

O. C. Tredway, seconding the resolutions, said: 

"My Brethren: With the single exception of the Hon. S. T. 
Davis, I believe I am now the longest in practice at the Woodbury 
county bar of any of its members, and I may say that my sands of 
professional life are nearly, if not quite, run out, and I have no wish 
on this occasion to utter words except words of candor and of truth. 

" I have, therefore, passed through, in active professional life, 
the whole official life of him whom we have here assembled on this 
occasion to bid farewell to, as an honored official, and yet, at the same 
time, welcome back into the private walks of life, in our midst with 
pride and pleasure. 

" For twenty years Judge Lewis has held within his hand, the 
wand of power in connection with the due administration of the laws 
of our county, delivered to him by the sovereign power of the land — 
the voice of the people — devolving upon him the duty in part, of pub- 
lic prosecutor in behalf of the state, and in part as judicial interpreter 
of the rights between the state and the citizen, and between the citizen 
and the citizen. 

" No higher places of weighty responsibility have been created by 
the sovereign people in the formation of their government. No place, 
more than that of public prosecutor, calls for exact justice in action 
by the representative of the sovereign power of the state. No place 
more than that which he occupies, who is wrapped about by the sacred 
folds of the judicial ermine, calls for purity of heart and wisdom of 
head. 

"In these trying places of power and trust, Judge Lewis has long 



144 RTSTOEY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

been tested, arid now that he is about to resume the place of a private 
citizen, 'no murmur, charging tyranny, comes up from those over whom 
he has presided as public prosecutor, nor is a whisper heard against 
the integrity of his judicial decrees. 

" It is, therefore, eminently fit and proper, in my humble judgment, 
that this gift be bestowed and accepted, and that these resolutions be 
spread upon the records of the court as a lasting monument of the 
high esteem in which an able, pure and upright judge is held by the 
Woodbury county bar." 

J. S. Lawrence, George Argo, L. S. Fawcett, W. G. Clarke, S. M. 
Marsh, of the Woodbury county bar, and H. C. Curtis of the Le Mars 
bar, followed with appropriate and eloquent remarks. 
Judge Lewis in response said: 

" I trust that to-day, as in all the years of the past, I am thank- 
ful for the courtesy and kindness of the members of this bar and the 
officers of this court. Twenty years ago I began the work of district 
attorney in the Fourth judicial district of Iowa, a district then com- 
posed of twenty-two counties, and for two years served in that capac- 
ity. At the expiration of that time, the district was reduced to 
twenty counties, and for the balance of my term, two years, I served 
as district attorney in those twenty counties. After that time, sixteen 
years ago, it then being the 1st of January, 1875, I became the pre- 
siding judge of the Fourth judicial district of Iowa, a district then 
composed of twenty counties. For two years I presided as sole pre- 
siding judge of that district as then constituted; at the expiration of 
that time the district was divided and a new district was organized, 
composed of the nine counties now constituting the district. For a 
portion of the time since 1877, I have been sole presiding judge of 
the district, and later, when relief came, I have been one of the pre- 
siding judges of the district. The position has been to me one of 
pleasure, of duty and of work. Not a few of the members of the 
bar who were in the district then and in practice, are still here in the 
practice of their profession; some have gone to other counties, and 
from them we have good reports; others have gone to the beyond; 
they are away from the kindly words of friends, they are beyond the 
bitterness of enemies. The time has come when our relations as 
members of the bar, as officers of the court and as presiding judge 
must cease. You have seen fit, in this parting hour, to speak kindly 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 145 

words of praise to me and to present tokens of friendship. I accept 
these in the same kindly spirit that they have been presented. For 
them you have my kindly, my appreciative and my cordial thanks. 
You have seen fit to present to me this beautiful watch. I look upon 
its rich and its shining cases; in it are embedded the friendships of 
years, the friendships of the older and the friendships of the younger. 
I think of its springs, of its wheels and of its movements, and then 
I think of that power which moves heart to heart and soul to soul; I 
look into its open face and out of the avenues of years come the 
familiar faces which have so often appeared before me; I listen to its 
musical tick and from all along the memory of years come the voices 
that have been present to explain, to assist in the intricate problems 
of the law which have been before us. 

" And now, gentlemen, as I go from this bench, as I go out of the 
doors of this court-house, as I leave the business of this district to go, 
I know not where, I go feeling that you have faithfully performed 
your duties to your clients; I go with the consciousness and thought 
that in all my years of work upon the bench I have each day and each 
hour sought to do the best I could; that I have never intentionally 
wronged or injured any person; that I have endeavored to keep myself 
free from all of those associations and combinations which in any way 
might effect my judgment on such questions as might come before us, 
and that to some of you in your work I may have been helpful, and to 
those whom you have so faithfully represented, I have been fair. 

" It has been said that words are leaves, that deeds are fruits. 
Words are apples of gold when fitly spoken, and deeds are noble when 
rightly done and when rightly performed. I have endeavored in all 
my judicial career, to be a man and officer of deeds rather than words, 
and as I go now from the bench, I go with the full consciousness that 
I have attempted to faithfully discharge my duty, and this, I trust, 
may ever abide and continue with me. My heart, gentlemen, is full 
of thankfulness to all of you and to each of you. Good-bye." 

The watch which the judge received is one of the best ever 
made by the Elgin National Watch Company. The movement is the 
finest made, and is enclosed in a solid gold Louis XIV. case, with an 
enameled dial, illuminated with diamonds and rubies, filigree gold 
hands and gold figures. On the inside cap is the inscription: "Pre- 
sented Hon. C. H. Lewis, Judge of the Fourth Judicial District, by 



146 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Members of the Sioux City Bar." Attached to the watch is a very 
heavy 14-carat gold chain, and a plain, square, satin-finish gold locket, 
with a large diamond in the center. 

In 1868 the circuit court was established. Hon. Addison 
Oliver, of Monona county, was the first circuit judge, and held 
his first term of court in Woodbury county in February, L869. 
This position he held until the fall of 1874, when he was elected a 
member of congress. Judge Oliver brought to the discharge of his 
duties as judge, a well -cultivated mind, a good knowledge of law, fear- 
lessness in its execution, and an earnest desire to do justice. He had 
but little use in his court for forms and ceremonies which did not 
accomplish this end, and swept away the refuges of lies in language 
sometimes more forcible than polite. 

At one time, when a druggist reported to his court, under the stat- 
ute, the amount of liquor sold during the quarter, an amount assum- 
ing gigantic proportions, the judge inquired if there had been any 
epidemic in the community, and, when assured that it had been a sea- 
son of unusual health, informed the astonished druggist, in language 
more forcible than elegant, that " his court could not be made a part- 
ner in the saloon business." 

"While holding court at Sioux City, an application was made by a 
defendant for a change of venue, in a case pending before him, on the 
ground of the prejudice of the judge, and in support of the motion, 
the affidavits of disreputable hangers-on of one of the dives on Sec- 
ond street, of whom the judge had never before heard, and who, from 
the very circumstances of the case, could know nothing of his knowl- 
edge or feelings in the matter, were read. As the attorney proceeded 
with the reading, it was apparent to the lookers-on, that the judge was 
taking in the magnitude of the falsehood. As soon as the reading 
ceased he ordered the venue changed, remarking that he " should hate 
the d — dest that any one should think he was prejudiced in favor of 
the defendant." At another time suit had been brought in O'Brien 
county, upon county warrants that were a fraud upon the county, and 
for which no consideration had been paid, to which the county was 
making but a feeble defense. Plaintiff's attorney, in proving up his 
case, offered the warrants in evidence, claiming the presumption of 
law to be that they were valid and made a prima facie case. The 
court held, that while such was the general rule in O'Brien county, 




Eng.hjXQMWams »B»^ 



l/^c^M^y 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 149 1 

in furtherance of justice, a different doctrine was established and 
fraud was presumed. Plaintiff failed to obtain a judgment. 

In the fall of 1875 J. R. Zuvier, then of Harrison county, after- 
ward of Sioux City, was elected Judge Oliver's successor, and held the= 
position two terms. He brought to the bench a limited experience 
and knowledge of the law, and such a mental make-up, that at first he 
could not see a lively fight go on before him without taking a hand in 
it. His zeal was often so great that he became a dangerous ally for 
the party whose cause he espoused. The judge had a good mind, and 
a desire to do right; was a hard worker, and gave the litigants the 
best of his judgment in the matter before him. Experience corrected 
many of the errors of his early career, and untiring industry brought 
its reward. The judge was becoming a strong man in his position, 
when disease ^blighted all his further prospects, and drove him from 
the bench and the practice of his profession. 

Geoige W. Wakefield, of Sioux City, succeeded Judge Zuvier upon 
the circuit court bench, and held his first term in June, 1885. Upon 
the abolition of the circuit court, he became one of the district judges 
for the Fourth judicial district, which position he now holds. Judge 
Wakefield entered upon the discharge of his duties in the vigor of 
manhood, with a good knowledge of law, and a habit of patient 
thought and industry, indispensable to one who would attain distinc- 
tion upon the bench. In the faithful discharge of duty, he is growing 
in the estimation of the bar and community. All are justly proud of 
the merited distinction he has attained upon the bench. 

By an act of congress passed in 1882, Sioux City was designated 
as one of the points at which the terms of the district and circuit 
courts of the United States should be held. O. P. Shiras, of Dubuque, 
was appointed district judge, and held his first term of court at Sioux 
City, February 13, 1883. A large amount of important business is 
transacted in this court. Judge Shiras is recognized by the bar as a 
clear-headed judge, an able lawyer and jurist, and already in the front 
rank of the district judges of the land. 

The bar and community have been fortunate in the class of men 
who have presided in the courts of the county. They do not suffer in 
comparison with the bench in other localities. With meager compen- 
sation for the ability and services rendered, they have discharged the 
duties of the positions faithfully and well, and are justly entitled to 



150 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the esteem and regard in which, they have been, and are held, by the 
bar and the community. 

The early bar of Woodbury county was composed largely of young 
men who had received their education and legal training in eastern 
colleges, and came to their work well prepared by the training of the 
schools. The supposition that the extensive land grant made in 1856 
to the state of Iowa, to aid in the construction of a railroad from 
Dubuque to Sioux City, would secure its early completion, induced a 
large number of young men of more than ordinary ability and 
energy, to locate at Sioux City, and commence here the practice of 
their profession. To-day one can hardly realize under what difficul- 
ties they labored. The code practice was in its infancy, and very 
few of its provisions had been passed upon by the courts. The county 
had no court-house, and libraries were very small. Their field of 
labor embraced northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska, and after- 
ward the southern portion of Dakota territory. Between many of 
the county seats where courts were held, there were no public convey- 
ances, no bridges across the streams, and but a dimly marked trail 
guided the legal pilgrims in their journey over more than fifty miles 
which intervened between county seats, without a house or other evi- 
dence of civilization. 

During the winter time, and in seasons of high water, these jour- 
neys, across the wide prairies and swollen streams, were fraught with 
many dangers. The early toilers in the profession, John Currier, O. 
C. Tredway, S. T. Davis, William L. Joy, N. C. Hudson, Isaac Pendle- 
ton, Patrick Pobb and others frequently made these trips. Many of 
the early members of the bar recall nights spent wandering upon the 
bleak prairie, searching amid blinding snow and piercing winds for 
the dim trail; days and nights spent in wet clothing, journeying 
through drenching rains and swollen streams, crossing the almost 
trackless prairies; trips on foot made through mud and water to 
Dakota City and back; crossing the Missouri in skiffs and dug-outs 
amid floating ice and angry waves, when the chances of reaching the 
shoreless land were better than those of making the home port. 
Then, too, for many years the possibility was ever before them in 
their journeys that the, red man might be lurking for them in every 
ravine and clump of trees. This constant exposure to danger made 
them fearless almost to recklessness. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 151 

Whatever the clangers to be overcome, and hardships to be 
endured, the attorneys Avere always present at the terms of court; and 
often without reward and with but little hope of receiving anything 
like an adequate compensation, tried the cases with a care, skill and 
earnestness that entitled them to far greater reward than they ever 
received here. But let us hope that under the benign law of com- 
pensation, somewhere in the great future they may receive an adequate 
reward for their labors and toils. Nowhere were the interests of 
clients more carefully guarded, and their rights protected, than by the 
Sioux City bar. 

Though the bar has largely increased of late years, and many 
worthy and promising men have been added to its numbers, and a 
suitable and convenient court-house with appropriate furnishings and 
extensive libraries have taken the place of the school-house, church 
and hall in which the early courts were held, it is doubtful whether 
cases are tried with more skill or are more clearly and eloquently 
presented to court or jury than in those early days. Excessive zeal 
in the interests of clients often induced attorneys to pass the bound- 
aries of decorum and use very vigorous language with reference to 
opposing counsel and their clients. But in their professional relations 
a high sense of honor and integrity characterized their intercourse. 
In those days the word of an atttorney was as good as his bond, and 
was taken and acted upon without hesitation, by his brother attorneys, 
in matters of the greatest importance. 

Most of the important cases tried in northwestern Iowa and 
northeastern Nebraska, for many years, were conducted in whole or in 
part by Sioux City attorneys, and an extended statement of their labors 
would be almost a recital of what the court records contain. In those 
days the contest frequently commenced in the justice court, and while 
our distinguished citizens, J. C. C. Hoskins and John P. Allison, held 
the justice courts, legal questions were presented and discussed before 
them with all the care bestowed upon their discussion in a court of 
record, and their decisions upon questions of law and fact were 
regarded by the bar as entitled to almost equal authority as those of a 
court of record. Cases were tried before them, the hearing of which 
continued for days, and the ground was fought over inch by inch. 

The county warrant and bond litigation, which grew out of the 
fraudulent issue of vast numbers of bonds and warrants by the coun- 
ties and school districts of northwestern Iowa, furnished many suits in 



152 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

both the state and federal courts, which involved large amounts, and 
deeply interested the inhabitants of the respective counties. The 
holding of the courts, both state and federal, relieved the counties 
from burdens that would have taxed the energies of generations to 
have paid. 

Extensive litigations have grown out of the land grants made to 
the state of Iowa to aid in the construction of the numerous railroads 
which traverse northwestern Iowa, and the swamp-land grants. Sioux 
City attorneys have always taken a conspicuous part in the prepara- 
tion and presentation of the cases in the state and federal courts. 
This class of litigation in its various phases, involved large tracts of 
land, the homes of thousands of the hardy pioneers of northwestern 
Iowa, and deeply interested the citizens of the district. 

Before the railroads drove the steamboats from the upper Missouri, 
the admiralty practice had become an important branch of litigation. 
The first case reported in the Dakota reports is the celebrated case of 
the steamer "Cora," libeled and seized by the government, for selling 
whisky to the Indians upon the reservation. The successful defense 
was conducted by Sioux City attorneys. The noted case of the Mollie 
Dozier, tried in the district court of Woodbury county, was conduct- 
ed by them, in which the supreme court settled adversely to the pro- 
visions of the state law, the question of the jurisdiction of the state 
courts, in the seizure of a boat under process similar to the provisions 
of the admiralty statutes. 

In almost every phase of railroad litigation, from the trial of per- 
sonal injury and other cases for and against the railroads, and in the 
general management of the legal business of the roads, members of 
the Sioux City bar, have held prominent positions. The ordinary 
civil and criminal business of the county, has been conducted mostly 
by the Sioux City bar, with care, skill and ability, and wherever the 
members of the bar have been called upon to act, whether in state, 
or federal courts, they have proven themselves worthy of the trust 
and confidence reposed in them. 

The records of the courts are the monuments of the labor, skill 
and care of the bar. And let us hope that the toilers of the coming 
days will, under more favorable circumstances, build upon the founda- 
tions laid by the toils of the members of the early bar of Sioux City, 
a monument which shall be a worthy memento of the past, the pride 
of the present and an inspiration for the future. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 153 



CHAPTEE XI. 
EAKLY PHYSICIANS. 

Tiie Value of Good Physicians— Progress in the Healing Art— The 
First Doctor in Woodbury County — Dr. John K. Cook, Who is Also 
Founder of Sioux City — Dr. William E. Smith's Recollections of 
Pioneer Physicians — A Terrible Epidemic — Dr. Crockwell— A 
Laughable Incident. 

IT is the general impression that no community can well get 
along without physicians, and this impression is well founded, 
although perhaps a little overestimated. Yet it would be, indeed, 
trying and sorry work for any community to attempt to do entirely 
without the aid of those who have made the work of allaying the suf- 
fering of the afflicted a life-study and life-object. The work of the 
physician, when needed in our homes, is not to be measured in dol- 
lars and cents, and the long years required in preparing themselves 
for the emergencies where life and death are struggling for supremacy, 
are above value. 

As to progress, the medical world has made wonderful strides, and 
in the future will doubtless keep up its onward march. Even to-day, 
medical science has so mastered its intricacies that there are remedies 
for almost every phase of disease ; and if the past rapid progress con- 
tinues a half century longer, will certainly see the science of medi- 
cine advanced to a wonderful stage of excellence. 

The medical profession of Sioux City in the early days, as remem- 
bered by Dr. William E. Smith, was as follows: 

" Dr. John K. Cook, being the founder of Sioux City, was also its 
first physician. He, however, during the years of its early settlement, 
did not regard himself as a medical practitioner, for the reason he had 
no time, and less inclination to attend to it. The good doctor being 
an Englishman, was understood to be a graduate of one of the London 
medical colleges, and had seen a good deal of medical service in some 
of its famous hospitals. He was a man of excellent judgment, and 
very competent to practice, and during the time following the ' hard 



154 HIST0KY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

times' of 1857, when the bottom fell out of real-estate transactions, 
and nearly everything else, he had quite a large practice, and no 
doubt had to do considerable practice from the first year he came to 
Sioux City, 1854. He was a government surveyor, and platted the 
city in 1854-55, upon his return from surveying the northwestern 
portion of Iowa. He died several years since, having spent an event- 
ful career. He was not only first in the medical fraternity here, but 
was also Sioux City's first postmaster. 

"Drs. A. M. Hunt and John J. Saville came to Sioux City early 
in 1856, and were in practice together for a year or two. Dr. Hunt 
being a skillful dentist as well, combined that with his medical prac- 
tice. Both of these gentlemen crossed the plains, by what was known 
as the 'Niobrara route,' a route of their own discovery, to Colorado, 
in 1859, during the famous Pike's Peak excitement. Another doctor 
went with them — S. B. Thompson — who had been in practice at Sioux 
City for a short time. Dr. Saville remained in Colorado, and became, 
during the Civil war, surgeon of the Second Colorado cavalry. He 
afterward resumed the practice of medicine at Sioux City, early in 
1870. He remained until he received the appointment as Indian 
agent of Ked Cloud agency, a responsible position. During his serv- 
ice at the agency and in 1874, he had a nephew, Frank T. Appleton, 
killed by an Indian. Frank was a young man of fine promise, about 
twenty-four years of age, and the son of Hon. A. P. and Mrs. H. T. 
Appleton, both pioneers of Sioux City at the time, and Mrs. Appleton 
still resides here — Mrs. Appleton and Mrs. Leightou Wynn being 
sisters of Dr. Saville. The only excuse the Indian had for this shoot- 
ing, was, that some other white man had offended him, and it gave 
him a hard heart. Dr. Saville is now located at Omaha. 

"Dr. Hunt did not- remain long in Colorado; having left his 
family in Sioux City, he resumed his practice here. During the 
war, he visited Indiana and was commissioned assistant surgeon for a 
regiment from that state. After the war he returned to Sioux City, 
and was active in local politics, and a member of the city council for 
some years. He took deep interest in the public schools, was director 
for many terms and president of the board, and the present 'Hunt 
School ' on Fourth street was named in honor of him. His first wife, 
an estimable lady, was a sister of the late Charles H. Kent, who was 
treasurer of Woodbury county for four terms. He died in 1873. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 155 

" Dr. F. A. Wilnians was an early settler of Sioux City, and 
engaged in the practice of medicine, somewhat irregularly, in the spring 
of 1857. He was called here to amputate the frost-bitten limb of a 
gentleman, who afterward became a prominent judge, Judge Brook- 
ings of Dakota. It was told for truth that the doctor performed the 
amputation of both limbs with a bowie knife and a carpenter's tenon 
saw. The doctor drifted into the army as a surgeon, and never 
returned to Sioux City. 

" Dr. Justus Townsend, a brother of Mrs. John H. Charles, now a 
resident of this city, came here in 1856. He made a pre-emption of 
the tract now known as ' Smith's Villa Addition ' (my present resi- 
dence), and while paying special attention to real estate, at first, he after- 
ward engaged in the practice of medicine. At one time he was largely 
interested in what was considered the flourishing town site of Logan, 
a few miles down the Missouri river, in what was then Nebraska ter- 
ritory. In a few years, however, the town site owners found their lots 
had been transferred, by the ever-changing stream, to the far-off Gulf 
of Mexico, and the place that once knew them knew them no more. 
The doctor was a careful, prudent practitioner. He had one case that 
excited much attention. An old German fell head foremost against a 
buzz-saw in Sanborn & Follett's saw-mill, and had his skull and brain 
sawed almost from top to base, and yet made a good recovery. It was 
even asserted that the old gentleman's mental faculties were somewhat 
increased by the injury, but he never cared to take a dose of buzz-saw 
again. The doctor moved to Yankton, finally, and married a sister of 
Gov. Jayner. He now resides at Springfield, 111. 

" Dr. S. P. Yeomans, the first register of the United States land 
office at Sioux City, was a scholarly man and a prominent politician, 
but seldom or ever practiced medicine here. He was commissioned 
surgeon of the Seventh Iowa cavalry during the Civil war, and of late 
years has been engaged in his profession at Charles City, Iowa. 

" Dr. Frank Wixon, of the school of homoeopathy, came with Dr. 
Cook and pre-empted what is now known as North Sioux City. He 
never followed his profession here, but later on did at Yankton, S. D. 
He died several years since. 

"In the early days we had a famous character known as Dr. Crock- 
well, who practiced medicine in Sergeant's Bluff, who on his card, 
which was a double one, had a real estate card, with President James 



156 HISTOBY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Buchanan and all his cabinet as references, and announced on the 
medical side of the card that he practiced medicine on the ' indipa- 
tional, inspirational and philosophical plan.'' He occasionally used, 
as a substitute for a carriage horse, a short-horn quadruded, which 
he drove single, but his transportation outfit was afterward ruthlessly 
interfered with by some young men who questioned the good taste of 
the doctor's primitive method of transit, in visiting his patients. The 
doctor was a very large man, and came near being killed while being 
initiated into the order of the festive Sons of Malta, a flourishing 
order in those magnificent days of leisure, when it required great 
ingenuity to fill up the time. The doctor finally found his affinity 
and inspiration among the Mormons of Utah. 

"I came to Sioux City in the summer of 1856, and was engaged in 
the practice of medicine until 1868, though absent a good deal of the 
time, and especially during the period of the Civil war. One of the 
striking and startling incidents connected with my practice, was the 
sudden invasion of a disease (about December 15, 1862), which, for 
want of a better name, we called spotted fever, an eruptive fever of 
peculiar character and fatal tendencies, usually ushered in by a severe 
chill of marked congestion, which was so marked a symptom, that in 
other places afterward invaded by the same disease, they termed it 
the " cold plague." In the neglected and severe cases the patient 
rarely survived one, forty-eight hours, and often died in twenty-four 
hours. The cerebro spinal meningitis of the present day is about 
the same disorder. That fatal disease was the only one ever visiting 
Sioux City, other than ordinary complaints, but that epidemic was 
fearful while it lasted. 

"To prove that our pioneer settlers could 'stand much grief I 
will state the case of a Frenchman, named Lafleur, who, either in 
1858 or 1859, got into a row with one of the rough spirits who at that 
day congregated on the frontier, and in consequence was set upon 
with a hatchet, receiving five distinct wounds on the head, each one 
penetrating the skull. In their tumbling around they had got out of 
the house and Lafleur lay prostrate in the woodpile on his back. 
The villain picked up an ax and struck him with it, the whole bit of 
the ax striking him just below the nose, making a very ugly wound. 
In addition to the above injuries he had received numerous other cuts. 
Physicians will appreciate the placid character of my patient, when I 




y ^"iMt, 



&f&. 




WOODBUBY COUNTY. 159 

state that he made an excellent recovery, with the loss of a portion of 
the upper jaw and some teeth; his pulse never went above eighty 
during the whole treatment. 

"My immediate professional successors were Drs. Vanderhule, 
Beggs, Knott, Guyton and Bailey, whose history I cannot now give." 

Dr. Smith is excusable for not elaborating more upon his own pro- 
fessional career, but it should here be added, in justice to the doctor, 
that upon his arrival here, in 1856, he commenced and built up a very 
extended and, we may also say, lucrative practice. He was for many 
years the leading physician in Woodbury county, and had frequent 
calls at points fifty and one hundred miles away. A sketch of the 
doctor, giving more details, will be found in the biographical depart- 
ment of this work. 

Physicians of To-day. — Since Sioux City has become a large and 
rapidly changing city, scores of physicians have come and gone, as 
well as at other points in Woodbury county. The biographical 
department of this work will give much information concerning the 
whereabouts of the medical profession of to-day. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE NEWSPAPEE PEESS. 

Its Great Civilizing Power— The First Newspaper in Woodbury 
County— Sioux City Newspapers from Early Days to 1890— Defunct 
Journals— An Odd Paper — The Correctionville "News" — Smith- 
land " Exponent "— Danbury " Criterion " — Sloan " Star"— Moville 
" Mail "— Oto " Leader" and Merrill " Record." 

THE PEESS, the railroads and telegraphs have been the most 
potent factors in American civilization. No intelligent county 
can be found in this entire nation to-day, where the thud of the local 
press is not heard in the production of a newsy paper, which is read 
with interest around the home fireside of the masses. By the tone of 
a newspaper do we come to know the sentiments, politics, and religion 
of any people. A few party leaders formulate political platforms, 
while the newspaper press sounds the key-note to every rural section, 



160 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

hamlet, town and city, and the election results are molded largely by 
the voice of the press. No power is stronger to build or demolish 
correct principles than the printing press. A pure press is the 
nation's safeguard. 

The First Newspaper in the County. — As early as July 4, 1857, 
the Sioux City "Iowa Eagle" made its appearence in this locality. 
Considering the time in which it was founded, it was a marvel, both 
typographically and editorially. The mechanical work was indeed 
better than half the journals of the present day, and its local columns 
were replete with genuine news paragraphs, concerning the coming 
and going of the few hundred settlers in Woodbury aud Plymouth 
counties. 

Its editor and proprietor, Seth W. Swiggett, came to Sioux City 
via Missouri river, in the spring of 1857, bringing with him the mate- 
rial of this pioneer printing office. He came from Cincinnati, Ohio, 
where he now lives, though a property owner in Sioux City. During 
the three years which the " Eagle " was conducted, Mr. Swiggett 
spared no pains to bring this portion of Iowa into prominence. He 
was a forcible, brilliant writer, and had many original ways of putting 
things. The heading of his paper, which was a seven-column folio all 
home print (this was long prior to patent insides), extended clear 
across the first page, and the sub-heading read " Independent Local 
Journal devoted to the interests of the great northwest, particularly 
of Iowa. It will contain the local news of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska 
and Kansas." 

The subscription price was $2 per year, in advance. A complete 
file of this pioneer journal is now kept at the public library in Sioux 
City, and many points of historic value have been gleaned therefrom 
by the writers of this book. Its first number (printed on a Washing- 
ton hand press) is dated July 4, 1857. The same number contains 
an account of Sioux City's first Fourth of July celebration, which took 
place the first press day of the " Eagle." 

Among the "local paragraphs" the following appeared, and to-day 
they seem odd enough, indeed. 

" Our public school is ably presided over by Miss Wilkins." 

" Regular preaching services by the Presbyterians and Methodists 
at Sioux City each Sabbath." 

" There are twice as many buildings in our young city to-day as 
Cincinnati, Ohio, had in 1802." 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 161 

" We learn a paper is to be established at Sergeant's Bluff— also, 
another at Fort Omaha, Nebraska Ty. Pitch in, there is room for all 
of us!" 

"We now have a tri- (try) weekly mail from the east, and one to 
Fort Dodge weekly." 

"Town lots which sold in Sioux City for forty dollars eighteen 
months ago, sell for twelve hundred dollars to-day. Hurrah for Sioux 
City!" 

"Board has been reduced at the hotel to eight dollars per week." 

"A steamboat went sixty miles up the Big Sioux last week, and 
we think boats can run even a hundred miles up." 

The " Western Independent," the second paper founded in Wood- 
bury county, was established at Sergeant's Bluff in August, 1857, by 
Cummings & Ziebach. It ran seven months, and in 1858 was moved 
to Sioux City, and the name changed to the " Sioux City Register." 

This was the second paper to be established at Sioux City. It 
was a democratic sheet, founded July 22, 1858, by F. M. Ziebach, now 
a government officer at Yankton, S. Dak. In 1859 William Freney 
became associate editor, and in 1860 the " Eagle " was consolidated 
with it. In 1862 Ziebach retired, leaving Mr. Freney sole pro- 
prietor of the " Register," who continued to operate the same until 
1871, when the paper died a lingering death! 

In March, 1860, Pendelton & Swiggett started a republican paper 
called the " Sioux City Times," but after a short and precarious exis- 
tence its publication ceased. 

The " Sioux City Journal " was established as a weekly paper in 
1863, but after a few issues was suspended, owing to the ill health 
of Mr. Stillman, its editor. August 29, 1864, it was revived, under the 
management of J. TV. Baugh, and its publication has been regular 
ever since. After one month Baugh was succeeded by S. T. Davis, 
the register of the United States land office at this place. Mr. 
Davis remained in charge until after the general election of 1864, 
when the plant passed to Mahlon Gore. In 1868 B. L. Northrop 
took an interest in the paper, but soon retired. Gore continued to 
publish the paper until 1869, when he sold to George D. Perkins, its 
present editor. January, 1870, H. A. Perkins bought a half interest, 
and the firm was then Perkins Bros. In April, 1870, they com- 
menced the publication of a daily. H. A. Perkins was out of the 



162 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

paper two years, then came back and was one of the proprietors until 
his death, November 22, 1884. February 20, 1885, a stock company 
was formed, with George D. Perkins president. To-day the "Journal" 
(daily and weekly) stands high among the press of the great north- 
west. In July, 1890, its editor (Perkins) who has so long fought for 
republican principles, was nominated for congressman. 

The "Sioux City Daily and Weekly Times" dates it publication 
from May 25, 1869. It is neutral in politics and was commenced by 
a company of printers from Omaha, with Charles Collins as editor. 
After a time Mr. Collins became sole proprietor, and the daily issue 
was changed from a morning to an evening paper. After three years 
the daily was dropped, and Collins continued the weekly some two 
years longer, then sold to H. L. Warner and Mahlon Gore, who 
changed the name to the "Sioux City Tribune," which name it is still 
published under. Warner & Gore issued the first number of the 
" Tribune," March 24, 1876. In November, Warner retired, being 
succeeded by C. E. Smead, who, after August 10, 1877, conducted it 
alone until December 6, that year, when Albert Watkins purchased 
a half interest and took editorial charge. Watkins & Smead continued 
until May, 1879, when Smead sold to Watkins, who ran it until Janu- 
ary 1, 1880, when J. C. Kelley, of the "Des Moines Leader," bought 
the plant. The daily was started September 15, 1884, as an evening 
paper. Mr. Kelley is still editor and proprietor. He has enlarged 
the journal from six to seven columns, and added a Gross Perfecting 
Press to his machinery. 

The "Daily Times" was started in August, 1881, by Charlie Collins, 
the best known newspaper man in the northwest country. In June, 
1884, J. E. Kathrens bought an interest. Many improvements have 
since been made, including a fine three-story brick office. About 
January 1, 1890, the plant passed into the hands of E. C. Strong, J. 
X. Brands and J. E. Kathrens. 

The "Sioux City Stock Exchange" (daily) made its appearance in 
December, 1887. Its aim is to reflect the business done at the Union 
Stock Yards. S. D. Cook is editor and manager. 

Weekly and Monthly Papers. — In addition to the " Weekly Jour- 
nal" and "Tribune," Sioux City has the following weeklies: 

The "Sioux City Courier," a German democratic sheet, started in 
1870 by Wetter & Danguard. It changed hands frequently, and in 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 163 

1877 was the property of F. Barth, who conducted it until his death, 
June 17, 1886, when it was run under the management of his widow. 

"Sioux City Volksfreund," a German paper, was founded May 7, 
1885, by Prof. C. Alexander, who died April 7, 1886. Oscar A. Hoff- 
mann succeeded to the business, and in October transferred it to a 
company, he being retained as a member and its editor. 

"The Sunday Telegram" began its career November 1, 1884. It 
was started by three young men: E. H. Brown, John P. Hinkel and 
"Walter H. Ludlow. It soon fell to Brown who still conducts it. 

"The Saturday Chronicle," published by W. B. Valentine, is 
devoted to society matters, and was established in the fall of 1888 by 
Valentine & Grady. It is still a live sheet, fulfilling its journalistic 
mission well. 

"The Stylus," circulated free, managed by Mrs. H. E. Hunt, and 
edited by Kittie Hunt, made its first appearance in the summer of 
1889. It is devoted to social, dramatic and personal matters. 

"The Grand Army Becord and National Guardsman" was issued 
July 4, 1889. It is devoted to Grand Army and kindred topics. It 
is owned by a stock company and edited by Dr. N. C. A. Bayhouser. 

" The League of the Cross," a Catholic paper, began publication in 
August, 1889. "W. A. Phelan is its editor. In a short time this 
paper took to itself the " Harp," another similar paper. 

"The Western Farmer and Stockman," an agricultural monthly, was 
founded in 1887. W. S. Preston is editor and the Western Farmer 
Publishing Company, owners. 

" The Industrial Beview" is another monthly publication, devoted to 
the industrial interests of Sioux City, and especially of Leeds. It 
was started in 1890, by the Leeds Publishing Company. 

Defunct Newspapers. — The following papers have been published, 
each a short period: 

The "Sioux City Herald" started in 1887 and ceased after six 
issues; "Daily News," founded by Albert Watkins in 1881, it sus- 
pended in 1882; "Temperance News" was published for seven 
months; the "Presbyterian" (religious), a semi-monthly sheet, was 
edited by Bevs. Knox and Herring; "Mayflower-Pilgrim" was the 
name of a Congregational church organ of Sioux City; the " Vester- 
heimen " was a Norwegian paper established in 1887. A. M. Olmen 
was editor, and the plant finally went to Dakota ; the " Columbia," a Ger- 



164 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

man democratic sheet, established in August, 1889, soon ceased to be; 
the "Cosmopolite" was a monthly journal of sixteen large quarto pages, 
and ceased in December, 1880; the "Industrial Press," a greenback or- 
gan, was started by A. McCready in 1877, but "went to the wall" in 
1888; the "Gazette" was the name of a small sheet started by R. 
Goldie & Son, in 1877; the "Weekly Call," a society sheet, was issued 
by Gray & Billing in 1884. It was sold in 1887 to F. S. Lattimer 
and he sold to E. C. Overman, in whose hands it died; the "Hawk- 
eye," a society sheet like the "Call," came out in March, 1887, and 
died the same year on the hands of E. C. Overman; a novel sheet 
known as the "Child's Paper" Avas published in March, 1866, just 
after the war. The sample copy shown the writer is a curiosity. It 
is a folio paper four inches by eight, published by James & Murray 
Hunt, edited by Nina Hunt. It contains church and Sunday-school 
directory of Sioux City, business cards, riddles and child's stories. 

The "Sloan Star" was founded October 15, 1883, by A. B. Thatcher. 
It was then a four-column quarto, but is at this writing an eight-column 
folio. The subscription price is $1.50 per year. Its political standing 
is independent republican. C. C. Ashby was a partner in 1886-87. 
J. S. McSparran & Co. became proprietors of the plant in September, 
1888. At this time J. S. McSparran is the editor. The "Star" is a 
creditable local sheet, full of " local " as well as general news items. It 
is printed on a Washington hand-press; a paper called the "Independ- 
ent" was published during 1888 at Sloan; the "Sioux Valley News" 
was founded by Chapman & Freeman in 1882. In 1883 Mr. Freeman 
purchased Chapman's interest and has owned the property ever since. 
It is now leased by William B. Mill, who has been connected with the 
paper for seven years. At first this paper was a seven-column folio, 
but was subsequently changed to an eight-column folio. The yearly 
subscription price is $1, having been reduced from $1.50. It is printed 
on a Campbell power-press and presents a neat mechanical appearance, 
and is a live local weekly paper which advocates republican doctrines. 

The " Criterion," published at Danbury, was established by the 
Danbury Publishing Company in 1882, with J. S. Shoup as its editor. 
The same year the company bought the " Danbury News," pub- 
lished by J. L. Kroesen. The paper they then published was the 
" Maple Valley Scoop," which, after four years, the company sold to 
C. P. Bowman, who published it for about one year under the name of 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 165 

the "Danbury Vidette." He then sold the plant to J. H. and Ernest 
Ostrom, who again changed the name to the " Maple Valley Scoop," 
which name Avas changed to the " Criterion " in 1888. The size of 
the paper when first established was a seven-column folio; its present 
size is that of a six-column quarto. In politics the paper is inde- 
pendent republican. The yearly subscription is $1.25; publication 
day is Friday. It is now printed on a Washington hand-press. 

The "Leader" is a live local journal published at the village of 
Oto, by F. A. Cutting. No historical data is accessible in time for pub- 
lication in this chapter. 

The "Farmers' Exponent," is au excellent local paper published 
at Smithland. It was founded November 24, 1889, by Jenness & 
Hills. It was at first a seven-columu folio, but soon enlarged to an 
eight-column. It is independent in politics, ever working for the 
farmers' best interest. It is printed on a Washington hand-press. 
The subscription price is $1.50 per year. Its columns are well filled 
with spicy editorial and local news, while the great issues of the day 
are handled in a most fearless manner. It is one of the brightest 
papers in Woodbury county. 

The Moville " Mail " was established in July, 1887, by O. M. 
Thatcher, who continued its publication until August 1, 1889, when he 
sold the plant to his brother, A. B. Thatcher, who, in partnership with 
the foreman of the office, S. H. Ashby, has conducted it ever since. 
The size was at first a seven-column, changed to a six-column for a few 
months, but finally restored to its original size. Politically it is an 
independent. Its proprietors have always been republicans. The 
subscription price is $1 per annum. The founder of this paper sold 
out in order' to take a position as postal clerk. The "Mail" is an 
enterprising local sheet, and well sustained by the business men, and 
also widely read by the farming community. 



166 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTLES. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
CIVIL AVAR AND INDIAN TKOUBLES. 

Frontier Protection— The Home Guards— Their Numerous Expeditions 
— Trouble on the Little Sioux River — Two Old Citizens Killed 
Near Sioux City— Expedition of the Sioux City Cavalry against 
the Indians— A Flag Presentation by the Ladies. 

AT the breaking out of the Rebellion, Sioux City was an outpost of 
civilization, had no railroads, but a small population, and but 
little wealth. In place of going to the front to battle with the slave- 
holders, her people had their hands full and their energies engaged 
at home, repressing the savage Sioux Indians. For this purpose, 
mainly, was organized 

The Frontier Guards. — The reader may consider himself indebted 
to Dr. William Remsen Smith, a member of the guards, for the facts 
connected with this portion of the chapter. The same was by request 
written up for the Sioux City " Journal " in 1870, from which we draw 
part of our information. 

The Frontier Guards was a home company, organized in the spring 
of 1861, for protection against the Indian raids so common at that 
date. It also had other objects in view, as that date was just before 
Fort Sumter had been fired upon, and the public mind was in a fever- 
ish condition, and none could tell the final outcome. 

The lively apprehensions excited in the minds of citizens, and those 
living adjacent to the Floyd and Little Sioux rivers, from the depreda- 
tions of the Indians, caused people in the vicinity to think of organ- 
izing for home protection. The withdrawal of regular troops from the 
garrisons above Sioux City, along the Missouri river, and the absorb- 
ing character of events transpiring all over the country, showed the 
inhabitants that they must depend upon their own resources. 

This resulted in the organization of the Frontier Guards. Every 
occupation and interest was fully represented, as rumors of outrage 
and depreciation began to multiply, and the general excitement of 
neighbors along the Floyd and Little Sioux rivers increased in conse- 







^?S , 



*#~Z2<? L*/ 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 169" 

quence of their losing, in a single niglit, the accumulation of years, by 
the thieving Indians. These facts coming to the ears of Gov. Kirk- 
wood, who was ever vigilant in the defense of our borders, and whose 
name deserves to be held in high esteem, and will be inseparably 
associated with the proudest achievements of Iowa's noblest sons of every 
field, he suggested that the original name "Home Guards" be changed 
to one more warlike, that of " Frontier Guards," ready to engage in 
service, if necessary, for the protection of frontier points regardless of 
locality. 

At first they were placed under control of Hon. Caleb Baldwin of 
Council Bluffs, acting as governor's aid. He was later on succeeded 
by Hon. A. W. Hubbard of Sioux City. The original commissioned 
officers were William Tripp, captain; William B. Smith, first lieu- 
tenant; A. J. Millard, second lieutenant. It was not long before the 
services of the guards were needed, and they were ordered out to act 
against the Indians with energy and efficiency. Capt. Tripp being 
absent, Lieut. Smith, with fifteen men, started in pursuit of those 
vagrants of the prairies known as Indians. The commissary outfit was 
quite remarkable. The charge of victualing the same was placed in 
the hands of one who had, at some remote period of his life, seen a few 
months' service in the Mexican war. Through some lack of military 
genius he provided more sugar than anything else. Even whisky, 
then looked upon as a legitimate article of diet, was entirely over- 
looked, and such trifling articles as meat, flour, etc., were not once 
thought of by him. 

However, they made a strategetical detour to intercept the enemy. 
But unfortunately, the Indians, in utter disregard and defiance of all 
known military rules, failed to take the proper direction, or, in the lan- 
guage of the squad, the right chute to be intercepted. The command was 
absent three days. On returning to headquarters, Lieut. Smith made 
a stirring speech, complimenting his brave men, but he immediately 
made a ludicrous blunder by ordering his men to " present arms " from 
" order arms," which was evidence to the bystanders that his military 
genius and capacity had not yet comprehended the manual of arms. 

Again came a cry for help from the Little Sioux river, the messengers 
being two of the oldest inhabitants. Capt. Tripp was on duty now, 
and at once started with his command for the purpose of gathering 
some of those untutored children of nature to their eternal rest, chil- 



170 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

dren who failed to make proper discrimination as regards the right of 
property, especially that of good horse flesh. The command marched 
out of Sioux City midst flying banners and music, going as far as 
the Little Sioux where they passed the night, the Indians meantime 
keeping step to the music, but as usual remaining ixnobserved by the 
Guards. However, about midnight, the red-skins who had conven- 
iently observed the billeting of the troops before dark, and sagaciously 
calculated where the greatest amount of horse-flesh could be secured, 
made an audacious attempt to transfer the ownership of the same. 
Fortunately the Guards were vigilant, and the stealthy approach of the 
marauders was discovered. One of the Guards who had been advanta- 
geously posted, filled with the Christian desire of perforating one of 
the aforesaid red-skins, made sundry and divers attempts to fire his 
rifle, but did not discover the cause of his failure until after the battle, 
when ha made the discovery that, through some trifling inadvertence, 
he had failed to place a cap on his gun. Another Guard did fire, and 
brought a return shot from the Indian, which wounded one of the men 
in the side and another in the head. 

A desperate midnight charge then followed, which had the effect of 
driving the Indians out of range of the deadly missiles. Thus ended 
the campaign, and history says no more Indians were ever seen along 
the Little Sioux river. 

Fresh Trouble, Two Old Citizens Killed. — On the very day of 
their departure, July 9, 1861, the Indians, who delight in doing unex- 
pected things, managed to kill two of Sioux City's oldest and most 
highly esteemed citizens. They were about a mile and a half east of 
the town attending to their crops. The Indians stole their horses, to 
gain the possession of which, was no doubt the principal motive for the 
murder of these unsuspecting men. From appearances it seemed they 
were killed about the time they were preparing their dinner, as they 
were found dead not very far apart, one of them shot through the 
lungs and the other through the bowels. The names of the killed 
were Thomas Eoberts and Henry Cordua; both left good-sized families 
to mourn their tragic fate. After the murder, Capt. Tripp and his 
company pursued the Indians fully fifty miles, but no trace could be 
had of them. 

It may here be stated that the two wounded near Correctionville, 
before referred to, were William Roberts (a brother of the man mur- 
dered at Sioux City) and Isaac Pendleton, afterward judge of the 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 171 

Fourth judicial district and the most eloquent advocate in the great 
northwest. 

Toward fall, in 1861, the Guards made a vigorous campaign in 
the direction of Sioux Falls, a hundred miles away, and returned by 
Spirit Lake. This was the place where about forty men, women and 
children were massacred in the spring of 1857, forming one of the 
bloodiest pages of Indian history in Iowa. 

No casualties were reported by the Guards during this 1861 cam- 
paign, except the accidental wounding of John Currier, Esq., one of 
the rank and file, but who was later made a captain under Brig. -Gen. 
John Cook. 

During the summers of 1862 and 1863, the hostile bands of Sioux 
Indians caused serious trouble in northwestern Iowa and southern Min- 
nesota. At Mankato, Blue Earth, Jackson and other points, nearly a 
thousand lives (whites) were sacrificed in battle and massacre. This 
state of affairs kept the settlement along the Little and Big Sioux, 
as well as the entire western Iowa border, in a constant state of anxiety 
and fear, and the people looked to the guards for immediate protection, 
should danger present itself. 

While the Frontier Guards saw no heavy fighting, the mere 
fact of their being ready for action kept the Indians quiet, hence had 
the desired effect, and while not mentioned in the adjutant-general's 
reports, they certainly should have a place in history. The local histo- 
rian gives them this place, which was, no doubt overlooked by state 
authority, in the dark days of the Civil war when all had their hands 
full. 

It may be with some curiosity that the reader of to-day, acquainted 
with the business men, may read a copy of some war bills for goods 
secured at Sioux City for the Guards. The names, style of bill 
heads and prices goods were sold at now seem odd. 

" Lieut. W. E. Smith (for Co. " E ") bought of D. T. Hedges this, 
the 10th day of June, 1861, 8 lbs. of Ground Coffee $2.00." 

L. D. Parmer's bill runs thus: 

1 Bbl. (60 lbs.) Soda Crackers O 124 $7 25 

2 lbs. Jap. Tea @ $1 2 00 

3 Boxes Matches 30 

50 lbs. Brown Sugar @ 12J 6 25 

56 " Clear Side Bacon @ 12+ 7 00 

1 Keg Powder (Best) 20 00 

50 lbs. Bar Lead 6 25 

2. Grain Sacks @ 20 40 

(Allowed June 14, 1861. ) $49 45 



172 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



Another bill presented by the "Pioneer Stove & Tin House" of 
Charles K. Smith, was made on old style blue letter paper, and was as 
follows : 

12 Qt. pails and cover SI 00 

3 Pint cups @10c 30 

10 Tin Plates 1 00 

$2 30 
Following are nearly all the names that appeared upon the pay- 
roll of the Guards, some serving longer and some shorter terms. 
They only put in claims for the actual days served. A member of the 
company would frequently plow corn or cut grass for a week, and then 
be called out to go off on an expedition. Samuel J. Kirkwood, then 
governor of Iowa, in looking over the pay-roll, remarked to Lieut. 
William R. Smith, that it was a strange method, and unlike the "regu- 
lars," who always had full time. Yet he complimented the Guards for 
their honesty in the way of claims. Those serving were: 

William Tripp (Captain). I.R.Sanborn. Peter Emmet. 

William R. Smith (IstLieut.) John Girtzs. Fred Dorss. 

A. J. Millard (2d Lieut.) John Hagy. W. B. Milroy. 

John P. Allison. John W. Hook. John D. Brassfield. 

Wallace Tripp. Henry D. Stall. Henry Beck. 

I. B. Pinkney. William Ervin. A. C. Sheetz. 

G. W. Chamberlain. G. W. Hayss. Jo. Bill. 

John M. Pinkney. John A. Pea. N. W Putnam. 

William H. Pinkney. John Robertson. Thomas Dermison. 

Cornelius McNamaran. John D. Ballard. Jerome White. 

David Kelley. B. Rayner. W. Throckmorton. 

M. York. A. B. Griffin. Joseph Shearer. 

Andrew Lohey. L. H. Desey. Curtis Lamb. 

E. R. Allen. Robert Goldy. Charles Howard. 

James Dormidy. A. L. Miller. E. R. Kirk. 

Eli Avery. Joseph Buchanan. L. B. Atwood. 

August Merichkin. L. D. La Tillier. J. N. Field. 

G. Rustin. M. Comfort. Solon Hubbel. 

John Fitzgibbon. I. Borsch. D. W. Morrison. 

Charles R. Ristin. F. J. Lambert. Patrick Reilly. 

John McElhaney. Christian Dorss. John R. Kerr. 

S. T. Davis. Charles K. Woodford. C. T. Gaugh. 

John M. Lewis. Matthew Gaughran. S. Cassady. 

N. Jarvis. Patrick Gaughran. C. R. Poor. 

C. R. Poor. Henry Snider. William L. Joy. 

N. C. Hudson. Lewis Winter. F. Ziebach. 

T. Herbart. Oliver Allen. Wm. H. Bigelow. 

E. K. Robinson. C. Kelley. John Allen. 

Samuel F. Price. T. J. Hampton. A. Marshall. 

G. W. Pixley. Michael Baierlin. N. Levering. 

John McDonald. L. B. Hungerford. J. S. Swiggett. 

William Geiger. M. C. Householder. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 173 

The Sioux City Cavalry — Expeditions Agaiiist ihe -Indians. — The 
following formed a part of the subject matter of a lecture, given by 
Dr. William R. Smith (a member of the company), at Sioux City, 
several years ago: 

" This company was raised in pursuance of a special order from 
the secretary of war, and was designed for special service on the 
western frontier. From the fall of 1861 to the spring of 1863, they 
operated as an independent military organization, and were variously 
stationed in squads, with a view of affording protection to the then 
scattered settlements on the border. These points were principally 
Cherokee, Spirit Lake, Peterson, in Clay county, and Correctionville- 

" The manner they performed this special service was, perhaps, 
best attested by the fact that not a single murder was committed and 
not an article of any kind stolen by Indians in Iowa, during this inde- 
pendent administration of military affairs. In the terrible excitement 
which pervaded the border during the summer of 1862, when more 
than a thousand persons were massacred in Minnesota, their valuable 
and arduous services secured to the people of Iowa perfect immunity 
from danger. Their services in that perilous and alarming period 
were indeed valuable to the people of northwestern Iowa. And cer- 
tain it is, that no other class of men or military company could have 
been more interested in affording such protection. 

" This company had been recruited from residents all the way 
from Sioux City to Spirit Lake. The major part of the company 
were heads of families. Protection to the frontier to them meant pro- 
tection to their wives and children. Hence the untiring vigilance that 
characterized their career from first to last. 

"In the spring of 1863 they were ordered to rendezvous at 
Sioux City, preparatory to starting on an Indian expedition, then 
organizing under the command of Gen. Sully. They were selected as 
the general's body guard, as a token of his regard for their good 
deportment, complete equipment, good discipline, and because they 
were so well mounted, each member owning the horse he rode. Lest 
this appear a little overdrawn, it will not be amiss to quote the follow- 
ing, as Gen. Sully's opinion of them: ' A better drilled or disciplined 
company than the Sioux City Cavalry can not be found in the regular 
or volunteer service of the United States.' Considering the high 
source of this compliment, it must be accepted as indeed creditable to 
the officers and men composing the company. 



174 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

" They participated in the famous battle of Whitestone Hill, on 
September 3, 1863, on which occasion they distinguished themselves 
by taking 136 prisoners. 

" On their return from the battle to the Missouri river, they were 
met by an order consolidating them with the Seventh Iowa cavalry 
as Company I. 

" On returning to Sioux City, Capt. Millard, commanding the com- 
pany, was assigned, by Gen. Sully, to the command of the military 
headquarters in Sioux City, with a sub-district embracing northwest- 
ern Iowa, and eastern Dakota, a very large area of country which 
they guarded in a manner entirely satisfactory to the citizens thereof, 
until mustered out on November 22, 1864, the expiration of their term 
of enlistment. 

" It would afford us pleasure to give the names of this company but 
we can not do so for want of space. In addition to their soldierly 
qualities, they, to-day, constitute the oldest, and are among the most 
useful and influential citizens of northwestern Iowa. Their tried 
service will be long held in grateful remembrance by the early settlers 
and pioneers of this beautiful northwest." 

Among the private letters in Dr. Smith's possession, the following 
may be quoted as showing that but little over a quarter of a century 
ago, this county was in dispute between the Indians and white men, 
and border trouble prevailed everywhere: 

Headquarters Sioux City Cavalry, August 30, 1862. 
William R. Smith, 

Sir: The report from Spirit Lake is very bad. -Six hundred troops went out from 
Mankato, Minn., to repulse the Indians, and met with a loss of about 300, killed 
and wounded. The remaining inhabitants of the upper country are all leaving and 
coming toward Sioux City. Some are going toward Ft. Dodge. The Little Sioux 
valley is ail deserted. I shall go to Spirit Lake as soon as I hear from there again. I 
would advise the people of Sioux City to retain all their ammunition. Keep at least 
100 rounds for each gun. A guard should be kept out at least two miles from town. 

Lieut. Sawyer came to camp yesterday and states that nine whites had been 
killed within fifteen miles of the lake. Sawyer left last night for the scene of mas- 
sacre, and I shall hear from him in a couple of days. 

P. S. Please tell McDougall to send me a portfolio and writing material; also, one 
overshirt. Yours truly, 

[Signed] A. J. Millard, Com. Sioux City Cav. 

Flag Presentation. — A flag was presented, July 4, 1861, by the 
ladies of Sioux City, to the Sioux City Cavalry company, and Dr. 
William It. Smith, surgeon of the company, offered the following 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 175 

acceptance on behalf of the soldiers. The same is given to show the 
reader the spirit of the people here at that early stage of the Civil war. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens of Sioux City, Iowa: — In behalf 
of the officers and soldiers of the Sioux City Cavalry, allow me to 
thank you. Let me assure you, in their behalf, that they fully appre- 
ciate this precious testimonial of your regard, the offering of a grate- 
ful and patriotic people, in a manner worthy of the glorious deeds 
and glorious memories which it symbolizes. 

" We will treasure it as the proud emblem of constitutional liberty. 
And with the stern resolve of stalwart men and stout hearts, we 
pledge ourselves to present its ample folds untarnished by a single 
stain of dishonor — though assailed by domestic traitors and carped at 
by a foreign and insolent foe, we will still bear it aloft on the sea and 
in the breeze, from headland to highland, from mountain to gulf, 
from ocean to ocean, as the jubilant and inspiring sign of our national 
life, remembering ever that if we permit its folds to droop it will 
be the precursor of national dishonor and death. We, with you, 
appreciate this priceless inheritance from our sires, this symbol of 
garnered hopes and heroic sacrifices. We accept it with the eloquent 
explanation of your speaker, as the warp and woof of our political 
fabric, with no tissue color or symbol to be disregarded and no star to 
be erased, and as symbolizing the avenger of wrong, the protector of 
right, and the highest aspiration of our public hopes. 

"Your speaker has been pleased to allude to our soldierly bearing, 
to our services in the defense of your homes against a remorseless and 
savage foe. AVe can only speak of our own singleness of purpose 
and the fidelity of our intentions. We know the sentiments which 
animate us, and if we have failed to do what was expected of us, it is 
from no lack of purpose to respond to the behests of duty. 

" Fellow-citizens, the meed of praise is ever grateful to a soldier, 
and yours has been unstinted. We shall preserve the recollections of 
this day as a green spot in our memory. The hallowed associations 
which cluster around this flag of glorious memory will be treasured 
in our hearts. And allow me to add, in no spirit of levity, that the 
fair donors who have contributed their part of this precious gift, will 
also find ample place in that swelling and tumultuous repository of a 
soldier's best affections, I mean a soldier's heart. The supreme affec- 
tion of the genuine soldier rests upon his God, his country, his flag, 



176 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

his wife, his little ones, and his sweetheart. For the fervor of his 
soul and in the pride of his manhood, these objects of his affections he 
can never forget. And they will never forget this memento of your 
confidence and esteem. 

"No patriotic soldier can forget a flag, grown old in less than a 
century, by the desecration of traitors, but will rather strike to death 
the traitor. And finally, ladies, do you think it would be in a soldier's 
heart to forget you? The clarion notes of a trumpet might fail to 
arrest his attention, but the sweet, soft voice of woman, urging him on 
to duty — Never! Again, ladies and gentlemen, in behalf of the 
officers and soldiers of the Sioux City Cavalry, permit me to thank 
you for this beautiful gift." 



CHAPTER XIV. 
SIOUX CITY. 



Descriptive— Early History — Location— Growth— Post-office History 
—Municipal — Leeds— Lynn— Morning Side— Riverside— etc. 

SIOUX CITY is 507 miles west from Chicago via the Illinois Cen- 
tral railroad. It is situated in the northwest portion of Wood- 
bury county, and is on the eastern bank of the Missouri river at the 
only point where the bluffs come near the stream on the Iowa side. 
Nowhere does the force of the expression, "God made the country, 
but man made the city," apply so befittingly as in the case of Sioux 
City, which has come to be known far and near as the Corn Palace 
City of the World, owing to the four annual exposition palaces which 
she has had magnificently decorated within and without by none other 
than the staple product of this section of country — Indian corn. 

It has, for its immediate trade — territory directly tributary to it — 
northern Nebraska, South Dakota, northwestern Iowa and south- 
western Minnesota. This section compi - ises within its limits, millions 
of acres of fertile prairie land, including the recently opened Sioux 
reservation of 11,000,000 acres, as yet untouched. In addition to 
her immediate surroundings she is just commencing to draw from the 




'•ygffi&fe-f? 1 '-'' 



CITY HALL AND PUBLIC LIBRARY, SIOUX CITY. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 179 

untold, mineral wealth of the famous Black Hills district, as well as 
from the unsurpassed live-stock and ranch sections of Montana, utiliz- 
ing the latter by the large packing-house industry, which bids fair to 
be a sharp rival of Chicago, Omaha and Kansas City. 

Nine railroads already radiate from this gateway to the west, 
while other equally important lines are at this writing under course 
of construction. 

With the exception of a small bottom-land plateau on which the 
original city plat was made, Sioux City was left by one of Nature's 
freaks with a very uneven, hilly and broken surface. To the person 
who never visited this point prior to the railroad era, 1867, or perhaps 
even as late as 1885, it would indeed be difficult to picture the topog- 
raphy, as viewed by the little band of pioneer settlers who came here 
in 1855-56. They looked out upon hillsides and corresponding val- 
leys, which to-day have been reduced to nearly a dead level, with 
cable and electric street-car lines diverging in almost every direction, 
and which run at low grades over land at one time too steep for a horse 
to travel over. 

One addition to another has been made since the original platting 
of Dr. John K. Cook in 1854, until at this time the incorporation 
takes in nearly all of the township, a narrow strip along the northern 
boundary excepted. 

Sioux City has an assessed valuation of §16,000,000. She has 
thirty miles of water mains and one hundred and sixty fire hydrants. 
There are four daily and thirteen weekly newspapers. A magnifi- 
cent library building, to cost $100,000, is now in course of con- 
struction. Her streets are well paved with over twenty miles of 
block paving. She has twenty-two miles of sewerage and a pumping 
station costing $25,000. Her postal business during the year of 1889 
amounted to $61,000, outside of a money-order business of $500,000. 

The place is noted for her forty church societies and excellent pub- 
lic schools. Being in the center of the great western corn belt, she 
builds her business hopes, and realizes the same, on the vast amount of 
corn, cattle and hogs, together with her pork and beef packing indus- 
try, which is coming to be among the greatest in the land. 

The history of Sioux City dates from May 5, 1855, when Dr. John 
K. Cook, a government surveyor who surveyed northwestern Iowa 
into sections, came with instructions from an association of leading 



180 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

politicians and capitalists of the state, prominent among whom were 
Gen. George W. Jones, of Dubuque, the first representative the terri- 
tory of Iowa had in congress; Augustus C. Dodge, also a United 
States senator from southeastern Iowa; Bernard Henn, congressman 
from Fairfield district; Jesse Williams, of Fairfield; William Mont- 
gomery, of Pennsylvania, and S. P. Yeomans, afterward register of 
the United States land office at Sioux City, to choose for them the 
site of a city, which they believed, in the nature of things, must one 
day become a great commercial metropolis. How well he fulfilled 
their wishes has been demonstrated by the wonderful growth of the 
place. 

Through the influence of powerful friends, the city was made the 
headquarters for all government expeditions against the hostile Sioux 
Indians, and later made the terminus of several of the land-grant rail- 
roads. The United States land office was also established here in 1855. 
Under this patronage, and the tireless activity of the leading men 
in its community, probably, more than its natural advantages, the city 
has grown to its present prosperity and promising future. The popu- 
lation, which numbered but 400 in 1857, and 7,625 in 1880, has 
advanced until the present, 1890, United States census places it in round 
numbers at 40,000. 

This is a greater percentage of increase than that of any other city 
in America in the last decade, with perhaps the single exception of Su- 
perior City, Wis. Owing to its frontier location, Sioux City, which 
took its name from the Sioux river (which has its confluence with the 
Missouri at this point), and originally from the Indian tribe by the 
same name, has been quite replete with historical events. 

It matters not from what direction one enters the city, or from what 
point midst its environments he views the site of the place, the pict- 
ure is at once charming and full of interest. Especially is this true 
where one is acquainted with some of its early history. On the high 
bluff overlooking the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers, just to the west 
of the city, rests the remains of old War Eagle, the celebrated Indian 
chief, whose part in Indian warfare is too well known in history to be 
further referred to in this connection. Beside him rest also his two 
daughters. From the spot where these Indians were buried may be 
seen one grand panoramic landscape view, painted by the hand of nat- 
ure. The winding channel of the Big Sioux traces itself around in 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 181 

all sorts of fantastic shapes through the rich bottom land on either 
side. The long chain of ridges, assuming almost mountain-like pro- 
portions, extend far to the north, between the Big Sioux and Bro- 
ken Kettle creek, in Plymouth county. As far as the eye can reach, 
the great and ever turbulent waters of the mighty Missouri sweep 
down from the northwest and Yellowstone country, and are lost in the 
distance, as the stream flows downward toward the far-off gulf. 

Entering the city from the south, over the " Omaha " line of rail- 
way, one crosses a gigantic iron bridge which spans the Missouri and 
links the two commonwealths, Iowa and Nebraska, together. Just to 
the east of the end of this bridge, on the Iowa side, may be seen Sioux 
City's most beautiful, as well as valuable suburb, Morning Side, from 
the heights of which one obtains a birdseye view of the city proper, 
which so interests him, that, after taking a second look at the massive 
stone residences and the Methodist University (the pride of the 
suburb), he jumps the motor car, and, whirling through the deep cuts, 
crosses the Floyd river, leaves the great packing-houses and stock-yards 
to the left, and is soon within the din and bustle of a genuine and solidly 
built western city. If at night time, it presents a bewildering illumi- 
nation of modern time, lit up by arc electric lights, which stand like 
so many sentinels on guard, through the long watches of the night. 

With the rising of the morning sun, one beholds the incoming and 
outgoing railway trains, some of which speed on up the pretty valley 
of the Floyd river, halting at the busy manufacturing suburb of Leeds, 
where the tall smokestacks of foundry, shop and mill blacken the 
morning air, and cause one to think of a city a century old. 

A ten-minute ride on a cable car brings one to the northern portion 
of the city where man's tact and ingenuity have been taxed in leveling 
the score and more of hills and filling the intervening valleys. This 
is destined to become the principal residence part of the city. The 
present terminus of the cable line is over three miles out, and the 
power-house is situated about midway. This is the only cable line 
in Iowa to-day, and was built by men who have faith in the future 
of Sioux City. 

"Whether one stands at the north end of this line and overlooks the 
Perry creek valley, or retraces his steps to the bank of the Missouri, 
or climbs Prospect Hill, he is impressed with the same feeling — that 
he is in the center of a wonderful farming section. Dakota county, 



182 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Neb., the finest agricultural district in all the west, presents a feast to 
the eye, while the heavily loaded trains of grain and stock, which are 
just crossing the magnificent new, combined wagon and railroad 
bridge, from the Nebraska shore, convinces one that the same inex- 
haustible resource is found along the entire pathway of the " Short 
Line," running from Sioux City to Ogden, Utah. 

In 1880 Sioux City had a population of 7,500; in 1884, 15,514; in 
1886, 22,358; in 1887, 30,842; and in 1890, 38,700. 

The past four years show indeed a marvelous growth in Sioux City, 
and 1890 bears comparison well with former years, splendid as their 
record has been. 

Examination shows that the same story is told, whatever witnesses 
are called as to the city's progress, whether the witness be the banks, 
the packing industry, the post-office, the railroads, the express, tele- 
graph or telephone companies, or the record of building improvements, 
private and public. They all testify to the one central fact of the sure 
and rapid growth of Sioux City. 

The manufacturing interests are just beginning to develop. There 
are now seventy different concerns, including one of the largest linseed 
oil-mills in the world, and a roller flour-milling plant which has a 
thousand-barrel capacity daily. The oat-meal mills, Paris stove 
works, covering five acres at Leeds, and the paving-brick industry are 
second to none in the great west. [See Commercial and Industrial 
chapter elsewhere.] 

July 1, 1855, a post-office was established under President Pierce's 
administration, at Sioux City, Iowa. Dr. John K. Cook, one of the 
government surveyors and town-site proprietors, was the first post- 
master. He kept the office in a log building near the river, on lots 
now occupied by the wholesale house of Tollerton, Stettson & Co. 
It is said by some of the old pioneers that Dr. Cook's office was the 
crown of his hat for some time. 

Great has been the change in Sioux City since the mail was 
thrown from the stage coach — tri-weekly, to the log house on Second 
street, between Pearl and Water streets, and the present free delivery 
system of to-day, with carriers delivering the mail four times a day, 
some on foot, some in a buggy and still others riding a Columbian 
bicycle, over a mile stretch of paved streets! 

Dr. Cook was succeeded in office by Charles K. Smith, who 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 183 

retained the position until the administration o£ President Abraham 
Lincoln, when A. E. Appleton was commissioned by President Lin- 
coln in 1861 ; he served only a year and was succeeded by J. C. C. 
Hoskins, who held the position nearly sixteen years. In 1878 E. R. 
Kirk was appointed, under President Hayes' administration, holding 
the office eight years, until he was removed for political reasons by 
President Grover Cleveland, in December, 1885, at which time E. B. 
Crawford was appointed and held the office until September, 1889, 
when he was removed by President Benjamin Harrison. E. R. Kirk 
was then appointed and is the present postmaster. 

John K. Cook, the father and founder of Sioux City, it will be 
observed, was the first postmaster. He held the position, nominally, 
for two years, but the last year the work was attended to by S. T. 
Davis. Over twenty years after Dr. Cook went out of the office, he was 
notified that his account as postmaster had been audited, and tbat a 
balance of $30 was due him. Indeed, an honest government. 

Sioux City leads all other offices in Iowa in growth during 1889. 
The receipts for that year gave an increase of $10,000 over the year 
prior. The postal receipts for the years 1887-88-89 were as follows: 
In 1887, $39,684; in 1888, $50,777; in 1889, $60,810. The money- 
order business for the first half of the year 1889 amounted to $255,112. 
The total expense of the eleven carriers for 1889 amounted to $9,394. 
February 1, 1889, the office was removed from Garretson Hotel 
block, on account of lack of room, to its present spacious quarters, 
every foot of which is now used. The business of a post-office is 
always indicative of the general commercial standing of a town or 
city. It was made a money-order office July 1, 1865. The first order 
was issued to John M. Pinckney, for $20, payable to John R. Welch 
& Co., at Chicago. During the twenty-five years that have elapsed 
since then, there have been 86,067 orders issued, also 86,125 postal 
notes. It was made a free-delivery office October 1, 1884, and now 
employs fourteen men as carriers. 

It was in 1857 that Sioux City first saw the advantages of becom- 
ing an incorporated place. Under the old code of Iowa, such a step 
could only be brought about by a special act of the state legislature, 
which body, in January, 1857, granted such .privileges to this city, 
which had less than 400 population at the time. Many of the persons 
who figured conspicuously in those matters are still residents of the 



184 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

city, some of them among the wealthiest and most highly esteemed of 
the present populace, who, upon perusing this item, will revert with 
no small degree of pride to those early years when they laid the cor- 
ner-stones and built the framework of a place now taking second rank 
to none in all Iowa. 

As an old pioneer of the place remarks, " the first dozen years of 
our incorporated life did not amount to very much." Laws were dif- 
ferent then, and, indeed, the demand for municipal government was not 
very great. Up to 1868 the mayor had no voice in the city council, 
and seemed a mere figure head, whose only duty was to sign warrants. 

Here, as everywhere throughout Iowa, the change of the law of 
1862, caused much legal difficulty in making good the acts of incorpor- 
ations. Sioux City abandoned her original charter in 1862, and then 
incorporated under what they believed to be a law, but courts finally 
questioned the legal step. But in 1874 the state passed a law cover- 
ing and making good all prior ordinances and rules, and from that 
date on, places were incorporated under a general law. Sioux City 
continued to be a city of the " second class " until her population 
reached 15,000, which was in 1886. At that time she incorporated as 
a city of the "first class." 

The following list gives the names of the mayors of the city from 
1857 to 1890, inclusive: 



1857. 


J. B. S. Todd. 


1858. 


Robert Means. 


1859. 


William H. Bigelow. 


1860. 


G. W. Chamberlain. 


1861. 


John K. Cook. 


1862. 


John K. Cook. 


1863. 


William R. Smith. 


1864. 


Charles Kent. 


1865. 


J. L. Follett. 


1866. 


George Weare. 


1867. 


C. K. Smith. 


1868. 


F. M. Ziebach. 


1869. 


F. M. Ziebach. 


1870. 


D. T. Hedges. 


1871. 


S. T. Davis. 


1872. 


G. W. Kingsnorth. 


1873. 


R. F. Turner. 



1874. 


H. L. Warner. 


1875. 


H. L. Warner. 


1876. 


S. B. Jackson. 


1877. 


S. B. Jackson. 


1878. 


S. B. Jackson. 


1879. 


S. B. Jackson. 


1880. 


C. F. Hoyt. 


1881. 


William R. Smith. 


1882. 


William Z. Swartz. 


1883. 


William Z. Swartz. 


1884. 


William Z. Swartz. 


1885. 


D. A. McGee. 


1886. 


J. M. Cleland. 


1887. 


J. M. Cleland. 


18S8. 


J. M. Cleland. 


1889. 


J. M. Cleland. 


1890. 


E. C. Palmer. 



The following were the first city officials of Sioux City : 
J. B. S. Todd, mayor; W. M. Buchanan, marshal; C. K. Smith, 
recorder; S. A. Ayers, treasurer; T. J. Stone, assessor; Justus Town- 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 185 

send, Franklin Wixson, E. K. Eobinson, Jolm H. Charles, Enos Stuts- 
man and H. C. Ash, aldermen. 

The present city officials are as follows : 

Mayor, E. C. Palmer; clerk, W. G. Linn; auditor, W. G. Linn; 
treasurer, John Hittel; councilmen, George Meyrs, L. H. Grumn, 
W. J. Risley, W. E. Powell, "W. C. Cody, Knude Sunde, Thomas Ma- 
lone, G. Meade; chief of police, John F. Shanly. 

The city has been divided into six wards. 

The present police force numbers fourteen, besides the chief -police 

The fire department consists of four well-drilled companies. George 
M. Bellow is chief. But few cities in Iowa are better equipped 
against the fire fiend than Sioux City. 

Leeds. — This part of Sioux City was platted in the spring of 1889 
by the Leeds Land & Investment Company, with George W. Felt as 
its projector, and is located about three miles from the city proper, up 
the Floyd valley, and has come to be the manufacturing site of the 
city. The growth of the place has been phenomenal. In December, 
1889, nothing marked the spot but the sign-board " LEEDS." To- 
day (October, 1890) finds a thriving town, with hissing steam-jets 
and roaring forges. During this month this suburb has been 
annexed to the city, and is now under the same government. It is on 
the Illinois Central, Omaha and Sioux City & Northern railways, and is 
already the scene of activity in the line of factories. Here we find 
the Great Northern roller-mills, the Paris stove works, covering 
twenty rods square, the scraper works, the Sioux City engine and ma- 
chine works, and a boot and shoe factory already begun. 

Other suburbs of Sioux City are Morning Side, to the south and 
east, a lovely resident spot, and the seat of the University of the 
Northwest and College of Liberal Arts; Riverside, a few miles to the 
west, on the banks of the Big Sioux river, connected with the city 
by a rapid transit line ; also Lynn, to the east of Leeds. Morning 
Side is attracting a large number of people as a home site, and 
already many residences costing from $5,000 to §50,000 are located 
in this beautiful suburb, and consequently property is rapidly advanc- 
ing in value. Thousands of the wealth and culture of this rapidly- 
growing metropolis will be residing here within the next few years. 



186 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XV. 

SIOUX GITT— Continued. 

United States Land Office at Sioux City — The Establishment of the 
Office— Territory Embraced— List of Officers, by Years— Business 
of the Office— Land Warrants— Pre-emptions— Homesteads — Con- 
tests—Selling Lands at Auction— The Great Rush— Removal of 
the Office to Des Moines— Five Million Acres Reduced to Two 
Thousand Acres. 

AGOVEBNMENT land office was established at this point in the 
month of December, 1855, and continued nearly twenty-three 
years and did a vast amount of business. The district assigned 
to it comprised all of the lands from and including range thirty-four, 
west to the Missouri river to about range forty-nine, an average dis- 
tance of eighty-five miles, east and west; and reaching north from 
townships eighty-six to 100, inclusive, or about ninety miles, making 
the territory included nearly 8,000 square miles, or equal to 5,000,000 
acres of land. This territory is now comprised in the counties of 
Lyon, Osceola, Dickinson, Sioux, O'Brien, Woodbury, Clay, Plymouth, 
Cherokee, Buena Vista, Ida and Sac and the western tier of townships 
in Emmet, Palo Alto, Pocahontas and Calhoun counties. 

The following served as registers: 

Dr. S. P. Yeomans, from 1855 to 1861; William H. Bigelow, from 
1861 to 1864; S. T. Davis, from 1864 to November, 1866; P. M. Zie- 
bach, from November, 1866 to March 4, 1867; William G. Stewart, 
from March 4, 1867 to June 1867, at which time he died; John Cleg- 
horn, from July 19, 1867 to July 19, 1871; George H. Wright, from 
July 19, 1871, until the office was closed and transferred to Des 
Moines in July, 1878. 

The receivers of the office were Gen. Andrew Leech, from 1855 
to 1860; Bobert Means, from 1860 to 1861; James P. Edie, from 1861 
to 1865; Dr. William Bemsen Smith, from 1865 to March 1, 1867; 
Capt. C. L. Bozelle, from March 4, 1867, for a period of four days, his 
term expiring under the tenure-of-office act, a short interregnum fol- 




I /, 



A- 



WOODBTJBY COUNTY. 189 

lowing; Dr. William K. Smith, from April 17, 1867, to the final closing 
of the office in July, 1878. 

Locations and entries of public lands by individuals were made 
after a variety of methods, of which the following were the most 
usual: Location of land warrants issued by the* government at various 
times, as a sort of bounty to soldi ei's who served in the war of 1812 
and the Black Hawk and Mexican wars. 

Purchasers for cash, in which the title passed from the government 
to individuals for a definite consideration as soon as the transfer could 
be made at the general land office at Washington. 

Pre-emption, in which the purchaser is given one year's time from 
date of settlement thereon, in which to pay for land already offered for 
sale. 

Location of Agricultural College scrip, which in 1862, was appor- 
tioned to the several states for the benefit of agriculture and mechan- 
ical arts. 

Entry of land as homesteads, under an act of congress of 1862, 
which provided that persons living on such lands five years should 
receive a title to the same by the payment of the survey and other 
expenses. He who had served in the Union army during the Civil 
war was entitled to a reduction of time equivalent to the time he had 
served in the army. 

Timber culture entries being provided for by acts of 1873-74 for 
the encouragement of tree-planting, provided the occupant a free title 
if he produced one- fourth of the tract in groAving trees by the end of 
ten years. 

The number of locations and entries at the Sioux City land office 
from date of opening, up to the last year it transacted business was as 
follows : 

Land warrant locations 6.000 Agricultural College scrip entries. . 1,505 

Cash entries made 4,862 Homestead entries 8,993 

Pre-emption of offered lands 9,846 Homesteads proved up 4,493 

Pre-emption of uuoffered lands. .. . 7,122 Timber culture entries 307 

The years 1856-57 were the times when the most rushing business 
was done in land warrant locations and cash entries; but 1869 is noted 
as the year of the largest cash sales, the receipts from this source 
during that year being. nearly §1,000,000. Some single days it went 
as high as §40,000. More homesteads were taken in 1871 than in 



190 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

•any other one year, the number amounting to 1,950. During Octo- 
ber of that year 411 were taken. The month of January, 1876, saw 
the greatest number of " final papers " proving up home-steads — 
there being 234. 

The number of "contests" to which the land officers were called 
upon to attend to, reached far up in the thousands, many of them 
loccuping two weeks' time. 

The United States land office was, in years gone by, much of a 
'help to Sioux City. It brought thousands of men from all parts of 
the east with money to invest in lands. We quote from the Sioux 
City " Journal," date of December, 1877, a description of the burning 
of the old land office building, in which that paper said: "* * The 
material for this old landmark structure arrived from St. Louis on a 
steamboat in 1856, all ready framed, to be erected on Douglas street, 
above the corner of Sixth street. In it the first general election ever 
had by the Sioux City people was held; that was in August of 1856 
— the Buchanan-Fremont campaign. In this building was sold more 
land than at any other point along the Missouri slope. During the 
ipalmy days just preceding the collapse of 1857, time was, literally, 
money here in Sioux City. There were crowds of settlers and specu- 
lators who came here to locate land warrants and scrip, and it was im- 
possible to transact, in any ordinary way, the business which pressed 
in upon them. A rule was therefore made that applicants for locations 
should register their names in the order of their arrival at the office, and 
that each should be allowed only ten minutes for business. There was 
a number of men who had no special business to attend to, Avho would 
Tegister their names and then sell out their chance or "turn" to those who 
had warrants with which to locate lands. The usual price was $50 for 
•each ten minutes, which was freely given, especially where the buyer 
stood near the foot of the long column of men seeking entrance. The 
seller would then go and register again, and dispose of his chance 
when it appreciated in value by nearing the top. Men were just 
wild, and the scramble was terrific. Prior to this plan, it was "first 
come, first served," but this soon led to such conflict and disorder it 
had to be changed. Men would remain up all night, forming a line 
leading to the office door, and he whose hand grasped the door-knob, 
slept there." 

Selling lands by auction was followed, also, and Judge J. P. Alii- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 191 

son was auctioneer. Sales were made in forty-acre lots, and no bid 
received under $1.25 per acre. Some tracts in Sioux county sold as 
high as $3.50 per acre. Sales usually reached as high as a township 
per clay, and one can hardly appreciate how tiresome it was to dispose 
of so much territory in such a short time. 

With the close of the year 1877, an order from Washington re- 
moved the office (which had outlived its usefulness) to Des Moines. 
From 5,000,000 acres sold in 1856, the offerings had dwindled down 
to about 2,000 acres of land so rough as to be untillable. Just think 
of it! Only 2,000 acres in all northwestern Iowa which nobody 
wants ! 

The old land office building was used for a meat-shop until de- 
stroyed by fire in 1877. It was the earliest erected in Sioux City, and 
in it was deposited the first ballot cast hereabouts. The years have 
told profitable and unprofitable stories for those who so eagerly 
scrambled at the land office for titles to portions- of Uncle Sam's 
domain, and the scene of their strife has gone with the memories of the 
great majority of those who engaged in them. Those who are now 
big folks, but who then were little folks, will no longer be reminded 
of those pioneer days by the sight of the old brown building, for it 
rests in ashes! 



192 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
SIOUX CITY— Continued. 

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 

The Oldest Church— The City Noted for Churches— The Presbyterian — 
Methodist— Congregational — Baptist— Roman Catholic— Lutheran 
Evangelical— Christian — Savedish Lutheran— Unity— Latter Day 
Saints — Episcopal and Reformed Church— Young Men's Christian 
Association. 

SIOUX CITY is pre-eminently a city of churches, for no place in 
Iowa outranks it in this respect. There are thirty-eight church 
organizations, and all have houses of worship but three. 

Where the church spires and public school buildings are numerous, 
the " stranger within the gates " — no matter what his own belief may 
be — feels that he is in a safe and goodly abiding place. No better 
index can be given of a city than to learn of the welfare of its religious 
and educational institutions. 

It will be the aim in this connection to give as much as possible 
concerning each society. 

The oldest church organization of the city is the First Presbyterian, 
whose house of worship is on the corner of Sixth and Nebraska streets. 
According to its pastor, it was formed August 2, 1857. 

In July, 1856, Rev. Charles D. Martin preached to this people at 
Sioux City. The original membership of the church was twelve, and 
the first pastor was Rev. Thomas M. Chestnut. Since then the pastors 
have been Revs. Stephen Phelps, A. E. Smith, E. H. Avery and 
George Knox. The present pastor, Rev. H. D. Jenkins, was installed 
December, 1889. The present membership is about 375, including 
its mission. Its home Sabbath-school numbers 225. The property 
held by the church is worth $65,000. A $5,000 parsonage was 
erected in 1889, and a new edifice is now being planned, the present 
building having a seating capacity of about only 400. 

The Second Presbyterian church was formed in 1887, and has 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 193 

about fifty members. Their place of worship is situated on Cook 
street, between Fourth and Fifth. It has a seating capacity of 125. 
The property is valued at $6,000. 

The Third Presbyterian church was formed in 1888, and is still 
a small society. Kev. H. C. Herring has charge of this and also of 
the Second Presbyterian church. The value placed upon the property 
of this society is $3,000. 

The First Christian church, holding services in the court-house, was 
organized in 1888, and now numbers sixty-seven. Rev. R. A. Thomp- 
son is the present pastor. 

Emerson Heights Christian church was organized in 1888. It now 
enjoys a membership of sixty devoted Christian workers. Their 
church property is valued at $3,200. The pastor of the First Chris- 
tian church also presides over this society. 

The First Congregational church is one of Sioux City's first 
religious denominations. It was in the fifties that believers in this faith 
petitioned Home Missionary Rev. Mr. Gurnsey, of Dubuque, to have 
a minister sent to this section. In July, 1857, two Congregational 
men were visited here by Rev. John Todd, of Tabor, with a view of 
organizing a church. It was deferred until August 9, when W. H. 
Bigelow, H. D. Clark and Ed. C. Foster, met with Mr. Todd at Bige- 
low & Chamberlain's banking house on Douglas street, between Sixth 
and Seventh streets, and effected the organization. No further serv- 
ices were held until 1859, when Rev. George Rice, of Onawa, held 
communion services and added eight to the church. Union services 
were held with the Presbyterian people in a school-house on Nebraska 
street, until the completion of the Presbyterian church. Early in 
1861 they decided to call a pastor and worship alone. May 1, 1861, 
Rev. Marshall Tingley began his pastorate here, preaching his first 
sermon in the old council chamber town hall. The society passed 
through vicissitudes which befell so many early-day organizations. In 
1868, by self-denial and liberality, the present frame edifice was com- 
pleted and dedicated October 22, by Rev. Mr. Bull. Rev. Tingley 
was followed by Rev. J. H. Morley, who served for eight years. The 
frame building spoken of, stands just opposite the Oxford hotel, and 
has recently been sold, together with the lot, for many thousand dol- 
lars, and a new edifice is now about completed, on the corner of Ne- 
braska and Eighth streets, that will seat 800 people. Its cost is to be 



194 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

$60,000, exclusive of a $4,000 pipe organ. The material of this 
edifice is Ohio sandstone. The present membership of the church is 
350, and they own $75,000 worth of property. 

Mayflower Congregational church, located on Center, between West 
Sixth and Seventh, has a seating capacity of 200. The valuation of 
the property is $3,600. The society was organized in 1887. Rev. R. 
W. Jamison is pastor. 

Pilgrim Congregational church was organized in 1888, and now 
has a membership of 163. The society holds property worth $10,000. 
Their edifice seats 200 people, and it is located on Seventh street, 
between Wall and Iowa. Rev. J. E. McNamara is present pastor. 

The first Methodist Episcopal church of Sioux City was organized 
in 1858. It is one of the pioneer church organizations in the place, 
and has ever been aggressive and zealous to the best religious interests 
of the city. Many of the most talented ministers of Iowa have, from 
time to time, been sent to this charge. Among those whose names will 
not soon be forgotten are Rev. Whitfield, Rev. R. C. Glass, Rev. John 
Hogarth Lozier and George Haddock, all of whom were active work- 
ers, not alone in strict church work, but who became great prohibition 
leaders, and from the Methodist Episcopal pulpit sounded forth words 
of wisdom, which ere long were put into practical use by the citizens 
of the place in the suppression of intemperance. This, however, was 
not brought about until Rev. George Haddock's life was sacrificed at 
the hand of a saloon element mob, who shot him down in life's prime. 
Concerning this tragedy see full account elsewhere in this work. This 
church has occupied numerous buildings as a worshiping place. Eor 
many years their church was located on Pierce and Sixth streets, where 
the Corn Palace has been built four years in succession. They sold 
that property for about $12,000, and built, in 1883, their present 
beautiful brick edifice on the corner of Seventh and Nebraska streets. 
The seating capacity is 375. The total value of church and parsonage 
is $35,000. The present membership is 430. Rev. W. D. Johnson 
is the present pastor, a man of fine attainments. It is designed to 
place a $3,000 pipe organ in the church during the present year. 

Grace Methodist Episcopal church, located at Morning Side, has 
the following history: Rev. R. C. Glass began preaching at the little 
frame school-house at that point on the first Sabbath of November, 
1888, to a little congregation made up of the scattered families residing 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 195' 

in that outlying portion of Sioux City. A few weeks later a Sabbath- 
school was formed, with I. N. Stone as superintendent, which num- 
bered some forty members. Early in 1889 a class was organized with 
six members, consisting of Mrs. I. G. Whitfield, wife of the presiding 
elder, Eev. Wilmot. Whitfield, Mrs. E. C. Glass, Miss Lula Glass, 
Mrs. Lizzie A. Andrews, and Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Simons. In the lat- 
ter part of March, 1889, the little society was duly organized and 
incorporated as Grace Methodist Episcopal church. The first board 
of trustees consisted of the following persons: E. C. Peters, James A. 
Jackson, F. H. Ludlow, Wilmot Whitfield, John T. Cheeney, E. C. 
Glass, E. D. Allen, H. E. Douglass and T. H. Stevens. Steps 
were at once taken to build a church edifice, which resulted in 
the erection of a beautiful brick structure, costing, with furnishings^ 
about $10,000, which was dedicated to the worship of Almighty 
God, according to the forms peculiar to this church, December l r 
1889, by the Eev. Bishop Henry W. Warren, D. D., LL. D., in the 
presence of a large congregation. The church has continued to pros- 
per, and at this date, August, 1890, numbers some forty members. 
Eev. E. C. Glass is still its pastor. He is also connected with the 
new university, now being built at Morning Side [see history else- 
where]. Eev. Wilmot Whitfield was presiding elder at the date Grace 
church was formed, and the same board still holds, with the exception 
of A. S. Garretson, recently added. 

Haddock Memorial church, on the corner of Steuben and Fifth 
streets, Eev. J. B. Kilbourn, pastor, was organized in 1886. It now 
has a membership of 140. The seating capacity of their neat 
chapel is 225. The total value of church property is $10,000. 

The Norwegian-Danish Methodist Episcopal church, on Iowa 
street, Eev. James Peterson, pastor, was organized in 1881, and en- 
joys a membership of eighty-five. The seating capacity of their church 
is 125, and the value of church property is $5,000. 

The German Mission holds services at a private place on Omaha 
street; Eev. Frank E. Moll is superintendent. 

The German Methodist church, located on Steuben, between 
Third and Fourth streets, Eev. C. A. Schuldt, pastor, was organ- 
ized in 1886, and has a membership of fifty. The value of church 
property is $8,000. The seating capacity of their chapel is 125. 

The African Methodist Episcopal church, on Main and Sixth 



196 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

streets, Eev. S. McDonell, pastor, was formed in 1884, and now has a 
membership of fifty. The seating capacity of their church building 
is 200. Total value of property, $4,000. 

The First Baptist church of Sioux City was organized in 1860, 
and now is one of the strongest in the city. It has a membership of 
over 550. Their property, which is valued at $50,000, stands in the 
very heart of the city. The estimated wealth of its membership is 
$4,000,000. The present pastor is Eev. C. H. Strickland. 

Immanuel church, Oto, between Fifth and Sixth streets, was 
organized in 1886, and now has a membership of seventy. Rev. A. C. 
Blackman is pastor. Their building seats 350 persons, and the total 
value of their property is placed at $3,500. 

Fourth Baptist church, located on Fourth street, between Howard 
and Clark, was organized in 1888, and numbers fifty-five. J.W. Rees 
is pastor. The supposed value of this society's property is $8,000. 

The First Swedish Baptist church is located on Virginia and 
Tenth streets. It was formed in 1874, and numbers thirty-five. 
Valuation of property, $7,500; L. J. Ahlstrom, pastor. 

St. Thomas Episcopal church was one of the first organized (in 
1857), and they erected a frame chapel in 1859, which building served 
until 1870, when it was enlarged, and again added to in 1882. In 
June, 1890, the property was sold and another site procured. The 
original location was the corner of Seventh and Nebraska streets, and 
their recent purchase is on the corner of Twelfth and Douglas streets, 
upon which ground it is proposed to erect a magnificent edifice to cost 
|50,000, the plans for which are now being made in New York. 

The present membership of this society is 275. The following 
have served as rectors: Eev. M. Hoyt, Eev. George W. Pratt, Eev. W. 
W. Esterbrook, Eev. L. Eamsey, Eev. Richard Ellerby, Rev. William 
Richmond, Rev. George H. Cornell. The present (1890) officials are: 
Wardens, Luther C. Sanborn, William D. Irvine; vestrymen, J. C. 
French, W. H. Beck, George D. Hicks, J. H. Bolton, J. M. B. Floyd, 
H. G. Pierce. The first vestrymen were elected in November, 1859, 
as follows: James M. Bacon, H. C. Bacon, William R. Smith, John 
H. Charles, John P. Allison, George Weare. 

St. Paul's Episcopal church was erected in 1885 at a cost of 
$1,200. It seats 150 persons. It is located on the corner of West 
Sixth and Center streets. The present membership of the society is 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 199 

seventy-two. The rectors have been William Richmond, W. E. Jacob 
and E. H. Gaynor. 

Calvary church (Episcopal) is situated at Morning Side. It is a 
new society there. A chapel was erected in 1889 at a cost of $1,000. 
It has a seating capacity of about 150 persons. The present rector is 
Eev. E. H. Gaynor. 

The First Swedish Mission (Lutheran) church, corner of Court 
and Seventh streets, Eev. F. O. Hultman, pastor, was organized in 
1874. It now has a membership of 250. Their new church edifice, 
built in 1889, seats 300 and cost $15,000. Total value of property, 
$25,000. 

The Swedish Lutheran Augustana church is one of the finest in 
the city; it was dedicated in February, 1890, and is located on the 
corner of Sixth and Court streets. It is built of Sioux City pressed 
brick, arranged in Gothic style. Its size is 54x98 feet, and has a 
tower 115 feet high. The seating capacity of the building is over 
1,000. The present membership of the society is 400. The pastor, 
Eev. A. P. Martin, a native of Sweden, has been in charge since 1886. 
The church is in a flourishing condition, and possesses a property val- 
ued at $45,000. The Swedes are a church-going people. " America 
need not be afraid of them — they love Sweden as their mother and 
America as their bride." 

The German Evangelical church, on Jennings street, is the home 
of the society which was formed in 1889, and now enjoys a working 
membership of fifty. They have a neat church, valued at $7,000. 
Eev. W. Jones is the pastor. 

The Trinity English Lutheran was formed in September, 1886, by 
Eev. D. L. MacKenzie, the present pastor. The membership is now 
sixty-three, with a Sabbath-school of 150. They own a fine church 
property on Eleventh and Nebraska streets, dedicated in May, 1889. 
Its cost was $10,000 aside from the $5,000 grounds. Only $100 
stood against the entire property in 1889. 

The First Unity church, one of the most refined and popular socie- 
ties in the city, dedicated May 5, 1889, a beautiful church on Douglas 
street; it seats 600 people and cost $20,000. The society is a strong 
and growing one. It now has a membership of 325. Its devoted 
ministers are Revs. Mary Safford and Elinor Gordon. It may be 
added, this church is noted for fine music. A $3,000 pipe organ was 
placed in the church a few months since. 



200 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

St. Mary's Catholic church was organized in 1863. Its present 
congregation numbers 4,000 souls. They owned a $75,000 church 
property (including lot) on the corner of Sixth and Pierce streets, 
which was sold and torn down in July and August, 1890. It was a 
brick structure with a seating capacity of 600. A new edifice is being 
erected on Tenth street, costing $50,000, intended for the cathedral of 
the Northwestern Iowa diocese. The new building has 2,000 sittings 
and is to contain a $4,000 pipe organ. At the time of gathering this 
data Father T. Treacy was pastor of the congregation. 

St. Boniface Catholic church was formed in 1886, and now has a 
membership of 400. The value of their church property is $12,000. 
Rev. J. A. Gurlman is pastor. Their building is on Main street and 
West Fifth. 

St. Eose Catholic church, at Morning Side, Avas organized in 1888, 
and has become a prosperous society, numbering about 200 souls. 
Their new church building and grounds are quite valuable. 

The French Catholic church was formed in 1889, and has a mem- 
bership of seventy-five souls. A neat chapel was completed in 1890, 
which, with the lot, is valued at $7,000. It stands on Seventh, be- 
tween Pearl and Water streets. Its seating capacity is 250. 

Grace Reformed church, corner Cook and Sixth streets, was organ- 
ized in 1888, and has a membership of twenty-six. Rev. F. Wetzel is 
the pastor. Services are now held at Smith's hall. 

The Sioux City branch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter Day Saints was formed May 20, 1885, and now numbers 
about twenty-five. The headquarters of this society, for Iowa, is at 
Lamoni, Decatur county, and the nearest branch to Sioux City is at 
Little Sioux, where there are about 200 members. 

Trefoldigheds church, Rev. K. Skyburg, pastor, northeast corner 
of West Sixth and Bluff streets, was organized in 1872. It now has 
a membership of ninety. The cost of their edifice was $3,000 and of 
the parsonage, $2,000. The church seats 250 persons. 

Zion Norwegian church, north side of Seventh, between Court and 
Iowa, Rev. H. Yderstad, pastor, was organized in 1885, and has a 
membership of seventy-five. The church seats 125 and the property 
is valued at $1,200. 

St. Paul's Evangelical church, Rev. C. Runge, pastor, was formed 
in 1875 and has a membership of sixty-six. The property of this 
society is valued at $10,000. 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 20.1 

St. John's church (Norwegian), on the corner of Court and Sixth 
streets, Rev. L. Harrisville, pastor, was formed in 1884, and now has a 
membership of seventy-five. A small edifice stands on property- 
worth $8,000. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 
SIOUX CITY.— Continued. 

CIVIC AND OTHEE SOCIETIES. 

Knights of Pythias— Odd-Fellows Order— The Masonic Fraternity- 
Miscellaneous Societies— City" Library— University of the North- 
west. 

RIGHTLY interpreted, secret organizations are as beneficent as 
they are authoritative. The Masonic order, ancient and honora- 
ble, rests on the foundation of broad human sympathy. Its objects 
are by precept and practice to foster virtue, to inculcate charity, to 
bind the members together in enduring bonds of brotherly love. It 
is, in short, a professor and teacher of every moral and social virtue. 

What is true of Masonry is equally true of other civic orders, of 
more recent origin. These societies are all based on deeply laid 
hopes, aspirations and affections of men. If this were not true they 
never could have come down through the long period covering their 
existence, adapting themselves to society, evolving and developing 
with the lapse of time and working in line with the higher attainments 
of cultured and civilized life. 

Masonry. — The earliest meeting of Masons of which any record 
can be found, was held March 25, 1857, in a log building on Pearl 
street, near the corner of Third. This meeting was held under dis- 
pensation granted, for the purpose of forming a lodge, and this pur- 
pose was carried out at this time by the organization of Sioux City 
Lodge, No. 103, now known as Landmark lodge. The following 
brethren were present and filled the offices indicated : E. K. Robinson, 
W. M. ; John J. Saville, S. W. ; A. W. White, J. W. ; A. C. Sheets, 



202 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

S. D. ; E. B. Wixson, J. D. ; George Avery, sec, Dr. E. Wixson, 
treas. At this meeting Messrs. Matthew Saville and James B. Curry, 
both of Indiana, applied for membership under demit, and were 
accepted, it having been resolved, that any demitted Mason should be 
admitted to membership. 

The second meeting occurred on April 8, at which time the 
stated meetings were fixed on the Wednesday in, or next preceding, 
the full moon. At this meeting one application for initiation was 
received. At the meeting of May 6, A. M. Hunt acted as W. M. 
At a special meeting on May 13, the applicant of April 8, was ini- 
tiated. The next meeting shown on the records occurred July 15, 
at which the charter election took place, the following persons being 
chosen: A. M. Hunt, W. M. ; E. K. Eobinson, S. W.; A. W. White, 
J. W. ; George Avery, sec. ; John K, Cook, treas. ; A. C. Sheets, S. 
D. ; E. Wixson, J. D. ; tyler, no choice. These officers were in- 
stalled in due and ancient form by L. D. Palmer, of Muscatine, Iowa, 
who had been deputized by the Grand lodge for that purpose. At 
this meeting ten persons applied for membership and were each duly 
elected. 

On August 5, a committee was appointed to secure a suitable 
room for the meetings of the lodge. The records do not show any 
action in this direction, but it is known that the lodge removed dur- 
ing the autumn to a building just completed, on the east side of 
Douglas street, between Sixth and Seventh. This building is now the 
property of Judge Pendleton and occupied as a dwelling. 

Tyrian Lodge, No. 508, A. F. & A. M., was instituted March 12, 
1890, by sixty-one members. The first elective officers were C. Q. 
Hopper, W. M. ; J. C. Dunlavey, S. W. ; A. B. Walker, J. W. ; E. 
Morley, treas.; L. A. Altona, sec. The present officers are: J. Q. 
Hopper, W. M. ; J. C. Dunlavey, S. W. ; A. B. Walker, J. W. ; W D. 
Irvine, treas. ; L. A. Altona, sec. The lodge now numbers sixty-six 
members and is the last lodge instituted at Sioux City. 

Sioux City Chapter, No. 26, Koyal Arch Masons, was instituted 
April 9, 1860, by nine charter members. The first elective officers 
were L. D. Parmer, H. P.; Kobert Means, king; C. K. Smith, 
scribe ; J. H. Charles, treas. ; C. B. Rustin, sec. The present mem- 
bership of the chapter is 117. The present officers are W. D. Irvine, 
H. P. ; C. C. Wales, king ; E. Jenkinson, scribe ; E. Morley, treas. ; 
L. A. Altona, sec. 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 203 

Columbian Commandery of Knights Templar, No. 18, was insti- 
tuted December 18, 1869, with ten charter members and the following 
officers: Sir Kt. K. T. Bower, E. C. ; Sir Kt. William Eelan, G. ; Sir 
Kt. C. D. Kollin, P. ; Sir Kt. William H. Johnson, E. ; Sir Kt. L. D. 
Parmer, S. W. ; Sir Kt. J. H. Bird, J. W. ; Sir Kt. W. G. Swan, W. ; 
Sir Kt. W. Wingett, S. B. ; Sir Kt. E. V. Derrickson, C. G. The 
commandery is now in a fair condition, and has for its elective officers 
Sir Kt. J. W. Martin, E. C. ; Sir Kt. A. L. Beach, G. ; Sir Kt. C. C. 
Wales, C. G. ; Sir Kt. C. H. Strickland, P. ; Sir Kt. G. S. Thompson, 
T. ; Sir Kt. J. B. Jordan, rec. 

Knights of Pythias. — This flourishing order which is now attract- 
ing the attention of the better class of young men throughout the 
country, was first represented at Sioux City by the institution of 
what is known as Columbia Lodge, No. 13, April 8, 1872. The char- 
ter members included the following:- P. P. Boyce, George W. Kings- 
north, Frank Moulten, J. B. Crawford, Charles Wise, J. B. Brink, J. 
E. Smith, D. A. Magee, C. D. Woodley, L. M. Bodgers, Charles Gun- 
derberg and W. N. Bradley. The charter was granted in July, 1872, 
and good work followed, but the lodge finally went down. It was 
reorganized in December, 1875. They removed to the new hall January 
1, 1883. On January 9, 1885, the hall and all its contents were 
destroyed by fire, including the record books. The building was 
rebuilt and leased by the K. of P. in October, the same year. The 
present membership of the lodge is 130. 

The Grand Lodge met at Sioux City in October, 1884. 

Scanda Lodge, No. 234, K. of P., was organized in June, 1889, 
with fifty-six members, Special Deputy Grand Chancellor A. Fellner 
officiating. The first officers were A. Halseth, P. C. ; John H. Swan- 
son, C. C. ; C. M. Anderson, V. C. ; William Williams, prelate; John 
N. Murphy, K. of B. and S. ; C. J. Stransberg, M. of E. ; C. C. Tel- 
ander, M. of E. ; John E. Gross, M. at A. The present membership 
is eighty-six. The present officers are C. M. Anderson, P. C. ; 
William Williams, C. C. ; C. C. Lattimer, V. C. ; W. H. Beaumont, 
prelate; O. L. Johnson, M. at A.; John Olson, M. of F. ; C. C. Tel- 
ander, M. of E. ; John A. Swanson, grand lodge representative. 

Sioux Lodge, No. 14, K. of P., was instituted August 4, 1885, with 
twenty-two members. The highest membership to this date is 115. 
The first elective officers were C. E. Foster, P. C. ; B. E. Sackett, C. 



204 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

C. ; F. H. Peavey, V. C. ; John Ansler, prelate; William A. Kirk, M. 
at A. ; E. N. Monigan, M. of E. ; H. E. Stetson, M. of F. ; William 
Fuchs, K. of E. and S. The present officers are W. L. Eagan, P. C. ; C. 
T. Westcott, C. C. ; E. N. Monigan, V. C. ; S. G. Humphy, prelate; 
A. Fullner, M. of F. and K. of E. and S. ; L. L. Kellogg, M. of E. ; Frank 
Loveitt, M. at A. They meet at their finely equipped hall in Haakin- 
son's block, corner Fourth and Nebraska streets. 

Uniform Eank Division of Sioux City, No. 6, was organized No- 
vember 8, 1883, with forty-eight members, by Col. E. H. Hibbens, 
A. D. C. The original officers were John E. White, capt. ; W. L. 
Wilkins, first lieut. ; William Swartz, second lieut. The present 
(1890) officials are E. W. Sloan, capt.; William L. Eagan, first 
lieut. ; E. N. Monigan, second lieut. The present membership is 
sixty. They meet at Sioux Lodge, No. 14, K. of P. hall. The Iowa 
Brigade officers of this division are Col. Fred T. Evans, Jr., asst. 
quartermaster-gen.; Maj. A. Fellner, A. D. O, brigadier-general's 
staff. The regimental officers are Col. W. A. Kirk, com. fourth 
regiment; Lieut. B. J. McKean, adjt. ; Capt. Cornell, chaplain. 

Hussar Mounted Division, No. 34, K. of P., was organized July 
6, 1889, with thirty-two members. It was instituted by Col. E. H. 
Hibbens, of Marshalltown, Iowa. The present membership is fifty. 
The regiment and brigade are represented by A. D. Collier, lieut. - 
quartermaster of Fourth regiment. The first officers of Hussar 
division were G. W. Kingsnorth, capt.; A. D. Collier, first lieut.; 
G. J. Eoss, second lieut. The present officers are G. W. Kings- 
north, capt. ; G. J. Eoss, first lieut. ; C. C. Lattimer, second lieut. 

This was the first mounted division to be organized in America, and 
at present only one other exists, that of Chicago, 111. At the grand 
annual conclave at the city of Milwaukee, in July, 1890, these two 
divisions were present %nd won high honors. A special train was run 
from Sioux City, which conveyed the knights and their horses. 

Odd Felloivs. — Sioux City Lodge, No. 164, Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, was instituted October 26, 1868, with six members, as 
follows: T. J. Kinkaid, P. P. Eoyce, F. McKercher, F. W. McManus, 
Charles Breun, A. F. Brown. The first noble grand was T. J. Kin- 
kaid. The lodge is the oldest in the city, and now enjoys a member- 
ship of 138. The present officers are William Ellemund, N. G. : Joseph 
Lovoliett, V. G. ; H. Osborne, treasurer ; C. E. Marks, recording 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 205 

secretary ; W. S. Garcl, permanent secretary. At the present, and for 
the past six years, this lodge has occupied the K. of P. hall on Fourth 
street. 

Sioux City Encampment, No. 44, of I. O. O. F., has eighty-seven 
members. It was formed with seven members, to-wit: T. J. Kinkaid, 
E. B. Spalding, K. B. Kimball, H. A. James, Robert Ramsey, Joseph 
Langdell, D. F. Urmy. The first elective officers were T. J. Kinkaid, 
0. P. ; Robert Ramsey, H. P. ; J. Langdell, S. W. ; R. B. Kimball, 
J. W. ; E. B. Spalding, scribe ; H. A. James, treasurer. The present 
officers are Charles Johnson, C. P. ; J. Metzell, S. W. ; J. B. Walker, 
J.W., M. F. Metzell, H. P.; W. A. Gilman, scribe; George W. Coul- 
son, treasurer. The amount of funds now on hand is $600. 

Canton Sioux, No. 18, of Patriarchs Militant (I. O. O. F.) was 
organized April 17, 1888, with twenty-eight charter members. The 
present membership is the same. The first officers of this degree 
(the highest of the order of I. 0. O. F. ) were J. K. Prugh, capt. ; 
Frank Clark, first lieut; M. W. Gardner, second lieut. (ensign). The 
present officers are Frank Clark, capt. ; F. J. Metzell, first lieut. ; 
J. B. Walker, second lieut. They meet the first Wednesday of each 
month. 

In addition to those already named, there are the following socie- 
ties: Ancient Order of Hibernians, James P. Wall, president; Ancient 
Order of United Workman, J. W. Lloyd, past-master workman; Mod- 
ern Woodmen of America, A. Fellner, clerk; Royal Society of Good 
Fellows, M. V. B. Johnson, secretary; Sons of Herman, Dr. G. Brasch, 
president. ; Grand Army Posts — B. F. Smith Post, No. 22, George H. 
Stultz, adjutant, and Hancock Post, No. 396, M. B. Davis, adjutant; 
Woman's Relief Corps, Mrs. E. N. Peterson, president. The Knights 
of Labor have a strong assembly here also; J. A. Bernard is master 
workman. 

Social Societies. — That Sioux City is, and has been for years, a 
place of great sociability, is evinced by the fact of her present clubs 
and associations, formed for amusement, literary cultivation and bodily 
exercise. Those who may chance to read this book away down in the 
next century, will doubtless find things herein of interest, that the 
present generation can not fully appreciate. To note the changes in 
church, state, society and lines of commerce, from one part of a cent- 
ury through the various generations of men, is indeed valuable, as 



206 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

well as replete with interest. Prominent among the societies may be 
mentioned the following: 

The Cooking club is composed of a band of ladies, who, for a few 
years past, have been improving themselves in the culinary art. In 
the meantime they have given some very swell receptions to their 
friends, serving elaborate teas. 

The Hawkeye club, composed exclusively of gentlemen, has ele- 
gant club-rooms, having purchased the E. R. Kirk residence property 
for $40,000. They give very elaborate banquets, and royally enter- 
tain their friends at home and from abroad. 

The Euclid is a new club, formed among the young men, with a 
membership of about fifty. 

The Elks is another organization among the gentlemen for purely 
social purposes. It is its province to banquet visiting celebrities from 
the musical, theatrical, commercial or literary world. In fact any 
visitor of note is always looked after and entertained by the Elks. 

The Amitie club comprises a membership of thirty ladies, who 
meet one afternoon of each week for social enjoyment (and some 
gossip!). They bring their fancy work, and compare patterns and 
designs. 

A tennis club was organized in 1889, and the game has come to 
be a great pastime for both sexes. 

The Sioux City Boat Club own a fine boat-house at Riverside, ou 
the Big Sioux, and have it equipped with many boats, from which 
much pleasure is derived in the summer months. Every day there is 
boating, racing, picnics, and each week a grand dance is given at their 
park. 

Among the literary societies should be named the Agaihoi-Philo 
club, the oldest in the city; the Anahrisians, now in existence ten 
years; the Delvers, who study the' Chautauqua course, meet each 
week. 

The Young Men's Christian Association has come to be a society of 
wonderful power, and the means of great moral good in Sioux City. 
The matter of organizing such an association began to be discussed in 
the spring of 1884. Several young men who had been members else- 
where, became leaders in the good work. Other business men, to- 
gether with pastors of the various churches, soon became interested. 
In August, that year, an organization was perfected by State Secretary 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 209* 

C. G. Baldwin. The original officers were W. P. Manley, presi- 
dent; J. H. Keith, treasurer; J. F. McClelland, corresponding secre- 
tary. Booms were secured on Pearl street, near the old variety 
theatre. The growth has been far above the average in cities of like 
size. At the end of the fifth year, September, 1889, the total mem- 
bership was 820. The work has outgrown its present quarters and a 
magnificent building is now being erected on the corner of Pierce 
and Seventh streets. It is to be occupied solely by the association. ■ 
Its cost will be $80,000; lot, $20,000. The present officers of the 
association are "W. E. Hignian, president; S. W. Hallam, vice-presi- 
dent; W. P. Manley, treasurer; Oscar Middlekauff, recorder; John L. 
Speers, general secretary; D. Chapman, assistant. 

University of the Northwest is located at Morning Side, the most 
beautiful suburb of Sioux City. A person can stand on the campus 
and have a bird's eye view of the city. The waters of the broad Mis- 
souri stretch away to the west and south under the eye of the beholder, 
while the undulating hills and valleys of Nebraska and South Dakota, 
with an unobstructed view of from twenty to thirty miles, add pictur- 
esqueness to the scene. Indeed, a more beautiful site for an institu- 
tion of learning would be hard to find, while for healthfulness it could 
scarcely be excelled. It is two and one-half miles from the center of 
the city, and is easily reached by the rapid transit and elevated rail- 
way. 

While this is not strictly a Methodist Episcopal college., yet it has 
the fostering care of the church, which, in company with eastern cap- 
italists and Sioux City men, have undertaken to carry the gigantic 
enterprise through. It will be second to none in the west, and before 
long will probably be one of the educational factors of the Methodist 
Episcopal folks for this portion of the northwest, yet free from strict 
sectarian discipline. A college of liberal arts and a medical depart- 
ment will be special features. The buildings now in course of construc- 
tion are of the famous "Jasper" stone of Minnesota, and in design and 
size equal the best known to our modern builder, while the large 
campus is destined to be a spot of beauty seldom seen. It is expected 
that the buildings will all be completed by January 1, 1892. The 
officers are Bev. AYilniot Whitfield, D. D., president; Bev. Ira N. 
Pardee, financial agent and secretary; E. C. Peters and Bev. B. C. 
Glass, vice-presidents; A. S. Garretson, treasurer. 



210 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The City Library. — Among the tilings in which the people of 
Sioux City take a just pride, is the city free library, which, at an 
expense which is not felt by the tax-payer, embraces a good assortment 
of books in all departments of literature, and is at the disposal of all 
the citizens, and also to the stranger who seeks the reading of good 
books. This institution has, like every good thing, cost time and 
money to start. 

The idea of a free library was first put into practical shape by the 
Young Men's Literary Association, a society which originated in the 
autumn of 1869. In November of the same year, the executive com- 
mittee of that association held its first meeting, Hon. A. W. Hubbard 
presiding, and Rev. G. B. Pratt, J. H. Bolton and L. Wynn were 
appointed a library committee. Among the enterprises conducted by 
the association was the procuring of lecturers. Brock L. Mc Vicar 
was the first, and addressed an audience November 30, 1869, and was 
followed by noted men throughout the winter and spring. From the 
proceeds of this lecture course a fund was raised for the purchase of 
books to form the nucleus of a library. All these matters appear 
from the minutes of the meetings, and from the same source it 
appears that Charles Collins donated the first books of what is now the 
public library. 

The first purchase of books arrived in March, 1870, and on the 
nineteenth of that month the library was opened to the members of 
the association and their friends. The members then took turns in 
acting as librarian. On May 7, that year, the books show that there 
were 322 volumes on hand, fifty of which had been donated. In 
March, 1875, Capt. B. F. Smith, who had been much interested in the 
affair, with T. H. Conniff, Jr., and H. W. Chase, prepared a propo- 
sition for submission to the voters, asking the city council to levy a 
library tax, under the provisions of the state law; but it was not until 
the March election of 1877 that this proposition was submitted. 
It carried almost without opposition, and the Young Men's Associa- 
tion then turned over the 600 volumes they held, which had cost 
them $1,500. The library was kept a year or two, in the rooms 
of the Ladies' Christian Association on condition that the city add not 
less than $200 worth of books each successive two years. Having 
ratified this agreement with the city, the association adjourned for 
one week, but never met again. The city being in possession 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 211 

of the library, a tax of one mill was levied for the purchase of 
new books, room rent and salary of a librarian. The levy amounted 
to $850. 

The council appointed, as a committee of citizens to select books: 
J. C. C. Hoskins, E. H. Avery, B. C. Lenehan, A. A. Norman, F. 
Munchrath, Dr. William R. Smith and Capt. B. F. Smith. T. H. Con- 
niff, Jr., who was city clerk at the time, was chosen as the first librarian. 
In 1878 a levy of one-half a mill was made, which brought $425, 
and in 1879 a levy amounting to $900 was made. In 1880 the 
library contained 1,591 books. Miss Helen Smith, the librarian, in 
1880 gave a statement of the order in which books were called for as 
follows: First, novels; second, travels and adventures; third, poetry; 
then history, biography and scientific works. 

From 1880 to 1890 the library had its sunny and also cloudy days, 
but at last it is on a solid basis. Money is on hand; a most excellent 
lot, on the corner of Douglas and Sixth streets, has been purchased, 
and a library building is to be erected in the near future. At present 
the books are kept in one of the city buildings, and the rooms are 
daily thronged with visitors. 



CHAPTEK XVIII. 

SIOUX CITY— Continued. 

INDUSTRIAL AND COMMEECIAL INTERESTS. 

The First Store — The First Steamboat— The "Omaha" — Pioneer Mer- 
chants—Messrs. Jackson and Livingston— City Directory of 1866 — 
As a Eaileoad Center— Wholesale and Jobbing— Manufacturing 
■ Plants — Packing-Houses — Stock-Yards — Banking — Miscellaneous 
Interests— Gas and Electric Lights— Water-Works— Rapid Transit 
Lines, Elevated Railroad, etc.— The City's Wonderful Growth- 
Jobbers' Association, etc. 

TO find the cause of the rapid growth of Sioux City needs no mys- 
terious unfolding of circumstances; it has grown because of the 
marvelous richness of its farming vicinity ; of its being the center of 
the great corn belt, and because of its being in the very heart of the 



212 HISTOK¥ OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

country producing the greater portion of live stock raised in the west. 
Other chapters have told how the site of this city came to be selected, 
and before the present resources and future possibilities are consid- 
ered, the reader is asked to briefly retrace the years of the city's his- 
tory, and, if possible, learn who and what the pioneer business men 
were, and what impress they left behind them, as a perpetual legacy 
for all time to come. 

The present city's magnificent retail establishments are in striking 
contrast with the three or four rude frame and log cabin stores, which 
were huddled together at the corner of Second and Pearl streets in 
1860. But few can realize the hardships seen by merchants in those 
early days. There were no railroad trains, no steamboats regularly 
coming and going and no stages or mail. 

To James A. Jackson belongs the honor of establishing the first 
real store at Sioux City. Dr. Cook, Mr. Jackson's father-in-law, had 
surveyed much of the territory in this part of Iowa, and was fully 
posted, and he selected this place in 1854 as a most propitious site for 
a commercial center. He made known his opinion to Mr. Jackson, 
who was then in partnership with Milton Tootle, the firm having 
stores in Council Bluffs and Omaha. Tootle & Jackson agreeing in 
the opinion of Dr. Cook, that Sioux City would become, at no late 
date, a great distributing point, an agreement was entered into where- 
by this firm was to open a branch store in Sioux City the following 
spring. Dr. Cook then returned to Sioux City, and purchased of 
Pioneer Leonais, the site of the town, paying him $3,000 for it. 

There being no means of transportation, other than wagons, Mr. 
Jackson journeyed to St. Louis in June, 1856, where he chartered the 
steamer " Omaha," paying the captain $24,000 for the trip up to 
Sioux City. He then stocked the boat up with a cargo valued at 
$70,000, consisting of a saw-mill, lumber, furniture, dry goods, hard- 
ware, and all other goods found in the general stores of those days. 
Two-thirds of the cargo were for Sioux City. Dr. Cook, meanwhile, 
had built a log store on the corner of Second and Pearl streets. Mr. 
Jackson arrived with the boat in June, 1856, and opened up the store, 
remained six weeks, and then left the establishment in the hands of 
Samuel Holland. When the "Omaha" landed at the wild banks of 
the turbulent Missouri, there were only two houses to greet the eye 
of the pilot. The firm above named, finding their business here was 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 213 

a success, had a frame store built in St. Louis and brought here 
in sections. This was the first frame store in the embryo city. It 
cost $800, and the cost of getting it up from St. Louis was about the 
same amount. The building still stands between Second and Third 
streets, on Pearl. 

In 1857 Mr. Jackson purchased a steam ferry for the Sioux City 
Land & Ferry Company, paying $6,000 for the same. Prior to 
that, a flatboat was propelled across the river with oars and poles. 

Of the five small stores in Sioux City in 1860, it may be said that 
their proprietors are all gone, and none any way connected with them 
remains, except W. H. Livingston, who clerked for Jackson & Tootle, 
and finally embarked in trade for himself. Of those pioneer trading 
days Mr. Livingston says: " We had a population of about 600 when 
I arrived in 1860. I was five days coming here by stage from Mis- 
souri. On the way up, we passed through Council Bluffs, which was 
then a dirty little place, and Omaha, of still less consequence. I was 
only twenty years old then. The traders then in business were as 
follows: H. D. Booge & Co., Milton Tootle, L. D. Parmer, T. J. Kin- 
kaid, general dealers, and D. T. Hedges, a grocer. The enterprising 
merchant of that day carried about everything: tobacco, shoes, sash, 
doors, whisky, etc. Jobbing was a good percentage of Sioux City's 
trade, even at that early day. The stores supplied the forts of the 
northwest, and then, as now, the extent of the country dependent 
upon goods from Sioux City was large." 

It seems that hard work was the lot of the clerks and proprietors 
in those days, and Mr. Livingston, now the biggest dealer in the city, 
tells of how he was kept busy handling sash, doors, salt, pork and other 
heavy articles, until, some days, he well nigh gave out. In 1863 he 
left the store of Tootle & Charles, and opened the first exclusive dry- 
goods house in the place, under the firm name of W. H. Livingston 
& Co., the " Co." being his old employers. 

City Directory of 1866. — To show what Sioux City was twenty- 
four years ago, the following has been carefully copied from a local 
paper published at that date: 

Merchants— L. D. Parmer, Tootle & Charles, T. J. Kinkaid, H. 
D. Booge & Co., D. T. Hedges, G. H. Sinister & Co., E. B. Kirk & 
Co., Appleton & Westcott, W. F. Faulkner, J. H. Morf, A. Groninger. 

Jeweler — D. H. Collamer. 



214: HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Boots and Shoes — Mat. Gaugran, Sain. Krumann. 

News Depot — John Pinkney. 

Drugs and Medicines — C. Kent, C. K. Howard. 

Meat Shops— S. W. Haviland, J. P. Webster. 

Tinware and Stoves — Charles K. Smith & Co. 

Bank — Weare & Allison. 

Churches — Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, Congregational, 
Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian. 

As a Railroad Center Sioux City stands in the fore rank of 
Iowa cities, the following roads having been built to its borders: Chi- 
cago & Northwestern; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and two 
branches into South Dakota; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and 
Omaha, and three branches into Nebraska; Fremont, Elkhorn & Mis- 
souri Valley; Illinois Central; Sioux City & Pacific; Sioux City & 
Northern; Union Pacific, making a total of eight trunk lines and 
five distinct branches. Sixty passenger trains go in and out of Sioux 
City daily over these roads. During the year 1889 the railroads 
received 52,910 car loads of freight for Sioux City, and forwarded 
24,095 car loads, exclusive of freight passing through. 

The Sioux City Terminal Railroad & Warehouse Company was 
oi-ganized, during the past summer, for the purpose of developing 
property for terminal purposes, including passenger depot and three 
immense freight warehouses. The official composition of the com- 
pany is as follows: President, A. S. Garretson; vice-president, T. P. 
Gere; acting secretary, D. E. Paulin. 

Wholesale and Jobbing Trade. — Since Sioux City first engaged 
in the jobbing trade, great changes have taken place in the west. 
Twenty years ago — 1870 — the Mississippi river towns iD Iowa domi- 
nated. Later on, some interior cities developed ambition to take the 
lead, and worked their territory with a laudable enterprise. But 
Sioux City held its own, and as the great domain north and west set- 
tled up, its jobbers pushed vigorously on to the front, distancing all 
competitors, and for several years it has been the leading wholesale 
point in Iowa, and now aspires to be second to none in the whole 
Missouri valley. 

Sioux City is the center of the finest farming section in the west 
— where crops never totally fail. She has as good railroad facilities 
as Omaha or Kansas City, and her own business men work as one 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 215 

man, to encourage and build up these wholesale and jobbing houses. 
The men of means in Sioux City build railroads to the territory they 
•wish to capture, and finally, commercially supply. She built the 
Sioux City & Northern, and is now about to build into the Black 
Hills country, all of which means an immense increase in the whole- 
sale business of Sioux City. 

The foundation of the jobbing trade was laid long before the day 
of railroads, when the great Missouri river was the means of trans- 
portation to this place and points beyond. This was the result 
of geographical relations and the inherent advantages of the site 
which had been selected for Sioux City. From British Columbia, in 
the north, to the Gulf of Mexico, in the south, there could be found 
no point more valuable for the upbuilding of a vast metropolis. 
The great rivers seem to have entered into a league, hundreds of 
years ago, to prepare the way for the commercial interests of Sioux 
City. The vast Missouri, nearly 200 miles in Dakota, changes from 
its course to the south, and for that distance runs nearly east to Sioux 
City, then bends backward to the south as it passes on to the Gulf of 
Mexico, as if its mission was to inspire this city with its presence and 
the burden of its commerce, and to bring here the millions of wealth 
represented in the thousands of square miles of fertile lands upon its 
banks. 

Space here forbids going into detail, more than to outline the whole- 
sale interests, by emimerating a few of the leading firms doing busi- 
ness at the commencement of 1890, when there were forty-five jobbing 
houses in Sioux City, all doing a thriving business, using all the capi- 
tal at their command. Their sales for 1889 were about nine and one- 
half million dollars, and were represented among the following lines: 

Furniture — Number of traveling men, 4; number of men employed, 
10; annual sales, $200,000. 

Furs and hides — Number of traveling men, 5 ; number of men em- 
ployed, 15; annual sales, $500,000. 

Oils — Number of traveling men, 5; number of men employed, 25; 
annual sales, $500,000. 

Confectionery — Number of traveling men, 11 ; number of men 
employed, 69; annual sales, $290,000. 

Agricultural implements — Number of traveling men, 6; number 
of men employed, 25 ; annual sales, $360,000. 



216 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Dry-goods notions — Number of traveling men, 9; number of men 
employed, 24; annual sales, $575,000. 

Commission merchants — Number of traveling men, 15; number of 
men employed, 60; annual sales, $1,414,000. 

Drugs— Number of traveling men, 10; number of men employed, 
42; annual sales, $1,200,000. 

Groceries — Number of traveling men, 23; number of men em- 
ployed, 44; annual sales, $2,750,000. 

Clothing — Number of traveling men, 2; number of men em- 
ployed, 4; annual sales, $100,000. 

Stationery — Number of traveling men, 3; number of men em- 
ployed, 10; annual sales, $115,000. 

Queensware — Number of traveling men, 5; number of men em- 
ployed, 12; annual sales, $150,000. 

Hardware — Number of traveling men, 7; number of men em- 
ployed, 25; annual sales, $600,000. 

Boots and shoes — -Number of traveling men, 3; number of men 
employed, 7; annual sales, $150,000. 

Saddlery hardware — Number of traveling men, 6 ; number of men 
employed, 19; annual sales, $250,000. 

Cigars — Number of traveling men, 7 ; number of men employed, 
23; annual sales, $303,000. 

Total for 1889— Number of traveling men, 179; number of men 
employed, 414; annual sales, $9,457,000. 

Among the large dealers are Tollerton & Stetson Co., C. Shenk- 
berg & Co., Donnan & Fowler Co., William Tackaberry & Co., whole- 
sale grocers; J. H. Griffin & Co., Iowa Candy Co., Sioux City Cracker 
& Candy Co., confectioners; Jandt & Thompkins, Palmer, Noyes & 
Willey, dry goods; Hornick- Drug Co., F. Hansen, drugs; Baker & 
Bissell, Knapp & Spalding Co., hardware; Peavey & Stephens, George 
H. Howell, furniture; Strange Bros., hides, etc.; W. E. Higman & 
Co., boots and shoes; I. Feldenheimer, clothing; J. K. Prugh & Co., 
queensware; Sioux City Plow Co., Weisz & Moll Co., agricultural 
implements; Northwestern Spice Co., coffee, cigars and spices. 

The saddlery hardware business of L. Humbert was started in a 
small way in 1870. Later on, the hide trade was added, and the com- 
bined business has constantly grown. A commercial salesman is 
now employed, and the full force engaged in the business of manu- 
facturing and selling is twenty. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 219 

C. H. Martin's music business was established in 1886, and has 
come to be a big trade, extending over a large territory. The highest 
grades of musical instruments extant are handled in large quantities. 

Crowell & Martin, wholesale dealers in fruit, now doing an exten- 
sive business, commenced their operations in 1880, by shipping one 
carload of oranges and lemons, and later the first car of bananas 
ever shipped to Sioux City. At that date it was looked upon as a 
foolish piece of business venture, and it took some time to work these 
goods off, but they have steadily increased, with the growth of the city, 
and now handle several cars each week, of the above mentioned goods. 

The Independent Lumber Company, located here within the past 
year, consists of S. Barrow and J. H. Vallean, who sell in car lots, all 
grades of lumber, coming from the forests of Wisconsin and Minne- 
sota. Although a newly organized firm, these gentlemen have already 
secured a large trade among builders and contractors. 

A jobbers' and manufacturers' association was organized December 
5, 1885, which has been of great value to the city, in carrying out 
her many gigantic business enterprises, including the several corn 
palaces. The present officers are James F. Peavey, president; John 
Hornick, first vice-president; E. H. Stone, treasurer; James V. 
Mahoney, acting secretary; Messrs. Tollerton, Hornick and Gere, 
committee on transportation. 

Manufacturing. — Not until recently has Sioux City laid claim to 
being much of a manufacturing point, aside from that branch to which 
the packing industry belongs. But of late years, with the additional 
railway facilities, and the rapidly developing farming section to the 
north and west, an effort has been carried to a successful issue, in the 
inducement of manufacturers to locate here. Eastern and western 
surplus money has found a paying investment in these gigantic plants. 
Aside from the pork-packing business mentioned elseAvhere, the lead- 
ing manufacturing plants are the two great brick and tile works, the 
largest in Iowa; the Sioux City engine works at Leeds; the linseed 
oil mills, the largest in America; the pottery, soap, vinegar and wood- 
working factories; agricultural implement works, lithographing, blank 
book and auxiliary printing houses. Also the Daniel Paris stove 
works (at Leeds), which are now being erected, and will employ 400 
workmen. It is the largest Avest of Cleveland, Ohio. The milling 
interests of Sioux City have come to be of great magnitude. During 



220 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the present year, 1890, the second largest flouring-mill in Iowa, a 
roller plant, has been built at Leeds, at which place a shoe factory 
is also being built. 

"With the Haley Iron Works and the Scraper "Works, together with 
foundries here and there over the city, no trouble is experienced in 
getting heavy castings of all kinds. 

A stock company with a capital of $2,000,000 was formed in 1889, 
to assist in the establishment of manufactories. The members are all 
heavy capitalists, who have abundant faith in building up great manu- 
facturing interests at Sioux City. Among the flourishing manufact- 
uring plants who have furnished the writer with data are the fol- 
lowing : 

The Sioux City engine works were first established in 1871, and 
incorporated in 1884. C. M. Giddings is president and manager, with 
H. J. Westover as superintendent. They build high-grade engines, 
including the automatic, their own invention. This plant was located 
in the city up to 1889, at which time they removed to Leeds, where 
their works now cover four acres. They have the capacity for turning 
out 150 engines per annum. Their specialty in engine work is the 
Sioux City Corliss, which finds ready sale in all parts of the country. 
They make them from 100 to 200 horse power. During the last year 
they have sold them in California; St. Paul, Minn.; Des Moines, 
Iowa; Chillicothe, Mo.; Omaha, Neb.; St. Joseph, Mo., and many 
smaller points. 

The Sioux City Brick & Tile Works, with office and works at 
Springdale, were incorporated November 12, 1886, by C. F. Hoyt, 
Thomas Green, H. Huerth, C. E. Marks and W. M. Stevens. The 
present officers are C. F. Hoyt, president; C. R. Marks, secretary; 
Thomas Green, superintendent and treasurer. The capital stock is 
$60,000. The output of the plant is never less than 1,000,000 a 
month, the year through. The quality of brick made is very superior; 
they were used in the foundation of the United Bank block, instead of 
stone. The supply of clay is inexhaustible at their plant, and in the 
Sioux valley. They also possess fine builder's sand and glass sand. 
$50,000 has been invested in improvements, and the plant is fully 
equipped with all sorts of modern machinery. 

The Sergeant's Bluff & Sioux City Terra Cotta, Tile & Brick 
"Works began operations in 1887, their first year's output being 4,000,- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 221 

000. The attention of the company was turned toward paving brick, 
in the fall of 1889, and early in the spring of 1890, they constructed 
new kilns and added new machinery for such purpose. Their clay is 
of a superior quality for this work, being a hard blue shale, which in 
paving, makes the hardest and most lasting brick known. Their 1890 
output was 7,000,000. The officers of this company are Aaron Halseth, 
president; George A. Mead, vice-president; M. L. Sloan, secretary; 
George H. Brown, treasurer. The works are situated at Sergeant's 
Bluff, while their office is at Sioux City. 

Prominent among Sioux City's gigantic business enterprises rnay be 
mentioned one of the largest linseed oil-mills in the United States. 
This plant is located on the north side of Second street, with a frontage 
of 150 feet each, on Court and Iowa streets. The plant is a model of 
modern skill, and ranks second to none in the world in amount of oil 
produced. The works were built by Messrs. R. D. Hubbar'd, of 
Mankato, Minn., and T. P. Gere, of St. Paul, the location being influ- 
enced by the fact that Sioux City was in the center of the flax-growing 
belt. The construction of these works was commenced in August, 
1883, the first crushing being done for the crop of 1884 Five hundred 
thousand bushels of flax seed are consumed annually by these mills. 
The product is linseed oil and oil cake. The name of the incorporated 
company owing and operating these works, is the National Linseed Oil 
Company, and its paid-up capital is §18,000,000. The resident man- 
ager is Thomas P. Gere. 

In the line of novelty goods, made at this point, should be men- 
tioned the Martin piano truck, which was invented by C. H. Martin, 
of Sioux City, in 1889. Business was commenced at once upon 
receipt of the letters patent. The firm became C. H. Martin & Co. (C. 
H. Martin and E. H. Stone). During the first year they sold $12,- 
000 worth of trucks in all parts of the union. They own and conduct 
a large factory, and the business is constantly increasing. 

The Sioux City Butter Tub Factory commenced operation in 1881, 
with a capacity of 15,000 butter tubs; but the plant has grown, and in 
1889 it turned out 50,000 tubs, 5,000 lard barrels, 2,000 pork barrels, 
2,000 half barrels. The proprietors are W. F. Baker & Son, and the 
factory is located in the rear of 107 West Third street. 

Fletcher & Case Co., with an authorized capital of $100,000, 
was established in March, 1882, with an original capital of only $9,000, 



222 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and employing but ten men. They manufacture all kinds of doors, 
windows, blinds, moldings, bank work, etc. In March, 1889, the 
business was incorporated, and during that year employed sixty men 
and turned out $100,000 worth of work. 

The steam heating and plumbing business of Louis Kettleson was 
founded in 1889. In 1890 the business amounted to $40,000, and 
employed ten Avorkmen. 

The Union Planing Mill Company was organized in 1889, with 
Daniel Linblad, manager; O. Soiset, president, and A. Elving, secre- 
tary. The mill is 40x75 feet, with engine room 24x25 feet. Every 
kind of planing is done by the most improved machinery. They 
employ twenty men. Mr. Linblad is a native of Sweden, and came 
to America in 1881, locating at Sioux City. 

Union Stock Yards and Packing-houses. — Nothing has been more 
successful in the history of Sioux City, than the beef and pork packing 
jjlants, which have sprung up within a few years and already rank 
third in the Union. It is now the stock market of northwestern Iowa, 
southwestern Minnesota, Dakota and Nebraska. This business has 
assumed immense proportions, and is rapidly growing. The present 
great cattle and hog industry of the west, dates its origin to the gold 
discoveries of 1860. The grassy plains lying between the Rocky 
mountains and the Missouri river, were grazed upon only by the 
vast multitudes of buffalo, elk, antelope, etc., running wild over them. 
It is from the completion of the Union Pacific road, in 1869, that 
freighting stock from the vast western country commenced. The map 
shows that several great trunk lines of railway shoot out from Sioux 
City and traverse this section, bringing in the live-stock treasure. 

The nucleus of what is now a great corporation — the Union Stock 
Yards Company — was organized in 1884, with a paid-up capital of 
$100,000. D. T. Hedges was president and treasurer; F. T. Evans, 
Sr., vice-president, and Ed. Haakinson, secretary and superintendent. 
The company was composed of men far-seeing, shrewd, and possessed 
of great executive ability. After the immediate wants of the stock 
yards proper were attended to, they began buying land on what is 
termed "the flats," at the junction of the Floyd and Missouri rivers, 
just where the eastern abutment of the railroad bridge is. The com- 
pany now owns in that vicinity, over 1,500 acres of ground and in the 
neighborhood of 400 city lots. On these grounds are located the 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 223 

mammoth packing plants of the Silberhorn company, and the Fowler 
house, now operated by Ed. Haakinson & Co., and the James E. 
Booge & Son Packing Company. These immense institutions have a 
daily capacity of 12,000 hogs and 2,000 cattle. 

The present officers of the Union Stock Yards Company are D. T. 
Hedges, president; J. E. Booge, vice-president; Ed. Haakinson, secre- 
tary; J. W. Htitchings, superintendent. The capital stock of the 
company is $1,000,000. 

The oldest and best known establishment of its kind, in this part 
of the great Missouri valley, is the one conducted by the James E. 
Booge & Sons Packing Company, an institution of which Sioux City 
is proud, and which for years past has enriched our local interests on 
every hand, to the extent of millions of dollars every year, likewise 
encouraging the hog product among the farmers of the northwest, 
covering an area of nearly 100 miles tributary to this market. For 
the past ten years this company has been engaged in packing and 
turning out the product of 2,000 hogs slaughtered each day. For 
its successful operation, 350 men are employed throughout the season. 

The AV. H. Silberhorn company was the second packing-house to 
locate at Sioux City. The main buildings consist of four immense 
structures of solid brick, four stories high, and are constructed with 
every improvement known to science and skill. The best evidence of 
the truth of this statement, is in the fact that the total cost is more 
than $750,000. The machinery is driven by two magnificent Corliss 
engines of 225 horse-power, getting their steam from the two largest 
boilers in Iowa. 

The capacity of the establishment, controlled by the Silberhorns, 
when worked to its full limit, is 3,000 hogs, 1,000 beeves and 500 
sheep each and every day ; in other words, 4,500 animals can be reduced 
to pork, beef and mutton every twelve hours. The methods employed 
are skillful in the last degree. 

The third packing-house is conducted by Ed. Haakinson & Co. 
This great establishment was originally built for Kobert D. Fowler, 
but owing to the failing health of that great pork packer, the plant 
was taken, in March, 1888, by Ed. Haakinson & Co. This great pork- 
packing house is supplied with all the latest machinery for the pack- 
ing of pork and beef. It is a splendidly laid out plant, having all those 
conveniences of the great packing-houses of Chicago. The house for 



224 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

killing and dressing beef is six stories high, 154x62; storing and 
packing, five stories, 160x160; smoke-house, 50x100; fertilizing, 50x98; 
beef- house, four stories high, 100x100, and ice-house, forty-seven feet 
high, 148x60. 

Banking. — Sioux City is now a great banking city, with greater 
prospects in the near future. Thirteen good banks are in successful 
operation, and two more (one with $1,000,000 capital) are now being 
organized. 

The first attempt at banking was in October, 1855, when Cassady, 
Myers & Moore, later known as Cassady, Moore & Clark, opened a 
small private concern. The longest-continued bank in Iowa is the 
private banking-house of Weare & Allison, the same dating from 
1856. George Weare, one of the firm, came to Sioux City December 
26, 1855, when the town was made up of six log houses. He opened 
up an office in the attic of a story-and-a-half log building, on the 
corner of Pearl and Third streets, which was then occupied by the 
United States land office. That winter he built him a log building 
on Douglas street, near Sixth, where he remained until 1857, then 
moved into a one-story building, which he also erected. 

In September, 1860, Mr. Weare formed a partnership with John 
P. Allison. They then opened up a banking office in a building which 
was standing on the corner of Douglas and Sixth streets. The busi- 
ness of the young city changed, in 1862, to Second, Third and Lower 
Pearl streets, and in 1869 they erected what was known as the Spotted 
building, which was moved afterward and used by the Iowa Savings 
Bank. In 1878 they built the brick bank building on Pearl street, 
near Fourth, where they are now located. They still do a thriving 
business, being individually responsible for $500,000. Being an old 
pioneer bank, and having always conducted their business on correct 
principles, they now have the confidence of all banking concerns in the 
northwest. 

The First National Bank was organized August 30, 1870, with the 
following officers: A. W. Hubbard, president; Thomas J. Stone, cash- 
ier. The cash capital was $100,000. This institution succeeded the 
private banking house of Thomas J. Stone. Its present cash capital 
and surplus is $200,000, with $8,000 of undivided profits. Its present 
officers are Thomas J. Stone, president; George Murphy, vice-presi- 
dent; E. H. Stone, cashier. At first they were located on the corner 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 225 

of Pearl and Third streets, but in 1871 erected the fine banking build- 
ing on the corner of Douglas and Fourth streets, which they still 
occupy. They have over forty corresponding banks, east and west, 
including the Merchants National, of Chicago, and the Ninth National, 
of New York City. By reason of Sioux City's great wholesale and 
jobbing trade throughout the northwest, this bank controls a large 
business in Nebraska, Dakota and Minnesota. 

The Corn Exchange National Bank was organized February 15, 
1890, with a capital of $300,000. The officers then, and at present, are 
John C. French, president; C. Bevan Oldfield, vice-president; W. G. 
Harcourt Vernon, cashier. Their location is corner of Jackson and 
Fifth streets, in United Bank building. Their corresponding banks 
are Seaboard National Bank, New York; National of Illinois, at Chi- 
cago; First National Bank, of Omaha; Bank of Minnesota, St. Paul; 
Union National Bank, Kansas City. The Corn Exchange is a strong 
financial concern, with the following directors: D. T. Hedges, T. P. 
Gere, John Hornick, J. F. Peavey, C. L. Wright, M. Pierce, F. W. 
Little, Joseph Sampson, J. C. French, C. B. Oldfield and W. G. H. 
Vernon. 

The Iowa State National Bank, was organized in January, 1889, 
with a cash capital of $100,000. Their present capital and surplus is 
$106,000. The first, as well as present officers, are D. T. Gilman, 
president; H. A. Jondt, vice-president; B. S. Van Keuren, cashier. 
Their corresponding banks are Gilman, Son & Co., New r York; Na- 
tional Bank of America, Chicago; Commercial National, Omaha; Sec- 
ond National, St. Paul. It is conducted in a correct business manner, 
and constantly growing in favor. Its location is in the Opera House 
block, on Fourth street. 

The Home Savings Bank was organized January 1, 1890, with a 
capital of $50,000. Its officers are George E. Westcott, president; 
W. S. Irvine, vice-president; H. G. Hubbard, cashier. It is situated 
on Fourth street. Its eastern corresponding bank is the Merchants 
Exchange National Bank, of New York. While it is a new concern, its 
proprietors are well known, and have the confidence of a large list of 
depositors. 

The Iowa Savings Bank was organized January 15, 1883, with a 
capital of $25,000. To-day it has a capital of $250,000, with a sur- 
plus of $40,000. 



226 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH CODNTIES. 

The original officers were: E. Richardson, president; D. T. 
Hedges, vice-president; L. Wynn cashier. The present officers are 
E. Richardson, president; George W. Wakefield, vice-president; L. 
Wynn, cashier. This bank is situated on the southwest corner of 
Eifth and Pierce streets, where they removed in the fall of 1887. At 
first this concern started in the rear room of the Sioux National 
Bank building. Their corresponding banks are Chase National 
Bank, New York; Metropolitan National Bank, Chicago. The pres- 
ent directors are Eri Richardson, AVilliam L. Joy, E. B. Spalding, 
L. Wynn, George W. Wakefield. They occupy one of the finest 
bank buildings in all the great northwest, an elegant seven-story stone 
block of beautifully designed masonry. 

The Union Stock Yards State Bank was organized November 1, 
1887, with a cash capital of $50,000. Its present capital is $205,000. 
Its first and present officers are E. W. Skerry, president, and C. C. 
Pierce cashier. Their corresponding banks are Bank of Montreal, 
Chicago; Fourth Street National, Philadelphia; Gilman, Son & Co., 
New York; Sioux National Bank, Sioux City. This solid banking 
institution is situated at the Union Stock Yards, in Sioux City, and is 
doing a prosperous business under an able management. 

The Commercial State Bank was organized in September, 1886, 
with a capital of $50,000. Its present capital and surplus is $145,- 
000. It is situated on the corner of Fourth and Nebraska streets, and 
has for its corresponding banks the First National, of Chicago; Bank 
of North America, New York; Omaha National, Omaha, Neb. The 
first officers were Jonathan W. Brown, president; J. E. Booge, 
vice-president; Chas. F. Luce, cashier. The 1890 officials are 
Jonathan W. Brown, president; J. S. Fassett, vice-president; L. II. 
Brown, cashier. 

The Security National Bank was organized in February, 1884, 
with a capital of $100,000. Its first officers were F. H. Peavey, 
president; M. C. Davis vice-president; W. P. Manley, cashier. Its 
present capital amounts to $200,000, and the officers are James D. 
Spalding, president; M. C. Davis, vice-president; W. P. Manley, 
cashier. Their corresponding banks are Importers & Traders Na- 
tional, of New York; Continental National, of Chicago; First National, 
of St. Paul ; Security Bank, of Minneapolis ; Nebraska National Bank, 
Omaha. This is one of Sioux City's prides in the banking line. It 







U^^C^JU 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 229'' 

is well located at 419 Fourth street, to which place it moved in De- 
cember, 1887. 

The Merchants National Bank was organized in April, 1888, with 
a capital of $25,000. To-day it runs with a capital and surplus of 
$101,000. Its corresponding banks include the National Park Bank, 
New York; Metropolitan National, Chicago; American National, 
Omaha; American National, Kansas City. They are finely located at 
the corner of Fourth and Jackson streets. This concern was originally 
the Merchants Bank, but changed to National in 1890. The original 
officers were E. W. Rice, president; George P. Day, cashier. They 
are the same now, with the addition of Edward B. Spalding as vice- 
president. The directors are E. W. Bice, E. G. Burkham, E. B, 
Spalding, Thomas J. Stone, William Wells, Alex Larson, N. Tiedman,. 
George P. Day. 

The State Savings Bank was organized November 11, 1889, as suc- 
ceeding the private bank known as the Union Banking Company. Its- 
present capital is $51,420. The officers are H. M. Bailey, president; 
S. T. Davis, vice-president. The corresponding banks of this concern 
include the National Bank of Deposit of New York. 

The Sioux City Savings Bank was organized in 1886, with a paid- 
up capital of §50,000. The original officers were J. H. Culver, pres- 
ident; Thomas J. Stone, vice-president; Edward P. Stone, cashier. At 
present the capital and surplus of this bank in $65,000, and the officers 
are Thomas J. Stone, president; W. P. Mauley, vice-president; Ed- 
Avard P. Stone, cashier. The bank is situated on the corner of Fifth 
and Pierce streets. 

The Sioux National Bank was organized in June, 1881, with a capital 
of $100,000. Its present capital and surplus amounts to $600,000. 
The original officers were W. L. Joy, president; A. S. Garretson, 
cashier, and the same still hold their respective positions. This solid 
banking concern succeeded what was known as the Sioux City Savings 
Bank. They have for their corresponding banks the Chemical National 
of New York and the Commercial National of Chicago. Success has 
marked every year's business of the above bank, and people all over the 
northwest have the utmost confidence in it. 

The Ballou State Banking Company was organized April 1, 1888, 
at Storm Lake, Iowa, and succeeded H. S. Ballou & Co. The capital 
at first was $100,000. At present it is $150,000. The original 



230 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

officers were H. S. Ballou, president; I. F. Kleokuer, vice-president ; 
J. A. Dean, treasurer. It is still officered by the same men with the 
addition of A. E. Webb, cashier. Their corresponding banks are 
Howard National, Boston; Chase National, New York; American Trust 
& Savings Bank, Chicago. 

The American National Bank was organized in November, 18S8, 
with a capital of 3150,000. Its present surplus is $50,000. Its first 
officers were B. M. Webster, president; H. A. Jandt, vice-president, 
and Herman Russell, cashier. The present officials are O. J. Taylor, 
president; H. D. Booge, Jr., vice-president, and Thomas C. Pease, 
cashier. Their corresponding banks are National Republic, New 
York; Union National Bank, Chicago; Omaha National, Omaha, Neb. ; 
Merchants National, St. Paid. 

The business men of Sioux City have reason to have a just pride 
in their home banks, and none stands higher than the American Na- 
tional. 

The National Bank of Sioux City is one of the latest financial 
institutions in the city. It was organized in 1890 with a capital of 
$1,000,000, and is the largest banking house in Iowa. Its presi- 
dent is W. E. Higman; C. L. Chandler is cashier, and C. B. French, 
Jr., assistant cashier. Their place of business is in Metropolitan 
Block, corner of Fourth and Jackson streets. The demand for more 
ready capital in the city, and a large and growing commercial interest, 
caused this bank to be organized. The stockholders include many 
eastern investors who have abounding faith in Sioux City. In the 
building of a greater city and also in the construction of the various 
projected lines of railway, this bank must of necessity do a large 
business from the outset. The directors are George H. Howell, 
wholesale furniture dealer; Joseph Schulein, capitalist; W. H. Fowler, 
wholesale grocer ; F. L. Clark, dry goods dealer ; C. R. Marks, attorney ; 
W. S. Woods, president of Kansas City National Bank; AV. E. Hig- 
man, C. Q. Chander and C. B. French. 

Miscellaneous Interests. — Bradstreet's Commercial Agency was 
opened in Sioux City in 1884, by C. H. Austin as superintendent. He 
had previously been engaged in St. Paul as teller in the First Na- 
tional Bank; also at Rochester, Minn. He is a native of Minnesota, 
receiving his education in that state and in Tennessee. Eight per- 
sons are employed under him in the agency. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 231 

Another business convenience, in keeping with the Sioux City way 
of doing things, is the American District Telegraph Company of 416 
Pierce street, of which A. B. Gould is manager. In 1888 the com- 
pany was granted a franchise to put in a system of district telegraph, 
night-watch and burglar alarm service. Its growth has been steady 
and paying, having now over 300 district "call boxes" in business 
houses; over 100 night-watch boxes in packing-houses, mills, factories 
and business blocks; also ten banks fitted up with burglar alarm pro- 
tection. 

Another industry that ranks third or fourth in the United States, 
is the auxiliary printing business at Sioux City. In 1885 this busi- 
ness was first established here by two companies, the Chicago News- 
paper Union and the Sioux City Printing Company. But four cities 
in America print as many papers each week (of the auxiliary kind) as 
Sioux City. Their "ready print" sheets go out to supply hundreds 
of weekly, monthly and semi-monthly publications with the latest tel- 
egraphic news of the world. Chicago, New York and Kansas City are 
the only places which surpass the "ready print" business of Sioux 
City. It is one of the great inventions of the day, by which news- 
papers can be complete, valuable, and at the same time exceedingly 
cheap. News is taken from the wires, set in type, printed and sent 
out by fast trains to the various country offices all over the great 
northwest. 

The Sioux City Printing Company owes its origin to D. T. Hedges 
and John C. Kelley. To-day but one other industry employs more 
men in the city than this. 

The Chicago Newspaper Union is another immense printing plant. 

The horticultural business of I. N. Stone was established in 1868 
at Fort Atkinson, Wis., about equally divided between growing 
berries and small fruit, and nursery stock. In 1883 he commenced 
preparing grounds for a similar business, as a branch, at Sioux City. 
By 1885 this business was well established in Sioux City, and he sold 
his former place in Wisconsin, and has since concentrated his whole 
attention to his business here. This being a good point from which 
to distribute small fruit and nursery stock, with a territory almost 
unlimited, his business is one of a growing and most excellent char- 
acter. 

The Gas and Electric Light Plants. — The first charter to light 



232 HIST0BY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Sioux City with gas was made and granted to Andrew M. Hunt and 
his associates, successors, heirs and assigns, under the title of the Sioux 
City Gas Light Company, February 26, 1869, for the term of thirty 
years, one of the conditions being that the gas should be furnished 
through at least a mile of pipe, by the time the population reached 
7,500. The works were put in operation in 1872, when the city had 
5,000 population. The present owners of the plant live in Pennsylva- 
nia. During 1889-90 the works were greatly improved and the capac- 
ity much enlarged. An engine of great power operates an air blast, 
and pumps water and steam into the retorts, of which there are three, 
measuring five feet in diameter, by eighteen in length. Oil and steam 
are pumped in alternately and being quickly decomposed by the 
intense heat, and mingling with the fuel gas already created, the joint 
product is water gas, which burns with a brillant light, but being 
somewhat dangerous, it is mixed with coal gas before being turned 
into the mains. Four miles of new pipe were laid in 1889, two miles 
of which were along Jackson street. The company now has in use 
700 meters; gas is supplied to 118 street lamps at a yearly cost to the 
city of §22 per lamp. The building at which this gas is generated, is 
the largest in Iowa, being 40x150 feet in its ground plan, and thirty- 
eight feet high. The capacity of the plant is 3,000,000 cubic feet per 
month, which is soon to be trebled. 

The first electric light company in Sioux City was organized in 
1883, a charter being granted to E. H. Stone and Thomas Leary. 
January 30, 1888, a similar charter was granted to T. J. Stone, E. W. 
Kice, W. B. LoA?er, Thomas Leary, and others for a term of twenty- 
five years. The Sioux City Electric Company was formed in Sep- 
tember, 1S88, and has acquired the plant owned by the other compa- 
nies. The new company is composed of the same members as the gas 
company. Its power house is located on Court street, near the gas 
works, and is by all odds the largest plant in Iowa. It has a 250- 
horse-power engine of the Sims pattern, and a 200-horse-power Corliss 
engine. Either engine has power enough to run both dynamos. In 
October, 1889, this company entered into a contract with the city, to 
furnish all the arc lights needed for lighting the place for five years. 
At present seventy-six lamps are in use, and more can be added under 
the same contract by calling upon the company, as necessity demands. 
The cost to the city is $100 per year for each light. These arc lamps 
are 2,000-candle power each. 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 233 

Besides these there are operated 800 incandescent lights and 200 
gasoline street lamps, principally in the more remote parts of the city. 
The total illuminating power of Sioux City is as follows: Electric 
street arc lights, 76; street gas lamps, 118; private electric incandes- 
cent lamps, 800; street gasoline lamps, 200; private gas meters, 700. 

The Sioux City Cable Kailway Company now light certain por- 
tions of the north part of the city. Electricity is produced at the 
power house, and no charge can be made to the city for five years. 
Arc lamps appear every two blocks for nearly three miles along the 
cable line. 

City Water-works. — " Give us pure water and undefiled religion!" 
once prayed a chaplain in the Iowa legislature. In this connection 
will only be mentioned the water supply of Sioux City. The source 
of this supply is believed to be the Missouri river, by means of a 
great stratum of gravel and sand extending under the city between the 
engine-house and river, a distance of one-half a mile. The water of 
this stream, as it percolates through the vast gravel bed, covered over 
with the accretions on which the city is built, is perfectly purified by 
the natural filter. The drive-wells that tap this basin are one hun- 
dred and four in number, extending down seventy feet. The capacity 
of the present wells is 2,000,000 gallons per day. The system of 
water-works here used is what is known as Class No. 2, where there is 
a direct artificial pressure, with reservoir attachment, the latter being 
at an elevation sufficient to give the necessary pressure for fire purposes. 

The " Journal" of January, 1890, gives the following water- works 
history : 

" The first move toward the inauguration of a system of water- 
works was made eight years ago. A franchise was granted to ' The 
City Water- Works of Sioux City,' by an ordinance approved October 6, 
1881. The officers of that company were: President, D. A. Magee; 
treasurer, C. F. Hoyt; solicitor, George W. Wakefield; secretary, 
E. Morley; and the members were D. A. Magee, E. E. Kirk, George 
H. Wright, George D. Perkins, George W. Wakefield, Capt. Alex Bar- 
low, William Wingett, C. F. Hoyt, E. Morley. This company, soon 
after its organization, expended over $12,000 in sinking an artesian 
well near the base of Prospect hill, on Bluff street, near West Fourth, 
in search of a water supply. A constant discharge was secured at 
a depth of about 1,800 feet, but it was trifling in amount and the bor- 
ing was abandoned at that depth. 



234 HISTORY OF "WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

" In December, 1883, a franchise was granted to the City Water- 
Works Company of Sioux City, which conferred the right to use the 
streets and alleys for laying water mains, and such other powers as 
might be necessary in the construction of a system of water-works, 
which, when completed, was to be transferred to the city. The 
officers of the company were Eri Richardson, president; Charles 
Breiin, vice-president; T. J. Stone, treasurer; E. B. Spalding, secre- 
tary. C. B. Marks was also one of the incorporators. 

" Work was begun by this company in April, 1884, and pumping 
began January 12, 1885. The reservoir was not completed until Sep- 
tember, 1885. On July 15, 1885, the company formally turned the 
works over to the city, which has since operated the system." 

Sioux City Rapid Transit Lines. — No other city on the continent, 
and no city on the globe of the size of Sioux City, has had the enter- 
prise to develop such a system of rapid transit as is here to-day. 
Twelve miles of admirably-equipped street railway, with electric 
power; four miles and a half of cable line, after the latest pattern; 
two well-developed motor lines, the one of four miles and a half of 
track, reaching westward through the " park side " of the city, and 
the other running two miles and a half through the eastern part — 
these lines, finely located, and each filling a distinctive sphere of its 
own, together constitute a consistent system, answering to the needs 
and convenience of the public; and they are so situated that extensions, 
as the growth of the city progresses, will follow logically, and cover 
the expanding field. 

But one thing was lacking to make the Sioux City transit system 
complete. This was an elevated railway. This is the latest and most 
daring feature of rapid transit in Sioux City. The road is now in 
process of construction, and will soon be completed. The enterprise 
includes the building of a mile and a half of elevated railway, con- 
necting the center of the city with the packing-house district and the 
Morning Side residence portion on the one hand, and, by means of 
connecting surface roads to be built, and the other separate systems of 
rapid transit already built, the other principal quarters of the city, giv- 
ing tliem all consistency and unity. The elevated railway would be a 
remarkable enterprise in another city, but in Sioux City it comes in the 
regular course of events, and may be taken as a measure of the scale on 
which transactions are here carried on. This is the only elevated street 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 235 

railroad in the west, aside from that in Kansas City, and the cable sys- 
tem here is second to none in the world. The inventor of this system of 
cable is a Sioux City man. 

The Sioux City Street Eailway Company was organized in December, 
1883, and three miles of track completed the first year, and had cars run- 
ning July 4, 1884. The original company was composed of Fred T. 
Evans and others. Each year the lines have been extended. In April, 
1887, James F. and F. H. Peavey bought a half interest in the line, and, 
in October, 1888, bought the entire property, and are still sole owners. 
The line was started with five " bob-tailed " one-horse cars. Electricity 
was employed as the driving power April 6, 1890. There are now 
sixteen miles of electric road and sixty-six splendid cars, including open 
or summer cars. The plant represents an investment of $450,000, 
and is already on a paying basis. An extension of this line is now being 
made to Leeds, four miles away. 

The cable line was commenced September 17, 1888, and July 1, 
1889, the line was ready for business. It was a great stroke of enter- 
prise on the part of Sioux City business men, who had unimproved 
acres " way out in the country," which to-day — less than two years' 
time — are covered with beautiful and costly homes of some of the best 
families in the city. The original plant cost $325,000. The line is 
three and one-half miles long, and employs sixteen cable cars. The 
line runs from the railroads out north on Jackson street, with the power 
house midway. In the power-house is also a plant for generating 
electricity for running the arc lights along the line, every other block 
having one. D. T. Hedges, John Pierce and others own and control 
the plant. The entire length of the line is paved, and the roadbed 
proper is cemented throughout, making it one of the finest transit 
lines in operation in America. 

The Highland Park Motor Line to the eastern bank of the Big 
Sioux river, some four or five miles to the west, was begun in 1886 
and completed the following year, since which time it has proven a 
profitable investment. This finely equipped system serves the entire 
western portion of the city, and traverses the tract of rolling land con- 
taining over 600 acres, and known as Highland Park, which overlooks 
the meanderings of the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers. It is now 
designed to soon change the steam motor, with its noise and coal 
smoke, for the electric system. During the summer months this line 



236 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

as packed with passengers going to and from the park, one of the most 
beautiful resort spots within the environs of the city. A hotel, boat- 
club house and "switch-back " railway are among the objects of sum- 
mer attraction. The banks of the river are dotted, here and there, 
with tents and campers, from the city and also from different parts of 
the country. 

The elevated railway is the last triumph in the way of rapid transit 
in this city, with such men as the following backing the gigantic enter- 
prise: E. C. Peters, James A. Jackson, S. M. Jackson, A. S. Garretson, 
D. T. Hedges, Ed. Haakinson, J. T. Cheney, James E. Booge, Taylor 
& Healy and A. V. Larimer. December 7, 1889, contracts were let to 
the King Bridge & Iron Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, for one and 
•one-eighth miles of double track, elevated road, to cost (aside from 
live depots) $242,000. It starts near the Union depot and runs east, 
crossing the Floyd river, and then connects with the surface motor line 
for Morning Side. The elevated road is twenty-two feet above the 
level of Third street, along which it runs. It is eighteen feet wide 
and supported by steel columns with their base planted on solid con- 
crete work, made at great expense. The stock for this road has found 
ready sale in the markets of the east. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
SIOUX CITY.— Continued. 

EVENTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST. 

The Grasshopper a Burden— The Great Flood of 1881— The Sioux 
City Expeditions— Col. Sawyer's Wagon Road Across the Plains— 
The Black Hills Expedition— The Great Corn Palaces — How 
the First Big Sioux Bridge Was Built — Other Bridges— Assassina- 
tion of Rev. George C. Haddock. 

EVERY part of the globe has its special eras, and has, at some 
time in its history, been the scene of some startling and peculiar 
events. Each state, and likewise each county, has had a series of 
circumstances woven into its history which does not properly belong 



WOODBUHY COUNTY. 239 

under regular subject or chapter heading. Hence the following items 
have been grouped under the title found at the commencement of this 
chapter. 

The Grasshopper a Burden. — The first appearance of grasshoppers 
iu "Woodbury county, after its settlement, was in 1857. In the month 
of August, that year, they were alarmingly numerous. They did not 
deposit their eggs, or cocoons which contain them, and there being 
such a limited area of vegetation, except weeds and prairie grass, it 
was never counted and seldom referred to by pioneers as having been 
embraced in the "grasshopper years." 

Their next advent was in July, 1864, when they destroyed nearly 
everything the land produced in the way of vegetation, which, follow- 
ing the serious injury done by the great frost of the year before in 
August, made it very discouraging for the farmers and those interested 
in raising gardens. The next spring, where they had deposited their 
eggs, the destruction of vegetation was even more complete. Fortu- 
nately a very small portion of Iowa had been visited by them, their 
incursion hardly reaching south of Sergeant's Bluff, and but a little 
way to the east, not over five miles. Beyond that limit, at that time, 
there was very little vegetation to be destroyed until the Little Sioux 
river was reached. 

It was in 1867 they came in all their glory, occupying the whole 
western part of the State as far east as Boone river in Hamilton 
county, thence south. The destruction wrought that year was very 
great, and in the spring of 1868, when they hatched out, moving in 
an almost unbroken column, growing by what they fed on, they hardly 
left a green thing in their wake except prairie grass. In their fall 
visitations and hatching-out time in the spring, it was curious, and 
almost unaccountable, sometimes to notice how many fields of vegeta- 
tion would escape their destructive ravages, which proved that there 
must have been a good many breaks in the line of their movements 
after all. From 1868 there were no more grasshoppers to speak of 
until 1873, when they appeared "like a great army of locusts," and, 
by the way, the red-legged grasshopper is supposed to be the locust 
of the ancients. They continued to come more or less until 1879, 
reaching from Manitoba to Texas, and included nearly all the states 
west of the Mississippi river and east of the Bocky mountains, the 
percentage of loss, through their destructiveness, being very great in 



240 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

some sections of this territory. The most damage was clone in the years 
1873 and 1874. To show what great hardship and suffering was caused 
by the grasshoppers to the " homesteaders " in the region immedi- 
ately associated with Sioux City at that time, the following report of 
a committee published in the Sioux City " Journal " in December, 
1873, is here given: 

Sibley, Osceola County, December 3, 1873. 

The undersigned, members of the committee appointed by the citizens of Sioux 
City, to secure aid for the suffering homesteaders in Osceola and other northwestern 
counties of our state, respectfully submit the subjoined report: 

We reached Sibley, Osceola county, which is near the center of the region devas- 
tated by grasshoppers, and from the statements of reliable men, whom we have known 
for j r ears, as well as from many of the homesteaders themselves, we are satisfied that 
there are many families suffering for the comrnon necessities of life. 

It is believed that at least one-half of the entire population of Osceola county is 
burning hay for fuel, being destitute of money with which to procure coal. This will 
be the best understood when it is known that the county is oue vast treeless prairie — 
which is true of all northwestern Iowa. 

Just at the time when all vegetation was maturing, and promised a large yield of 
farm and garden products, the grasshoppers swept away everything. This, to a class 
of men like our homesteaders, should not be allowed to discourage one of them, though 
hard is their present lot. All their means was expended in seed and labor, and their loss is 
irretrievable, unless aided by the benevolent of our state. There is in this county 
alone, 15,000 acres of land all ready for sowing wheat. These destructive pests are no 
fault of the homesteaders, and they must receive aid at once. What the people in this 
and adjoining counties want now is bedding, flannels and food. 

At Sheldon, and that vicinity, but little relief has been received, although to-day 
there are nearly twenty boxes and barrels of food and clothing, and thirty tons of 
coal now on the wa}', sent by Gen. Baker. 

To-morrow the Sioux City committee will send to Sibley, 1,000 pounds of flour and 
half as much meal, and to Sheldon the same amount, together with blankets, clothing 
and bedding. 

The local committees in all these counties are good, true men, who will see that all 
receive a portion of donations. In our inquiry in reference to the needs of home- 
steaders, Gen. N. B. Baker, of Des Moines, has rendered great assistance. It is hoped, 
by hints made by the Patrons of Husbandry, that this order will take hold of this mat- 
ter and co-operate with Gen. Baker and the committee, in securing the amount of seed 
wheat needed. For passes for ourselves, and free delivery of goods sent to homestead- 
ers, we are under obligations to the officers of the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad com- 
pany; also the express company, who are performing their whole duty in rendering 
the aid needed along the lines they represent. 

[Signed] William R. Smith, 
E. R. Kirk, 

For Relief Committee. 

Hon. George D. Perkins, who was then state senator, and who was 
made chairman of the committee appointed by the general assembly 
to provide ways and means to supply seed wheat to the destitute home- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 241 

steaders, was very active and efficient in obtaining an appropriation 
from the state of $50,000 for that purpose. This amount secured 
from the state, was indeed a veritable God-send to the heroic pioneers, 
many of whom were old Union soldiers, who volunteered from north- 
western Iowa in the dark days of the Civil war. 

It should here be added to history, that the merchants, especially 
agricultural dealers of Sioux City, carried a heavy financial burden 
during those trying years which tested men's souls. 

We refer the reader to the Plymouth county part of this work for 
further facts regarding the grasshopper plague. 

Great Flood of 1881. — The greatest flood from the waters of the 
Missouri and Big Sioux rivers, ever known since white men possessed 
the great northwestern country, occurred in March and April, 1881, 
and was a dire calamity, never to be forgotten by those living in the 
valley of the greatest water course on the American continent, and 
will be referred to by their children and their children's children as 
one of the awful calamities, seldom equaled in any part of the world. 
The loss of human life, of live stock and general town and farm prop- 
erty was never fully known. The whole valley was inundated and the 
scene of desolation and devastation was for months, and even years, a 
picture too terrible for pen to portray. It will only be the aim of the 
writer, in this connection, to record a few facts and dates, that they 
may not be lost sight of by future generations, but the great story of 
misery, suffering and heart sadness to thousands of pioneer settlers, 
must of necessity go into Time's great unwritten book. 

The date of the flood was March, 1881, and at least 8,000 peo- 
ple suffered from the effects of it, while dozens of men, women and 
children lost their lives. While this flood did some damage at Sioux 
City, the greatest devastation was effected between here and Yankton, 
hence the details do not properly belong in a history of Woodbury 
county, except in a general way. 

The winter of 1880-81 was famous throughout the United States 
for a heavy snow fall. And this was especially true in the mountainous 
country through which the headwaters of the Missouri and the Yel- 
lowstone run. The season being earlier there, the warm weather and 
accompanying rains, caused the ice in the upper Missouri valley to go 
out first, which caused immense gorges to form at different points as 
far south as Council Bluffs, Iowa. 



242 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

This flood was termed the " Mill-tail of Hell." The main channel 
of the Missouri was changed in many places to points miles distant, 
and so remains to this day. Every town and city from the Yellow- 
stone down to Sioux City (where the great abrupt bluffs on the Iowa side 
prevented it), were more or less damaged by loss of life or property. 
The city of Yankton suffered greatly, and Vermillion was completely 
swept away. Thousands of homes were made desolate, and farm 
property was totally destroyed, and, in many cases, whole farms, con- 
taining hundreds of acres, were washed down the angry river toward 
the Gulf of Mexico, leaving their owners penniless. The charitable 
heart of the whole American people was stirred to the center, and 
liberal donations and public apjjropriations were forthcoming from all 
parts of the Union. The government assisted; the railroads and 
express companies tendered their services free; all sorts of home, 
church aud benevolent societies came forward in the time of need. 
The mayors of all the leading cities, even New York, responded nobly to 
the call for bread, clothing and money. No one man displayed a more 
benevolent spirit than did Sioux City's mayor, Dr. William E. Smith, 
who spent weeks in trying to collect together the distracted people and 
provide for their immediate wants. Hundreds of homeless families 
flocked to Sioux City; some walked, some were conveyed by flat boats 
and steamers, and others by teams. And be it said to the honor of 
Sioux City, that all were well cared for. 

The war department, through Gen. Sheridan, furnished full rations 
to 3,500 people in the vicinity of Yankton and Vermillion at the first 
alarm, and then assisted 5,000 more between Vermillion and the 
Big Sioux river, one of the oldest settled tracts in Dakota. Capt. 
Lavender and Capt. Noble rescued 450 people in six days, and con- 
veyed them from the inundated bottom lands to the bluffs, in boats. 
The scenes of this flood, if fully written, even as given by the news- 
papers, would fill a volume the size of the one you now hold. 

In "Woodbury county great excitement prevailed for a few days, 
especially in Lake Port, Liberty and Sloan townships, as well as over 
in Monona county. Quite a number of families living near the river, 
temporarily left their homes during the sudden rise of water, and fears 
of a flood extended far down the valley. The homeless folks found 
shelter among the farmers around and at Salix and Sloan, some even 
feeling unsafe until they reached the friendly heights of the distant 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 243 

bluffs. The damage here was slight as compared to that up the river. 
In the matter of relief to the flood sufferers it may be recorded that 
the following telegram was sent from Cedar Eapids: "The Mongonia 
Coal Company will donate two cars of coal to the sufferers above Sioux 
City. Our line and the Northwestern will transport these cars free — 
arrange with the committee to furnish proper shipping directions. 
[Signed] "Agent op Sioux City & Pacific E. E." 

The war and navy departments were alive to these urgent demands, 
and President Garfield, who had just been seated, called attention to 
the sufferers by this flood, and expressed a desire to have every need 
supplied at once. It was decided to issue rations for two weeks, and 
necessary clothing. Gov. Ordway was at the White House im- 
mediately after the cabinet meeting, to confer with Garfield relative to 
carrying out plans of speedy relief. 

Mayor William E. Smith, of Sioux City, received many letters 
containing $5, $10 and $100 toward the relief fund. He also re- 
ceived the following: 

Sioux Point, April 7, 1881. 

Hon. W. JR. Smith, Ma3 r or Sioux City, Iowa: Only three buildings in this place 
that are not flooded. The women and children are crowded along the banks of the 
Big Sioux. Can't you send up boats to take off about forty of all ages and sizes. They 
are very destitute, having been driven out of their homes on a few moments' notice. 

Yours etc., J. M. Adams. 

The wholesale and retail merchants at Sioux City established 
credit for themselves by the most generous, humane manner in which 
goods were dealt out for the up-country sufferers. Not a cent of profit 
was asked, simply cost, and many donated liberally besides. The 
"Journal" of April 24, said: 

" A question of some seriousness, in connection with the recent 
flood, which it is now time to consider, is as to what is to be done with 
the thousands of dead carcasses of animals in the Dakota bottoms. 
So soon as the water subsides, and the remains of these animals are 
exposed to the sun, decay will follow. From all reports, these dead 
bodies must be strewn about in such numbers as to be beyond the 
capacity of any combination of private and local enterprise to remove 
before pestilence shall be bred from them. What shall be done?" 

The Dakota City "Eagle," about that time, said: "The Mayor 
and all the noble men and women of Sioux City deserve to be remem- 
bered forever for what they have done and are still doing toward car- 



244 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ing for and helping their flood-stricken neighbors in Dakota and Ne- 
braska. Not in all the world can be found bigger, warmer hearts and 
readier hands than in Sioux City." 

The Chicago "Times" said: " * * * Many of the poor people 
were needy when overtaken by the flood, and in haste escaped from 
the low lands almost naked, many not having a change of undercloth- 
ing. The ladies' relief committee received, by the steamers ' Niobrara ' 
and ' Beck,' from Sioux City and Omaha, several bales of female 
apparel, which they soon found ample use for. If possible, the women 
and children, including fair young ladies, more nearly appoached a 
state of nudity than the men." 

Old man " Strike the Tree," chief of the Yankton tribe of Sioux 
Indians, said that only once in his memory, extending a long way 
back, did the Missouri river ever approach the rise of March, 1881, 
and then many of his tribe were drowned along the flats. Warned 
by that calamity, the Sioux ever afterward builded on the bluffs — a 
custom which our settlers have since followed. In many places the 
river was twenty miles wide. All sorts of boats navigated from Elk 
Point to Sioux City across the flats. 

The three great flood years of the northwest were 1857, 1867 and 
1881. It may here be added, for future reference, that the great 
snow periods in Woodbury county have been the winters of 1856-57 
and 1880-81, while January, 1861, was nearly equal. 

Expeditions from Sioux City. — Sioux City, at an early day, was 
quite noted for fitting out western expeditions. Among these may be 
mentioned two of much importance, viz. : The one which explored and 
established what is known as the "Niobrara, or Sawyer's Route," 
and also the party under leadership of Collins & Russell, who were 
the first white men to venture into the wild Indian home of the sav- 
ages in and about Black Hills. 

Of the first, it may be said that Col. Sawyer was an old pioneer of 
Sioux City, and for many years operated a ferry-boat across the waters 
of the Missouri at this point. The design of the above expedition was 
to establish a short and available route for wagon trains (this was in 
1866, before western Iowa had a mile of railroad, and none was built 
beyond the Missouri river) from Sioux City to the far distant mount- 
tain country of Virginia Citj r . As will be seen by the following cor- 
respondence, the United States Government had promised to send an 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 245 

escort of soldiers, which they did not do, however, and the. brave Col. 
Sawyer went through the great western desert and established said 
route. Judge A. W. Hubbard was then in congress. 

H'b Q'ks. Army of the U. S., Washington, D. C, March 24, 1866. 
Hon. A. W. Hubbard, M. C, Washington, D. C, 

Sir: The lieutenant-general directs me to inform you that your communication 
of the 3d is at hand, and will be forwarded to Maj.-Gen. Sherman, with the instruc- 
tions he promised you yesterday. 

[Signed.] Btt. Col. Babcock, 

A. D. C. 

The instructions referred to were in compliance with the request 
of Judge Hubbard, that some of the troops going to Fort Connor (on 
the route traveled) should constitute an escort to go with Col. Saw- 
yer, an arrangement that would not have cost the government one 
dollar extra. 

Another assurance was this: 

St. Louis, Mo., March 31, 1866. 
I have arranged with Gen. Cooke to send two companies with Col. Sawyer on 
his wagon road expedition along the Niobrara. 

[Signed.] Maj.-Gen. Pope. 

For some reason, not fully understood, the escort was not forth- 
coming. The colonel then asked for some protection, in way of artil- 
lery, etc., and received the following official promise: 

Ordnance Office, War Department, Washington, May 25, 1866. 
Hon. A. W. Hubbard, House of Representatives., 

Sir: I have the honor to inform you that the secretary of war has authorized the 
issue to Col. Sawyer of two mounted howitzers, as per your request, and that Gen. 
Sully has this day been requested to let him have those at Sioux City, which will be 
replaced by others, to be sent for that purpose: 

Your obedient servant, 

A. B. Dyer, 
Bvt. Maj.-Gen., Chief Ord. 

Gen. Sully not being at Sioux City at the time, and no one else 
having the power to deliver the howitzers, one of the citizens, armed 
with the above document, went to Omaha to request Gen. Cooke to 
give the necessary order. A most polite but firm refusal was the 
response, on the sole reason that he believed the proposed wagon-road 
route not practicable. It seems that other men had been in confer- 
ence with Gen. Sherman, and convinced him that their route, which 
was from Des Moines, Iowa, via Council Bluffs, was the better one to 
adopt, so it was that these pieces of artillery were not delivered to 



246 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Sawyer's party. However, after much parleying and disappointment, 
Col. Sawyer collected around him a few brave men, who, with Mm as 
pilot and leader, surveyed out the " Niobrara Wagon Road," which 
led from Sioux City westward over the territory of Nebraska, on 
into the gold regions of Montana. The route was the shortest, and 
avoided the famous alkali lands (the scourge of the plains) and 
afforded an abundance of fuel, water and grass, with a road-bed, which 
admitted of carrying six tons weight on two freight wagons joined 
together, without even the necessity of uncoupling, from Sioux City 
to Virginia City. That route became a great western thoroughfare, 
and was traversed by thousands of mule and ox trains of freight 
wagons, until the country was finally settled up, and the construction 
of railroads completed in all parts of the country, which at that time 
was but a barren, prairie wilderness. Much credit is due to Col. 
Sawyer's persistency, and the interest manifested on the part of Sioux 
City men in general, in the establishment of this great overland 
thoroughfare to the Rocky Mountains. 

The Black Hills Expedition. — To Sioux City belongs the honor and 
enterprise of fitting out the first civilians' expedition to the now rich 
and famous Black Hills country. Capt. T. H. Russell, of Deadwood, 
S. D., who was one of the party, and when in Sioux City, after an 
absence of thirteen years, gave the following information: 

It was October 6, 1874, that the Collins & Russell expedition 
started from Sioux City for the Black Hills. The party consisted of 
twenty-six men, who went through the Sioux nation, braving Indians, 
storms and blizzards, a very dangerous undertaking, but which proved 
eminently successful. They struck Gen. Custer's exit trail, where 
Piedmont now is, on the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley rail- 
road, below Deadwood about thirty-five miles. Gen. Custer had come 
out in July, and this party followed along his trail to where Custer 
City now stands. There they built a stockade eighty feet square, with 
walls thirteen feet high, made of pine logs. It had a trench around 
it about four feet deep. Inside the enclosure they erected six cabins. 
Port-holes were cut out every six feet, and each corner was provided 
with a bastion. These precautious were all taken to defend them- 
selves against an attack of the Indians, who then held that domain as 
a great reservation. Troops were soon sent to remove these white 
home-seekers. Capt. Mix, with the Second United States cavalry, 




SIOUX CITY CORN PALACE, 1S 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 249 

arrived April 8, 1875, and took them prisoners. They surrendered 
gracefully. Gen. Forsythe complimented them on having the best 
stockade fortification along the frontier, and Capt. Mix said afterward 
that had they resisted, he would have been compelled to have gone 
to Fort Laramie for artillery, with which to batter down the well 
constructed stockade. 

From Fort Laramie the members of the expedition were paroled. 
Sioux City sent an embassador out to meet them, and Sioux City also 
furnished transportation for them to come home. John H. Charles 
of Sioux City was foremost in fitting out the expedition, and gave lib- 
erally to sustain and carry out the Black Hills project. Having once 
"broken the ice" and become acquainted with the country and trails, 
and also aided by the government, it was an easier matter for the 
whites to settle there. Capt. Russell was afterward made president of 
the Black Hills Pioneer Association, which was the first to prospect 
among the vast mineral wealth of that section. He is at this time a 
well-to-do citizen of Deadwood, where he is editing a daily newspaper. 
When one reflects, how that only sixteen years ago this little band of 
twenty-six men became pioneers in a wild country, where the North 
American Indian held his almost limitless hunting grounds, and that 
under the magic touch of modern enterprise it has come to be the seat 
of thriving cities and towns, where great systems of railroads find it to 
their interest to enter, it causes one to believe that the present is an 
age in the history of man never before half equaled. 

The present year, work is being commenced on the Sioux City & 
Northwestern railroad, projected from Sioux City to the Black Hills, 
over about the same route traversed by the twenty-six men, who made 
the above expedition in 1874. 

The Famous Com Palaces. — Athens boasted of her schools, Borne 
of her colosseum, amphitheatre and catacombs, and Egypt of her 
pyramids, but no other city on the globe attempted, and successfully 
carried out, the idea of exhibiting the vast agricultural resources of 
the country in which it was situated, as has Sioux City by her novel 
and wonderful corn palaces. It may be classed among the "wonders 
of the world." The idea was absolutely original with Sioux City 
people, and since the erection of the first palace, in 1887, the palace 
idea of exhibiting every species of earthly product has become an 
American hobby. The ice palace at St. Paul was novel in design, and 



\ 

250 HISTORY OF -WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

drew its thousands, but had nothing of utility in its plan, while the 
corn palace has given the great northwestern corn and grain growing 
belt, such an universal advertisement as nothing else could possibly 
have done, besides which it has given Sioux City a world-wide fame. 
Four corn palaces have been built here, commencing in 1887, but the 
most elaborate and magnificent one was constructed for the annual 
exhibit of the crops of 1890. 

In August, 1887, a few business men of Sioux City met to consider 
some plan of holding a sort of harvest home, by which the bountiful 
crops produced that year might be displayed. At an adjourned meet- 
ing, when but a half dozen were present, some one asked " Why not 
' do St. Paul up ' on her ice palace and winter carnival by building a 
corn palace?" It was a happy thought, and soon took material form, 
and October 3, the same year, Sioux City presented, for the admira- 
tion of the world, its first corn palace. It was 100 feet square, with 
pyramid roof, numerous towers, pinnacles and projections. The result 
of much artistic experimenting was a creation of marvelous beauty. 
Every foot of surface, within and without, was beautifully adorned and 
decorated by corn in all conceivable forms, artistically woven and 
glued to the wood-work frame, though every species of grain, grass 
and vegetable common to this latitude, with many exhibits from far- 
away states, found place in the designs which bewildered one as he 
beheld its symetrical beauty and unique completeness. Every artistic 
resource was seemingly exhausted, and hundreds of Sioux City ladies 
contributed gratuitously their labor and skill. 

Sioux City being on the border line of Iowa, Dakota and Nebraska, 
the agricultural wealth of all three commonwealths unloaded their 
ripened harvest of grain, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, etc., mak- 
ing the whole, one grand exposition of all that the " kingdom of corn " 
could produce. The opening day presented a sublime, bewildering 
spectacle never presented on earth before. Such was the palace of 
1887. More than 100,000 visitors came from afar to enjoy its beau- 
ties. Excursions were run upon all railroads in Iowa. The illustrated 
journals of America and Europe contained various views of the struct- 
ure. President Grover Cleveland, then on a tour through the west, 
went far off his intended route to pay a visit to this, one of the wonders 
of the world. Chauncy M. Depew, in an address delivered in the 
palace, paid an eloquent tribute to its originality, and declared that it 
surpassed most of earth's wonders. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 251 

The com palace of 1888, owing to past experience and more time 
in which to study and construct, was a great improvement over that 
of 1887. It was decorated with greater care. The festival continued 
two weeks. The attendance was nearly double that of the first year. 
The palace was 150x150 feet, with a hexagonal tower, 24 feet in 
diameter, rising up 110 feet. There was an interior court 70 feet square 
overtopped by a dome supported by eight arches, having a central 
height of eighty feet. In the center of the court the famous Elgin 
(111.) band gave three daily concerts. Parades, games, military drills, 
etc., added to the interest. 

The palace of 1889 was the climax in the development of the idea. 
The general purpose was the same as before, but was carried out with 
a skill and fine art not employed previously. The plan of the build- 
ing was new and more elaborate. It was 150x238 feet. The base of 
the tower was 48 feet square and extended up 160 feet, from which, 
one standing in the lookouts might view the great Missouri valley and 
gaze out over the rural and village districts of three great states. The 
interior also presented many novel features. The galleries were higher, 
broader, and everything was more spacious. The glory of the 1889 
palace was the perfect methods of decoration in corn. Corn in the 
full ear; corn sawed into slices; corn on the cob; corn shelled and 
glued to wall panels, fresco work and landscape scenes made from dif- 
ferent colored corn, grain and grass. Indeed each branch of fine art 
and handiwork was there fully manifest, and a pen picture can 
hardly give the reader an adequate conception of the magnificence of 
this palace of corn, with the vast exposition within ; it must needs be 
looked upon in order to be comprehended. Immense excursion trains 
entered the city daily, carrying thousands of people to view the palace. 
The largest one came by special train from Boston, Mass. It was a 
solid vestibuled train occupied by 100 leading capitalists of New Eng- 
land, together with newspaper men of a national record. Several other 
parts of the Union had exhibits here, including Oregon and some 
southern states. Daily concerts were given by the famous Seventy- 
first New York regiment band. The palace opened September 24, 
and closed October 5. 

The palace of 1890, being built on the site of the old one at the 
time of this writing, is designed to eclipse all former attempts. These 
palaces have been built by Sioux City capital and skill, hence it came 



252 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

about, that Sioux City took for a business motto, "We Are The Peo- 
ple!" and may justly be styled, as she is so commonly now called, the 
"Corn Palace City." 

The Corn Palace Train. — A moving pageant that spread abroad 
the fame of Sioux City and vicinity, was the Corn Palace train that 
went to the inaugural of President Harrison in March, 1889. Five 
Wagner vestibuled sleeping coaches and a baggage car constituted 
this train of splendor and novelty. The sides and roof of each coach 
were covered with corn decoration in all colors and fancy designs, 
emblematic of the patriotic occasion. The cost to Sioux City for these 
decorations was $3,000, which amount was freely made up by private 
contribution. The train left Sioux City for Washington, D. C, Feb- 
ruary 28, in the presence of fully 15,000 people. It went via the 
Chicago & Northwestern road. There were 133 passengers aboard, 
125 of whom lived at Sioux City. Company H, Iowa National Guards, 
went as a military escort. The novelty of such a rapid moving pageant 
excited curiosity all along the line. The railroads had thoroughly 
advertised the coming of the " Great Corn Palace Train," at every 
station between Sioux City and the National capital, and during the 
three days of travel, every station was thronged with people, eager to 
behold the " panorama of corn," as one writer styled it. At night the 
stations were entered midst bonfires and torch-light illuminations. 
March 1, the train remained in Chicago, and although the day was 
damp and unpleasant, fully 50,000 people made it a visit. From that 
city the train moved over the Baltimore & Ohio road to Washington. 
The night of March 2, it passed through the rugged, rocky region of 
the Ohio valley and West Virginia, but the pine torch and the pitch- 
cans lighted up the scene throughout the hours of darkness. Passen- 
gers were awakened at each station by enthusiastic people swinging 
lanterns and shouting vociferously. The great train rolled into the 
Baltimore & Potomac depot at the national capital at 10 a. m., March 3, 
and was side-tracked for general inspection. During its sojourn there 
multitudes visited the spot. President Harrison and family, members 
of the cabinet, foreign diplomates, members of the senate and house, 
by hundreds, greeted it with aright hearty welcome. March 6, the 
train left for New York City, where it remained two days, being 
inspected by the press and prominent people of America's greatest 
city. The 10th of March was spent in Philadelphia, the 11th at Pitts- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 253 

burgh, the 12th at Chicago, and on the 13th it returned to Sioux 
City, without accident, after a trip covering two full weeks. It was a 
great advertising medium for the next Sioux City Corn Palace, as 
time proved. 

How the First Big Sioux Bridge Was Built. — From the earliest 
settlement of the country, until after the Civil war, the only means of 
crossing the Big Sioux river, at or near Sioux City, was by ferry boat. 
All the vast tonnage of freight for the " upper country," that was 
transported by teams had to wait their turn and pay toll. Judge A. 
W. Hubbard, who was elected to represent this district in congress, 
in 1862, took an active part in the passage of an appropriation bill 
for the construction of a wagon bridge over this stream. A little 
pleasantry is also connected with this important event, for such it was 
looked upon. The judge secured an appropriation of $20,000 to 
build the aforesaid bridge, but in an unguarded moment allowed a 
gentleman from Dakota to be appointed superintendent of construc- 
tion. The superintendent collected about $2,000 worth of material, 
and they concluded that as far as the interests of Dakota territory 
were concerned, it would perhaps be as well to expend the balance of 
the appropriation for sheep, and let them grow up with the country, 
and allow the citizens of Sioux City and Union county, Dak., to still 
pay toll over the scow ferry, which he did, of course, to the great dis- 
gust of the people, and especially to his honor, Judge Hubbard. 

The need of a bridge, however, was so imperative, and the abuse 
of a public trust so glaring, that Mr. B , the delegate from Da- 
kota, concluded that he would go in for another appropriation. He 
managed it so well, that he got his bill for an appropriation of $20,- 
000 through to its third reading without a balk; when Mr. Washburn, 
of Illinois, asked if Judge Hubbard had not already procured an 
appropriation for the same bridge, during the previous session of 
congress. This untimely question would have been a perfect stumper 

to most men, but Mr. B assured the gentleman from Illinois that 

he was quite correct; but the failure to ask for a sufficient sum in 
the first place was owing to the fact that Mr. Hubbard had been mis- 
informed as to the length of the bridge required to span the stream. 

It had been represented to the judge that the bridge required, 
was to be 300 feet long, whereas by actual measurement it should be 
600 feet in length. The judge realizing the necessity of this bridge, 



254 HIBT0EY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

sat in his seat, in grim silence, and allowed Mr. B , from Dakota 

territory, to make the statement unchallenged. Washburn was satis- 
fied with the explanation, and the bill became a law. It was managed, 
however, this time, to have a man sent from Washington to superin- 
tend the work. 

The Pontoon and Other Bridges. — There formerly was a belief 
that some streams could not be bridged, but since modern skill has 
shown such belief to be erroneous, the Missouri, one of the worst 
streams to cross, has been successfully bridged in several places, 
including Sioux City. The first bridge here was the iron railway bridge, 
built by the Chicago & Northwestern in 1888, and which is described 
in the railway chapter. 

May 18, 1889, a great pontoon bridge was formally opened between 
Sioux City and Covington, on the Nebraska side of the Missouri. 
It was built at au expense of $40,000, by E. C. Palmer, J. M. Moan 
and William Luther. The immediate occasion for which this was 
built was on account of the Iowa prohibitory law closing the saloons, 
while liquor could be had by crossing over into Nebraska. For many 
months this bridge, which charged five cents toll each way, made over 
$100 per day. A wag has described it as "a row of boats with a 
thirst at one end and a beer saloon at the other end." 

In the summer of 1890, a temporary railroad bridge was put in for 
the purpose of conveying construction material across to the Nebraska 
side, and work was commenced the same fall on the bridge proper, 
which was built for the Pacific Short Line railway. It is to be one of 
the finest bridges in the country, costing nearly $1,000,000. In addition 
to the part devoted to the use of the cars, there will be a wagon and 
foot bridge, thus uniting Iowa and Nebraska for persons in all 
stations. 

First Fourth of July Celebration. — The first newspaper that ever 
rolled from the printing press in Woodbury county was the " Eagle," 
which was issued on the afternoon of July 4, 1857, and it contained 
the following: 

" The glorious natal day of our independence was properly cele- 
brated for the first time in Sioux City, to-day, by the gathering of our 
citizens in the grove above Perry creek, where seats had been prepared. 
The assemblage was addressed in a spirited and eloquent manner, by 
Dr. S. P. Yeomans (register of the United States land office) and 
County Judge William Van O'Linda. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 255 

True, there was no firing of cannon or strains of music, but every 
bosom swelled with patriotic emotion at the remembrance of that glori- 
ous and successful struggle for freedom, made by the gallant and 
rebellious sons of '76." 

Assassination of Rev. George C. Haddock. — Without exaggera- 
tion, it is certain that no crime, since the assassination of President 
James A. Garfield, has so attracted the attention of the whole country, 
as the murder of Rev. George C. Haddock, which occurred on the 
night of August 3, 1886, at Sioux City, Iowa. 

Connected with a crime like this, there is something more than the 
shedding of one man's blood. The death of Rev. Haddock added 
another to the list of American martyrs — as Lovejoy, the abolition 
advocate, Lincoln and Garfield, martyrs to civil government princi- 
ples. The millions of the future will look back to this striking lesson 
in history, which was etched upon its pages by an implement in the 
hand of the demon, rum, dipped in the life-blood of a true martyr. 
The little ones of our time will ask of us, as they grow up, the details 
of this tragedy, and learn from us the impress which it made at the 
time when a pistol flash became a light-house for the day and genera- 
tion which bartered with crime and shared in the spoils of piracy. 

A full account of this great tragedy would fill a large volume, but 
for the purpose of leaving a correct outline history of the affair, it has 
been deemed sufficient to give the following, which facts have been 
gleaned from public documents and county records, with a view of 
brevity. 

In the early days of this state's history, efforts were made to 
develop the grape-growing and beer-making industry, and finally Des 
Moines supported the largest distillery in the world. From the first 
settlement of Iowa there had been a strong anti-liquor element, par- 
ticularly in the rural districts, while the large towns along either of 
the great water-courses, which bound the state, grew rich in and 
upheld the traffic. 

The constitution was made to prohibit the sale of alcoholic bever- 
ages, " save ale, wine and beer." But year after year the violations 
of this law increased, and so, in June, 1882, the voters of the state 
adopted an amendment to the constitution, by which ale, wine and 
beer and all other intoxicating liquors were forbidden to be made or 
sold as beverages. Defects having been discovered in the manner of the 



256 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

adoption of this law, it was declared unconstitutional, so a statutory 
enactment was made, with a supplemental law known as the "Clark 
law," which closed the drinking places all over Iowa, except a few 
river cities, including Sioux City, where the liquor element paid no 
attention to the law. Then began the war of sentiment, and of the 
prohibition and anti-prohibition elements. The great majority of 
German citizens looked upon the law as taking away their constitu- 
tional and "personal liberties." With them being joined thousands 
of brewers, distillers, saloon keepers and their devotees from the 
lower class of society, a formidable array was made against the effort 
to keep liquor from being sold. 

At Sioux City (then possessed of a very different class of people 
than at present) the idea obtained among business men, that doing 
away with saloons would do away with a great share of trade in all 
branches, and hinder the growth of their city, hence it was that the 
general business community sanctioned, and by municipal acts even 
"licensed," places in direct violation of the law. 

The temperance people and law-abiding citizens sought to enforce 
the liquor law. Rev. George C. Haddock was a zealous worker in 
every department of religious and moral reformation, and was the first 
to die a martyr to the cause of temperance in Iowa. 

Rev. Haddock was pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal church 
at Sioux City, and being an ardent temperance worker, became a 
leader in the enforcement of the law. He preached it from the pulpit; 
worked for it, and at last became a prosecuting witness in the courts. 
This, however, Avas not until his fellow-townsmen shirked the responsi- 
bility through intimidation, daring not to stem the terrible tide of the 
whisky element then rampant in Sioux City. Two ministers' wives, at 
Sergeant's Bluff, finally took it upon themselves to sign the informations 
against the saloons, for which their own and their husband's lives were 
threatened. This was too much for Rev. Haddock, and he at once 
espoused their cause, and commenced the enforcement of the law, by 
signing the informations and appearing as a witness against the 
saloons, knowing it to be at the peril of his life. He received threats, 
insults and [indignities, all of which he bore patiently with manly 
courage. Such was the character of the man who entered upon the 
work of closing Sioux City's saloons. He realized his great danger, 
and he expected to meet violence, and perhaps death, at the hands of 





'sOfct 



-t^^Zs 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 259 

the saloon element. But with him, as many another martyr, it was 
Christian duty and good citizenship before any other consideration. 
He was a man of powerful frame and nerve, hence looked upon as a 
dangerous antagonist. He was born in Watertown, N. Y., in 1831, 
and was fifty-five years of age at the time of his tragic death. In 
early life he was a printer, and published a paper at Beaver Dam, 
Wis., but had been in the ministry for many years, and a member of 
an Iowa Methodist Episcopal conference since 1883, assuming his 
labors at Sioux City in 1885. He was a man of strong convictions, and 
often said cutting things; being of an uncompromising nature he nat- 
urally became a terror to evil doers. 

Little attention was paid by those engaged in the prosecution to 
the angry threats of saloon keepers and others who go to make up the 
so-called saloon element. Their work was recognized as dangerous, 
but Rev. Haddock and his co-laborers went straight ahead in their task 
of aiding the prosecution, looking only at the end to be attained, and 
urged on by what they considered their plain duty. Hissed by the lawless 
element, reviled by a portion of the local press; even discouraged by 
many of their clerical brethren, they proceeded steadily in the ardu- 
ous work of closing the saloons of Sioux City. This earnest prose- 
cution presented a new phase to the hitherto secure persons en- 
gaged in the illegal traffic. The law had been laughed at and derided 
as a farce. "Prohibition does not prohibit " was their war cry and 
watchword. But under the generalship of Mr. Haddock it began to 
appear that prohibition would most effectually prohibit, unless some- 
thing was speedily done to arrest the progress of the effort toward 
enforcement, and to change the public sentiment, which was steadily 
growing against the saloon element and in favor of the law. 

A saloon keepers' association was formed and a conspiracy 
hatched to prevent the progress of these prosecutions. This is well 
established in evidence, and the existence of such an association and 
such a conspiracy is well and openly attested. The direct object of 
such conspiracy was to "whip Walker, Wood and Haddock," witnesses 
for the state, with a view of intimidation. At a meeting held on the 
night of August 2, in Holdenreid's hall, the question of hiring two 
Germans to do this whipping was discussed. The man who brought 
up this proposition was one George Trieber, a German saloon-keeper 
and a person of unsavory character and reputation. Trieber said he 



260 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

had two Germans (named Koschnitski and Granda), who would whip 
the preacher if they were paid for it. The reply was made that there 
were " $700 or $800 in the treasury of the association, and if they 
wanted to do the job they could get their pay." 

On the night of August 3, Eev. Haddock and Eev. C. C. Turner 
hired a horse and buggy at Merrill's liver}' stable, on Water street, for 
the purpose of making a trip to Greenville, a suburb of Sioux City, 
where they expected to gain valuable evidence for use in the prosecu- 
tion. 

Learning of this trip, the alert saloon keepers, as also appears in 
evidence, hired a hack and followed. Four men entered this vehicle, 
and others were left in the city to watch for the return of the buggy 
to the stable. Those who went to Greenville in the hack learned noth- 
ing to their advantage, and returned to the city about 10 o'clock. In 
the meantime, "Bismarck" (Koschnitski) and Granda, the hired 
thugs, had been sent to the vicinity of the stable to watch for the 
buggy. On its return, word was swiftly passed down Fourth street, 
the principal street of the city, where groups of the conspirators were 
stationed, and all hastened to the corner of Fourth and Water streets, 
within 100 feet of Merrill's livery stable. 

During the absence of the buggy containing the preachers, " Bis- 
marck " had sent an innocent and disinterested party named Fitzsim- 
mons to the livery stable, for the purpose of making inquiry as to 
whether the buggy had yet returned. When Mr. Haddock drove back 
to the stable alone, having left Mr. Turner at his home on the West 
Side, he was told of this fact by a hostler. Looking out of the door, 
through the dark and rainy night, Mr. Haddock saw the crowd of con- 
spirators on the corner, and said to the hostler: "They're laying for 
me out there, are they not? " To this the hostler replied that he did 
not know, and, with a cheerful remark, Mr. Haddock started bravely 
out. He wore a rubber coat to protect him from the rain, and carried 
in his hand a slung-shot made of a heavy iron pinion-wheel deftly 
fastened to a strong line or rope. He walked north, perhaps fifty 
feet, to the corner of Fourth and Water streets, where stands a Ger- 
man hotel, known as the Columbia House. Turning on Fourth street, 
he walked firmly and resolutely toward his enemies on the opposite 
corner. Then, from this crowd of conspirators started forth two men. 
One is described as particularly large and heavy set. When they met 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 261 

Mr. Haddock, about half-way across the street, it is in evidence that 
the assassin peered closely into the face of the minister, making sure 
of his identity, and taking one step farther, and behind him, turned and 
fired. Mr. Haddock dropped his cane and his weapon, staggered 
blindly forward to the side of the street, and fell, face down, in the 
gutter, where, in a few brief moments, his brave life ebbed away in 
the blood which mingled with the mud and water of the ditch. The 
tragedy occurred at about fifteen minutes after 10 o'clock, and, despite 
the disagreeable weather, the report of the pistol soon attracted crowds 
to the scene, which, when the identity of the victim became noised 
around, grew to a vast multitude. When picked up by John Ryan, a 
fireman and superintendent of markets, Mr. Haddock was dying. He 
never spoke after the shot, the ghastly wound in bis neck filling his 
mouth with blood, and rendering articulation impossible. 

The body was taken to the Methodist parsonage, which Mr. Had- 
dock had but a few hours before quitted, full of life, vigor and deter- 
mination. The coroner was summoned, and the report of physicians 
was sent to the coroner's jury, showing that deceased came to his 
death by an injury to the left carotid artery and other points, the 
bullet "entering at the base of the neck, a little above the left shoulder 
blade, passing directly through the neck, and making its exit at a 
point midway between the angle of the jaw and symphisis. The 
wound was made by a bullet of large size. 

The grand jury of Woodbury county indicted John Arensdorf, 
Harry L. Leavitt, Paul Leader, Fred Munchrath, Louis Plath, Albert 
Koschnitski, George Treiber and Sylvester Granda. A number of 
them fled from justice. 

Arensdorf was charged with the murder, and the remainder as 
being in the conspiracy. Court convened March 23, 1887, with Judge 
C. H. Lewis on the bench. Hon. M. D. O'Connell, States Attorney 
S. M. Marsh, Hon. E. H. Hubbard and Taylor & Spalding were attor- 
neys for the state, and Judge J. N. Weaver, O. C. Tredway, M. M. 
Gray, Judge Pendleton, W. G. Clark, S. F. Lynn and G. W. Kellogg, 
of Sioux City, and G. W. Argo, of Le Mars, appeared for the defense. 
Daniel McDonald was sheriff. 

The jury chosen to try the case was as follows: John O'Connor, 
C. C. Bartlett, John Madden, Thomas Crilley, Dennis Murphy, C. G. 
Goss, Thomas Frazier, W. P. Pannell, D. Keiffer, E. Webster, John 
Adair, John D. O'Connell. 



262 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The trial lasted twenty-two days, and the judge's charge contained 
seven thotisand words. The jury were kept out twenty hours, and 
stood eleven for acquittal and one for conviction. John D. O'Connell, 
who voted for conviction, arose in the jury-box, and said that he would 
never be able to agree with the eleven, whereupon Judge Lewis dis- 
charged the jury. 

It was a peculiar case, wherein nearly every witness for the defense 
was, or had recently been, engaged in liquor traffic, while the only eye 
witnesses for the state were men who were implicated in the conspiracy 
themselves. 

Among other things confessed by " Steamboat Charley," or Syl- 
vester Granda, on the final hearing, was this: "The plan was for 
Koschnitski and Granda to assault Haddock, and then the crowd were 
to help us out. We saw him coming down the street, and commenced 
abusing him. I had a revolver in my hand, but did not intend to 
shoot him. Just then John Arensdorf grabbed the weapon I held, 
saying: ' You are too drunk to shooV Then Arensdorf fired and 
Haddock fell to the ground, and the crowd fled." 

In September, 1887, Munchrath was convicted of manslaughter, 
and sentenced for four years, but was pardoned by the Governor and 
escaped all but a few months 1 punishment at the state's prison. 

The jury having failed to agree on the first trial, a new trial was 
had in December, 1887, at which time John Arensdorf was tried for 
murder, under a chain of peculiar circumstances, with which it seemed 
impossible to convict the man whom public opinion will ever hold in 
suspicion. Had it not been for dishonest officials, and the selecting 
of seventy names from which a jury was to be drawn, each of which had 
been privately canvassed upon the subject, by a person under the guise 
(it is now believed) of a book agent, who got an expression from 
them, the guilty might have been brought to justice. 

The case was tried before Judge George M. Wakefield. The 
attorneys for the state were S. M. March, M. D. O'Connell, E. H. Hub- 
bard. Those for the defense were W. W. Ervin, of St. Paul, O. C. 
Tredway, G. W. Kellogg, George W. Argo. 

The case was a long, hotly contested one, full of all manner of 
legal cunning, and reports of the trial were printed in nearly every 
paper in the country. After the jury had been out a short time they 
appeared in open court with the verdict of not guilty, and were at 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 263 

once discharged, thus ending what is generally considered the greatest 
farce in American courts — justice defied by legal cunning. 

In speaking of this case the Sioux City "Journal" said: "It was 
a ghastly sight when Deputy Sheriff Davenport, being on the witness 
stand, unfolded the rubber coat worn by Dr. Haddock when he was 
assassinated. There it was, spotted by mud and filth of the gutter in 
which the murdered minister fell when shot down like a dog on the 
street, and there were the great black splatches of the blood that 
drained his life, while through the collar were to be seen the gaping 
holes, torn by the cruel bullet which the assassin had aimed only too 
well. A shudder ran through the audience, and a silence fell upon 
them as the bullet-rent garment — ghastly reminder that it was — was 
held up in plain view, a horrible cynosure which no one who saw it 
will ever forget." 

It may be added in conclusion of this case, that the death of Rev. 
Haddock became a powerful agency in the enforcement of the liquor 
law in Iowa. Every town and hamlet was aroused to action, and men 
who had never been active, now became leaders. The press, the pulpit, 
the believers in wholesome laws, everywhere united in suppressing the 
monster evil. From the day Sioux City was baptized in the blood of 
a martyr, she became morally regenerated. The saloons disappeared 
with all the accompanying evils; business men saw they had been in 
the wrong,, and ever since that date the city has been wonderfully pros- 
perous. Her business rapidly attained to the highest point of any 
town in Iowa, and to-day there are nearly forty places of religious 
worship. Rev. George C. Haddock was the sacrifice. 



TOWNSHIP HISTORY, 



CHAPTEE XX. 
GENEEAL TOWNSHIP MATTERS. 

Creation of First Township — Its Division— Second Subdivision— Ti-iomp- 
sontown— Organization— First Officers in 1853— The French Cana- 
dians—The Pioneers— Sketches of Some Early Characters— Sergt. 
Floyd— First Election— The Four First Townships— Sparse Popula- 
tion—Interesting Statistics, etc. 

IN compiling sketches of the townships of Woodbury county, a plan 
will be adopted whereby each township, as it exists to-day, will 
be described, and only those persons who were settlers within the 
present limits and the events occurring therein, will be touched upon. 
The gradual creation of twenty-four townships from one township, and 
the curtailment necessarily involved in the process, has made this plan 
imperative. It may readily be seen that were this not done, it would 
be difficult to locate any of the original settlers, for in the course of 
the evolution, many of them have lived in half a dozen townships, and 
without once moving from the spot whereon they built their rude 
cabins nearly forty years ago. 

At the organization of the county, August 1, 1853, the entire ter- 
ritory comprising the present twenty-four townships, which go to make 
up Woodbury county, was but one township, and, although there was 
but one, and notwithstanding the fact that the county was named 
Woodbury, yet this first colossal township was christened Sergeant's 
Bluff, from the locality then known as Floyd's Bluff, where was located 
William B. Thompson's house, in which the first election occurred, and 
where the organization of the county was effected. Floyd's Bluff was 
frequently called Sergeant's Bluff, both names of course being in honor 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 265 

of Sergt. Floyd, who died there in 1804, and of whom an account 
will be found elsewhere in this work. The village of Sergeant's Bluff 
was not started until a year or two later than the date of the organiza- 
tion of the county, but there is a popular impression that that event 
occurred at the town just named. Thompson's house, the first in the 
county, stood at what is now known as Floyd's Bluff, two and one-half 
miles from the present Sergeant's Bluff, and about five miles south of 
Sioux City. 

Thomas L. Griffey, a Kentuckian by birth, one of the pioneers of 
the northwest, was commissioned by the legislature of Iowa to organ- 
ize the county of Woodbury, and to set the wheels of the new candi- 
date for autonomy in motion, so that gentleman accordingly ordered 
an election to be held for county officers, August 1, 1853. There was 
no need of township officers, and there were none voted for at this first 
election ; only county officers. There was no opposition to the com- 
plement of officials placed in candidacy, and seventeen votes was the 
entire poll. There were a few others in the county entitled to exer- 
cise the great inalienable right of all American freemen, but they did 
not choose to use the privilege, but for what reason is not now appar- 
ent, possibly, however, from the fact that they did not fully under- 
stand what it was all about, owing to their inability to speak or com- 
prehend the English language, they being French Canadians. Even 
the subjects of that erstwhile great American citizen, the famous Sioux 
chief and dauntless warrior, War Eagle, failed to cast their ballots, 
the dignified old Indian braves evidently desiring to keep their 
bronzed hands clear of the questionable and muddy pool of politics. 
That they were free-born American citizens none can doubt, but they 
had no axes to grind; did not care to fill all the police and other posi- 
tions, so much sought after by a numerous class of our adopted citi- 
zens. Following were the officials chosen at that first election: 

County Judge — Marshall Townsley. 

District Clerk — Joseph P. Babbitt. 

Prosecuting Attorney — Orrin B. Smith. 

Coroner — Eli Lee. 

Treasurer and Becorder — Hiram Nelson. 

Justice of the Peace — Curtis Lamb. 

Constable — Edwin M. Smith. 

No sheriff was put in nomination, as Thomas L. Griffey had been 



266 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

appointed organizing sheriff by the legislature, and held the position 
for some time, but finally resigned. The election officers were: 

Judges of Election — Joseph Merrivall, Charles Rulo, William B. 
Thompson. 

Clerks of Election — Edwin M. Smith, Orrin B. Smith. 

Those seventeen voters all lived, of course, in Sergeant's Bluff town- 
ship, although a few of them were dwelling along the Little Sioux, in 
the vicinity of what was at first known as .the " White Settlement," 
which afterward became Smithland. Those old pioneer voters, the 
vanguardsmen of this wild northwestern frontier, deserve more than 
the passing mention of their names. They took their lives in their 
hands, and fought and hewed their way into the heart of this then 
worse than wilderness, for they had not only the hardships of a border 
life to contend with, not only the lack of all the comforts of civiliza- 
tion and the deprivation of being away from their old homes in the 
east and the south, but the wily and relentless savage to meet and 
conquer. And the proof that they were fully armed with high pur- 
pose and brave hearts, as well as strong hands, this glorious garden 
spot of Woodbury county, with its soil bursting with luxuriant vege- 
tation as the seasons roll around, and the grandly growing city which 
bears the name of those same conquered Indians, with its marvelous 
palace of corn and palatial business blocks, amply attest. Those old 
pioneers, with ax in one hand and rifle in the other, made possible 
the scenes which we enjoy to-day. To those hardy sons of the Cau- 
casian race all this western splendor is due, and it must be so, for, 
when the contest comes, all other races, Indians included, must fall 
before the advancing hosts of the great civilizers. Some of those 
early settlers are still with us, some have moved to farther western 
fields, and some have gone to their well-earned reward many years 
since. To those who still survive it is hoped, may be granted many 
more years of usefulness. 

Marshall Townsley, who was elected the first county judge, knew 
very little about the technicalities of the law, but was a man of good 
common sense and sound judgment, and was very popular. After 
residing in the house built by William B. Thompson, he removed to the 
San Juan country, but what has become of him latterly, is not known 
in this vicinity. 

Thomas L. Griffey, a Kentuckian, was a man of strong physique, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 269 

and his build and carriage at the present time, notwithstanding an 
affliction that he encountered a few years ago, indicate the strength 
and determination he possessed in his younger days. Tom Griffey, 
as he was familiarly called in the early days, was a man with whom it 
was dangerous to trifle. He is still residing in Sioux City, in the 
enjoyment of a well-earned competency, ample enough to satisfy his 
every want. 

Orrin B. Smith, the first prosecuting attorney of Woodbury county, 
as seen above, was at the time of his election to that usually im- 
portant office, not particularly noted for his knowledge of abstruse 
questions in law, but he was a man for the times, and made up in 
determination what he may have lacked otherwise. His residence 
until latterly, has been in Little Sioux township, but at present (1890) 
he is living in Florida. 

Eli Lee, one of the most respected citizens of Willow township, is 
still residing on the spot where he first settled. He held the position 
of coroner in 1853. 

Curtis Lamb, the first dispenser of law in a magistrate's office in 
this county, lived on the Little Sioux for many years, but finally, in 
consequence of a feud between himself and some neighbors, left the 
scene of his early settlement, and is at present living near Davenport, 
in this state. 

Hiram Nelson, who was selected to fill the responsible position of 
treasurer and recorder, was chosen from the supposed fact of his 
knowledge of accounts and his reliability, but so far as there was any 
danger of his skipping out with the funds entrusted to him, there was 
not much temptation. All the moneys received during the first year, 
could very conveniently be carried in silver in a vest pocket. Treas- 
urer Nelson, many years ago, went to Washington territory, and from 
there to Montana, where he died, about five years ago. 

Edwin M. Smith, the first constable, lived over in Little Sioux 
township. He was a very good officer, it is said. He is at present 
living in Colorado. 

Joseph P. Babbitt, the first district clerk, did not reside here any 
length of time. Where he is at present, if living, is not known to 
the informant of the writer, who was one of the original seventeen 
voters. 

Joseph Merrivall was a Spaniard, who came in with the French 



270 HISTOEY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Canadians, and whose real name was Guiseppe Merrivalli. He was 
usually called "Joe Spaniard," and was a fine horseman. 

Charles Rulo, went to Nebraska and started the town of Rulo. 
He has been dead some years. 

William B. Thompson, of whom more will be found in another 
portion of this work, was one of the three judges of the election, Mer- 
rivall and Rulo being the others. Thompson died of cancer about ten 
or twelve years ago. 

Theophile Bruguier, who never took any part in politics, was 
another of the seventeen. He is living, at a tolerably advanced age, 
although hale and hearty, in Lakeport township. 

William White, from whom the White settlement on the Little 
Sioux took its name, was one of the original voters. He was 
drowned in Silver Lake, in Monona county, while on a fishing excursion. 

Stepbans De Roi, or Stephen Devoy, as he was usually known, 
was one of the most popular Frenchmen among the Americans, and 
spoke the English language well. He died at Rulo, Neb. 

Augustus Travissee, also a French Canadian, who originally lived 
near William B. Thompson's place at Floyd's Bluff, moved to Dakota. 

Joseph Leonais, another Frenchman who voted, is at present 
(1890) living in Sioux City, and his aged form may still occasionally 
be seen on the populous and well-kept streets where he once had a 
large cornfield. He sold his property to the Sioux City company in 
1855. 

There were three other French Canadians in the settlement at the 
time of the election, and one of them cast a ballot, making the seven- 
teenth voter, but which one it was, can not now be remembered by our 
informant. These three were Francis La Sharite, Bersha and Bedard. 
It is altogether probable that La Sharite cast the vote, as he was an 
old man and influential among his countrymen. He was father-in- 
law of De Roi and Bersha. The old gentleman, La Sharite, was 
eighty years of age at the time of the organization, but attended all 
the primitive frolics, and danced as nimbly as a young man of twenty 
years. He was very fond of the " flowin' bowl " and made his own 
whisky. He lived about two miles below Floyd's Bluff. All three 
are dead. 

Paquette and Ayotte came in not for from the date of the organi- 
zation. They both had ferries. Ayotte had been one of Fremont's 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 271 

guides in his expedition across the continent. He was a small, wiry 
Frenchman, active as a cat, and reminded one of that animal, from his 
movements and the unusual color of his eyes (for a Frenchman), 
which were a bluish green. He was nicknamed " Blue Eyes." 
What became of him the writer could not ascertain. 

At a second election, which took place April 3, 1854, the records 
make mention, after a preliminary statement of the election having 
been held, of township officers as follows: "For the office of township 
trustees there were fourteen votes cast, of which R. Hazzard, William 
White, and Stephen Devoy received each fourteen. For the office of 
township clerk there were twelve votes cast, of which Leonard Bates 
received twelve. For assessor, William B. Thompson received fourteen 
votes, the whole number cast." 

Another precinct, called Little Sioux precinct, was opened as a 
voting place for the election which occurred for state officers, August 
7, 1854, at which the highest number of votes cast was nine. The 
election was for state senator, and was held at the house of Curtis 
Lamb, on the Little Sioux. At the date mentioned, an election was 
also held at the Sergeant's Bluff precinct for state officers, at which 
a small increase over the April poll was shown. 

The original boundaries of this first township, Sergeant's Bluff, 
according to section 27 of chapter 9, of the laws of the third general 
assembly of the state of Iowa, approved January 15, 1851, were co-ex- 
tensive with those of Woodbury county, and were as follows: "Begin- 
ning at the northeast corner of township eighty-nine north, of range 
forty-one west; thence west to the middle of the main channel of the 
Big Sioux river; thence down in the middle of the main channel of 
the said Big Sioux river, to the middle of the main channel of the 
Missouri river; thence down the middle of the main channel of the 
Missouri river to the intersection of township line, between townships 
eighty-five and eighty-six; thence east on the line between townships 
eighty-five and eighty-six, to the southeast corner of township eighty- 
six north, range forty-one west; thence north on the line dividing the 
ranges forty-one and forty-two to the place of beginning." 

Until April 2, 1855, there does not appear upon the records any 
indication of more than the one township of Sergeant's Bluff, but on 
the date named there were two elections held, one for the original 
township and the other for Little Sioux township, when separate sets 
of township officers were elected as follows: 



272 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Sergeant's Bluff Township. — T. Ellwood Clark, justice of the peace; 
constable, George Mills; assessor, A. B. Denton; supervisor of roads, 
S. P. Watts; township trustees, J. W. Brown, J. Samuels, William 
H. James, Marshall Townsley; township clerk, Leonard Bates. Sam- 
uels and James were tied in their vote, and the matter was decided 
by lot. 

Little Sioux. Township. — Justice of the peace, Morris L. Jones; 
constable, C. A. Cobb; assessor, M. D. Metcalf; township trustees, 
William Turman, James McDonald, Mendal Metcalf; township clerk, 
J. B. Day. 

At these same elections a vote was taken on the prohibitory liquor 
law, which resulted in a poll of thirteen votes for, and eighteen against 
the law. 

Elections were again held, in August of the same year, 1855, in 
both townships, but why they were held so close upon the heels of 
the others does not appear. They resulted as follows: 

Sergeant's Bluff Township. — Justice of the peace, Austin Cole; 
constables, R. E. Bowe and John Blevins; township trustees, M. 
Townsley, H. Nelson, J. Clark; township clerk, H. D. Clark; road 
supervisor, C. C. Thompson. 

Little Sioux Township. — Two justices of the peace were elected to 
fill vacancies, John Howe and William Turman; township clerk, C. 
A. Cobb; township trustees, E. E. Petty, A. Jones, M. Metcalf; con- 
stables, M. Metcalf, T. Davis; assessor, Ira Pierce; road supervisor, 
Alvah North. 

Sergeant's Bluff Township, April 7, 1856. — At an election held on 
this date, the following persons were chosen to fill the township offices: 
Township trustees, E. Chapel, Hiram Nelson, P. M. West; township 
clerk, Jay Sternburg; justices of the peace, Abel W. White, H. D. 
Clark; constables, John Braden, Samuel Smith; supervisor of roads, 
W. B. Tredway. 

Little Sioux Township, April 7, 1856. — The election in this town- 
ship resulted as follows: Township trustees, James McDonald, Jona- 
than Leech, T. E. Howe; township clerk, Greenleaf L. Levett; 
constables, Jonathan Leech, L. D. Wellington; assessor, E. F. Petty; 
justice of the peace, Elanson Livermore. 

In consequence of the great increase in population and business of 
Sioux City, which had been established in the spring of 1855, a move- 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 273 

merit was started to remove the county seat from Thompson town, 
where it had been located by Thomas L. Griffey and Ira Perjue, com- 
missioners appointed for that purpose by an act of the legislature, to 
the city named. Accordingly the court ordered an election to be 
held, to take the sense of the voters of the county on the question of 
removal, which resulted in a majority for removal of nine votes, as 
shown in the records. There was considerable opposition to the 
measure on the part of the eastern and southern portions of the 
county, as appears from the vote, which was as follows: 

Sergeant's Bluff Township — For removal 70 

Against 45 

Little Sioux Township — For removal 10 

Against 26 

Total vote of the county 151 

At the election for township officers, there were at this time only 
187 votes: Sergeant's Bluff, 105; Little Sioux, 32. But the vote of 
the then entire tenth state representative district, comprising the 
counties of Harrison, Monona, Audubon, Crawford, Shelby and Wood- 
bury, only polled 706 votes. By the fall of 1856, however, the vote 
had climbed up to the satisfactory figure of 212, which was cast for 
the presidential electors. 

The boundaries of these two townships were as follows: 
Sergeant's Bluff: All the territory within the county of Woodbury 
lying and being between the northern and southern boundaries of the 
same, west of the center of the West Fork of the Little Sioux river to 
the western boundary of the county. 

Little Sioux: All that portion of the county lying east of the 
center of the West Fork. 

In consequence of the increasing population of the county, and 
the desire of those living at remote points from the voting precincts 
to more easily reach them, coupled with the peculiarly American idea 
of getting closer to, or taking part in their government, no matter how 
unimportant that government might be, caused petitions to be sent to 
the authorities, asking for a further subdivision of the townships, and, 
in response to those requests, on March 2, 1857, the county court 
ordered divisions as follows: 

Correctionville Township. — " Ordered, that all that portion of Lit- 
tle Sioux township lying and being north of congressional township 



274 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

number eighty-seven, shall constitute and be a new township, and 
shall be called Correction ville township, its south boundary to be the 
north line of congressional township number eighty-seven, and its 
other boundaries to be as heretofore." 

Little Sioux Township. — It was also " Ordered, that the township 
of Little Sioux shall be bounded on the north by the north line of 
congressional township number eighty-seven, and its other boundaries 
to remain as heretofore." 

Sergeant's Bluff Township. — " Ordered, that the township of 
Sergeant's Bluff be divided into two parts. All that part of Ser- 
geant's Bluff township lying and being south of the north line of sec- 
tion number twenty-four, in congressional township eighty-eight, 
and ranges number forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six and forty-five, 
and on east to the west line of Little Sioux township, shall constitute 
a new township, and shall be called the township of Sergeant's Bluff, 
the other boundaries to remain as heretofore." 

Sioux City Township. — " Ordered, that all that portion of Ser- 
geant's Bluff township north of the north line of section number 
twenty, in congressional township number eighty-eight and ranges 
forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six and forty-five, and as far east as it 
may be to the west line of Little Sioux township, shall constitute and 
be the township of Sioux City, and shall have its election and officers 
the same as the township of Sergeant's Bluff before the division, and 
its other boundaries to remain as heretofore." 

In connection with the creation of those four townships, the follow- 
ing orders were promulgated on March 4, 1857 : 

"Ordered, that a warrant organizing the township of Correction- 
ville be issued to Zachariah G. Allen, and for the purpose of electing 
certain county and state officers, at the house of said Zachariah G. 
Allen." 

" Ordered, that a warrant organizing the township of Sergeant's 
Bluff be issued to T. E. Clark, and an election to be held on the first 
Monday of April for such officers as may be required by law." 

March 16, 1857, notices were issued and warrants formulated, for 
the organization of Little Sioux and Sioux City townships similar to 
those above. Also notices to the townships of the holding of an 
election for county assessor. 

The elections were held as ordered, but a very important matter 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 275 

was overlooked, that of swearing the judges and the clerks, and when 
the canvassing board came to a knowledge of the fact, they rejected 
the returns in true modern style, in consequence of that omission of 
the little formality of an oath. The officers elect, it is said, violently 
objected, and the incumbents protested, but an arrangement was finally 
reached by which the voice of the people was respected, and all were 
made happy. The clerks at these four elections were Jacob Ruth> 
Frank Chapel, Hiram Nelson, Charles E. Hedges. 

There were only three school districts in the county in 1858, when 
superintendent of schools H. H. Chaffee reported as follows: 

The whole number of persons between the ages of five and twenty-one years in the 
several districts are 

No. 1. Sioux City 154 

No. 2. Sergeant's Bluff 26 

No. 3. Little Sioux 68 

Total 248 

A very perceptible increase in the population of the townships is 
shown two years later than the above date. A report made April 2, 
1860, gives the gratifying figure of a total of persons of school age at 
319, as follows: 

Males. Females. Total. 

Sioux City township 72 88 160 

Sergeant's Bluff township 41 32 73 

Little Sioux township 40 28 68 

Correctionville township 10 8 18 

Total 319 

The liberality of those who had sought this far northwestern re- 
gion at a time when a dollar represented considerable more than it 
does to day, is well shown in the amount of money raised for school 
purposes, which was $2,361.84, a sum that was probably as much as 
all the settlers of the county possessed six or seven years prior to that 
time, 1860. This fund was distributed as follows: 

Sioux City $1,184 62 

Sergeant's Bluff 540 49 

Little Sioux 503 47 

Correctionville 133 26 

Total. $2,361 84 

The following were the presidents of the school districts: 

Sioux City H. C. Bacon. 

Sergeant's Bluff W. P. Holman. 

Little Sioux (no name given). 

Correctionville George Everts. 



276 HISTOKY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Thomas J. Stone was the first clerk of Sioux City township, having 
been elected in April, 1857. The judges of the election for township 
officers in April, 1858, were William Croft, Noah Levering and Ezra 
Millard. The clerks of this election were Thomas J. Stone and 
Charles S. Murphy. The clerks of the four townships elected in April, 
1860, were: 

Sioux City township George W. Ckamberlin. 

Correction ville township . Harvey Phillips. 

Woodbury township L. M. Brown. 

Little Sioux lownship James Moon. 

The general assembly of the state having by act authorized the 

county supervisor system, it was inaugurated in Woodbury in 1861, 

and the first meeting of the board was held on January 7, of that 

year, the members being as follows: 

Sioux City township Samuel Cameron. 

Woodbury township." John Householder. 

Little Sioux township Elijah Adams. 

Correctionville township A. S. Bacon. 

Chairman, Samuel Cameron; clerk, J. N. Field. 

From 1861 till the close of the Civil war, and in fact for a year or 
two thereafter, no great influx of immigration set in as it did later on. 
The gigantic struggle between the north and south, with its bloody 
harvest of death and desolation, paralyzed for the time the great 
northwest. There was danger enough in the more thickly settled 
portions of the United States, and possible emigrants to the northwest 
did not desire to add to their fears, by placing themselves within range 
of the hostile savages who had become bolder and bolder as the fate 
of the nation grew more alarming. Some sections of the county lost 
population, instead of gaining it, but in 1867 and onward for 
several years, settlers in search of the rich lands of the Missouri bot- 
toms and the Big and Little Sioux and Maple valleys came pouring in. 
The prospective building of railroads also had a wonderful effect on 
all western interests, and what might be called a boom in that direc- 
tion struck Woodbury county with a force that has resulted in making 
Sioux City one of the great railroad centers of the country. In 1867 
the Sioux City & Pacific railroad company, having made certain prop- 
ositions, an election was held in the various townships upon the 
question of the donation or transfer of the swamp and overflowed lands 
belonging to Woodbury county, to the railroad company named, and 
the result is here given: 




'IvJamtsn.RUvaSons.r*- 1 




6^?-<^<~<^t 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 279 

For. Against. 

Sioux City township 273 1 

Woodbury township 15 15 

Little Sioux township 1 144 

Correctionville township 39 

Total 289 199 

It will be seen that the two western townships favored it the more, 
although the sentiment in Woodbury township was equally divided, 
whilst the two eastern townships out of a vote of 184, gave only one 
for the proposed donation. 

The foregoing chapter has only touched upon the four original 
townships in a general way. They continued to exist in the form and 
dimensions given above until 1867, when the dismemberment began, 
and continued until 1884, when Oto township was constituted, leaving 
the entire territory of Woodbury county divided into twenty-four 
approximately equal townships. In the following pages those twenty- 
four townships, with the exception of Sioux City township, which is 
treated upon elsewhere in this work, will be taken up in the order of 
their creation, and under the names by which they are now known, and 
all matters pertaining to their early settlement, so far as the compiler 
could obtain them, will be given. 



CHAPTEE XXI. 
WOODBURY TOWNSHIP. 

Organization— A Rich Section— Surface, Timber, Bluffs, etc.— Peculiar 
Scenery— The First White Settler— Early Explorers— William B. 
Thompson — Leonais'Leap — Laying out of Sergeant's Bluff— County 
Seat— Its Removal— First Child Born— First Newspaper in County— 
Drs. Crockwell and Cook— The Pioneer Preachers— Revs. Black and 
Taylor— The Blizzard of 1856-57— Hardships of the Pioneers— Some 
Early Names— Game, Hunting and Hunters— The Lively Grass- 
hopper, etc 

WOODBUEY TOWNSHIP up to February 6, 1860, was known 
as Sergeant's Bluff township, and comprised at the date named, 
and until 1867, the southwestern one-fourth of the county. Septem- 
ber 5, 1859, the county court upon application of petitioners, ordered 



280 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the name changed as just stated, but in consequence of not sufficient 
notification to those who might be opposed to the change, the order 
was not carried out. January 2, 1860, however, the court ordered 
that a hearing of the applications would be in order at the next regu- 
lar term, which occurred, and no one appearing to object, Judge John 
P. Allison declared the prayer of the petitioners granted. From 1867 
onward, successive divisions and subdivisions reduced the territory of 
Woodbury to its present dimensions, about seven miles east and west, 
and six north and south, two sections and a half being invaded by the 
young giant, Sioux City, the limits of that rapidly growing western 
metropolis projecting into the township. Its boundaries are Sioux 
City and Concord township on the north, Floyd township on the "east, 
Liberty township on the south and the Missouri river on the west. 
About one-half of the township is Missouri river bottom land, as rich 
and productive as any soil on earth, and it is generally level, but in 
some places slightly rolling. The other half of the township consists 
to a large extent of bluffs and other elevations, somewhat broken, but 
there is a source of wealth within those bluffs which will in time make 
them far more valuable than the low lands. 

Immense beds of brick and pottery clay underlie those water- 
formed mounds, and already much of it has been utilized, as will be 
shown hereafter. Beds of the finest glass-sands are occasionally 
found, being nearly pure silicate, and equal to any of the Ohio or 
Pennsylvania sands. Very little timber is to be found in the town- 
ship, except cottonwood, and here and there a clump of the salix 
longifolia (common willow), which grows along most of the prairie 
streams. With the exception of a few drift-rock embedded in the 
bluffs, and a straggling bowlder or two, which have evidently been 
exposed by the action of the waters on the bluffs, there is no stone of 
any consequence. The native rock of the entire township has been 
too thickly coated by the drift and silt deposits, to make any surface 
showing, except at the beds of streams. Gravel pits tell the tale of 
the glacial epoch, and those beautifully rounded and polished diminu- 
tive true bowlders suggest the untold ages that have rolled between 
the time they were crushed from their parent rock in the far north, 
and the present progressive days of modern civilization. In addition 
to the Missouri river, which washes the western boundary of the 
township, there are the Big and Little Whiskey rivers, or creeks, in 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 281 

the eastern portion, and Deadman's run which empties into the big 
slough which has its source in Woodbury, and stretches diago- 
nally across Grange township. Other inferior and nameless streams 
afford plenty of water to the township. 

The peculiar scenery presented to the view along a considerable 
portion of tbe Missouri river, is to be seen in Woodbury in its most 
beautiful aspects. For miles the eye is gladdened by the singularly 
rounded formations. The smooth, almost perfectly hemispherical 
hills, of ever-varying size, without a tree or bush, but clothed with 
an even greensward, as regular as a well-kept lawn, delight the vision 
by their very oddity, and illustrate the resources of nature, whereby 
she ca"n, without rock, tree or stream, please the eyes of her children 
with scenery as grand as can be found anywhere. To this section, 
then, and to this scenery came the first settler of Woodbury town- 
ship, who, consequently, was the first settler of the county, for not a 
white man lived within fifty miles of the point where he located. 

Undoubtedly the first white man to set his feet in Woodbury 
county, and to pass along the Missouri river in that portion of it 
known as the Sergeant's Bluff section, was a French interpreter, M. 
Durion, who preceded the exploring expedition under Capts. Lewis and 
Clarke in 1804, by several years. M. Durion was a French Canadian, 
but the exact date of his visit to this section is not now known. Those 
forming the expedition named, arrived at what is now known as 
Floyd's Bluff, August 20, 1804. One of their number, Sergt. Charles 
Floyd, a soldier of the United States army, died on the day of their 
arrival here, and he was buried on the bluff which now bears his 
name. For many years before the arrival of the first man whose 
intentions were to locate permanently in Woodbury, there were a num- 
ber of French-Canadian trappers and hunters, some in the service of 
the American Fur Company and others working on their own account. 
These, of course, at the time indicated, can not be called settlers. 
There were also a number of traders who dealt among the Indians, 
and many of these two classes afterward became residents of the 
county, some of whose descendants are here to-day. 

In September, 1848, William B. Thompson came from Morgan 
county, 111., where he had been living, and where he had lost his wife 
by death. Having his strongest tie thus broken, he set out for farther 
western fields, and the Indian title to northwestern Iowa having been 



282 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

extinguished the year previous to his coming (1847), he landed at what 
was known even then as Floyd's Bluff, and took up a claim, which he 
shortly afterward staked off as a town, calling the bantling, Thomp- 
son town. The town grew to the proportions of a log house, and, 
although it attained the dignity of " county seat " for a brief period, 
yet, it never got beyond its original dimensions — "one little hut 
among the bushes." Old Bill Thompson, as he was familiarly known, 
is said to have possessed a kindly heart, and would do almost anything 
to accommodate a friend, and was very slow to anger, but when he did 
get "riled," everybody had to "stand from under." He was a tall, 
wiry and muscular man, of great strength, and somewhat eccentric in 
manner. Not long after the arrival of Thompson, his brother, Charles, 
came in, and was followed later by Marshall Townsley and his wife, 
who occupied the cabin that had just been built by William B. Thomp- 
son. A number of French-Canadians also came in about this time, 
all of whom took up claims, and among them were Augustus Travesee 
and Guizeppe Merrivalli, a Spaniard, known usually as Joseph Mer- 
rivall, and more commonly as " Jo Spaniard. " Townsley afterward 
purchased the claim of Merrivall, who went westward and finally set- 
tled on the Cache le Poudre. He had married a Sioux squaw. He 
always had fine horses, and was a splendid horseman, bestriding his 
animal with exceeding grace. " Jo Lean," as a writer on the early 
events of Woodbury county calls him, but who was no other person 
than Joseph Leonais, also stayed about the vicinity of Thompsontown. 
He it was who purchased from Theophile Bruguier the 160 acres of 
land used as a cornfield, and which is now the heart of Sioux City. 
He was also a French-Canadian and a daring horseman, and when well 
loaded with "tangle-foot" would do the most reckless things. It is 
said that he leaped with his Indian pony from the summit of Floyd's 
Bluff, a distance of about 150 feet, almost perpendicular, down to the 
water's edge, and came out of the affair with but a scratch or two. 
The principal part of the " leap," however, must have been a roll and 
a tumble, judging from the present appearance of the bluffs. Early 
tales of this character are very like snowballs — they gather as they 
go. For several years after these first settlers came in, and until after 
the organization of the county in 1853, very few names can be added 
to the list in the section that is now strictly Woodbury township. 
And a proof of the slow growth at that early day, lies in the fact that 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 283 

the entire county, at the date named, could only muster up seventeen 
votes. 

By the spring of 1854, a number of persons had settled in and 
around what has since become Sergeant's Bluff, and among those were 
J. D. M. Crockwell, who forthwith proceeded to lay out a town which 
he called by the name just given. He was instrumental also in having 
the county seat removed from Thompson's embryo city to Sergeant's 
Bluff, where it remained until its removal to Sioux City, which was 
decided at an election held April 7, 1856. Eighty votes were cast for 
the removal and seventy-one against it. Crockwell and T. Ellwood 
Clark and all the other residents out of the influence of Sioux City, 
remonstrated against the act, but the fiat had gone forth, and there 
was nothing left to be done by the chagrined Sergeant's Bluffians but 
to submit. During the years 1854 and 1855 came William P. Holman, 
Leonard Bates, Gibson Bates, T. Ellwood Clark, William H. James, 
and a few others. Mr. Holman built a frame house, the first of the 
kind in the township, and opened the first hotel in the township. The 
lumber used in this building was the first that was sawed at a mill 
which had just been erected by Thomas Robinson and Samuel Watts, 
who came from the eastern part of the state, and located about half 
way between Sergeant's Bluff and the Missouri river. The building 
was of cottonwood lumber, and it stood many years afterward. It 
had been built in the fall of 1855. The first crockery dishes brought 
to the township were possessed by Mrs. W. P. Holman, and were con- 
sidered quite luxurious and aristocratic, in that pioneer time, when tin 
was universally used among the settlers. H. O. Griggs came, among 
others, in 1855. The first white child born in the township was 
Charles Ritz, son of John W. and Nancy Ritz. Mrs. W. P. Holman 
died in July, 1856, she being the first woman to die in the township. 
In the fall of 1855 the first post-office was established at Sergeant's 
Bluff, and T. Ellwood Clark was appointed postmaster. By 1856-57 
Luther Woodford, Harry Lyons, Samuel F. Watts, L. M. Brown, 
James Allen, J. W. Mather, John W. Bitz, E. K. Kirk, F. M. Ziebach 
and A. Cummings had arrived in the township. 

In 1854 Leonard Bates- put in a crop of corn on the farm which 
afterward came into the possession of A. R. Wright. Bates also 
started the first blacksmith shop. In the spring of 1855 Harry Lyons 
brought a stock of goods from Des Moines, and opened it in a small 



284 HISTORY OP WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

building in Sergeant's Bluff. He had a general stock of everything, 
and not much of anything. Indian goods were prominent in his col- 
lection, as he had great expectations of trade with the red-skins. 

Early in 1857 F. M. Ziebach and A. Cummings started the first 
newspaper in the county at Sergeant's Bluff. It was named "The In- 
dependent," and after running for about seven months was moved to 
Sioux City, and became the "Register." Zeibach afterward went to 
Dakota, where he became, and still is, prominent in politics. In 1857 
J. D. M. Crockwell & Co. began running a steam ferry-boat from Da- 
kota City to the eastern bank of the Missouri, for the purpose of 
bringing a portion of the crossing trade to the vicinity of their town, 
but, after operating it for about two years, it was discontinued for lack 
of paying patronage. The first brick made in the township were pro- 
duced by T. Ellwood Clark in 1856, and were sold for $25 per thou- 
sand. The first physician was J. D. M. Crockwell, the founder of the 
town, who, like the founder of Sioux City, Dr. J. K. Cook, was a phy- 
sician. Dr. Crockwell was an excellent physician of the old school, 
and his services in a new country, as this then was, were invaluable. 
He was a man for the times, and highly respected. The first school 
taught in the township was conducted in the winter of 1856-57 by 
Judge Oliver, who was afterward elected a member of congress from 
the tenth congressional district of Iowa, which included this county 
and some half dozen others. The school was taught in a small build- 
ing, which is still standing, or was some time ago. About ten or fifteen 
scholars attended the school. Iii May, 1858, an election was held, and 
a tax of one-fourth of one per ceut was voted to be levied for school 
purposes in the township, which shows that at that comparatively 
early day, the citizens of Woodbury were alive to the fact of the great 
benefits of proper educational facilities. 

The first sermon preached in the township was delivered in Oc- 
tober, 1855, and the minister was Rev. Mr. Black, the store-room of 
Harry Lyons, in Sergeant's Bluff, being used for the purpose. The 
preacher was an itinerant Methodist Episcopal worker in the vine- 
yard of the Lord. Methodism and Catholicism are more generally in 
the outer fields of Christian work, where man is trying to push his 
civilization, than any other of the Christian denominations. Opposite 
as they are in many of the fundamental points of their respective creeds, 
and differing as they do in the forms employed in their church serv- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 285 

ice, yet they are one, when it conies to the hazarding of the lives of 
their priests and preachers for the sake of spreading the gospel and in 
assisting the pioneers to hew out from nature's crude materials, such 
examples of civilization as one can witness anywhere throughout the 
west. These grand old soldiers of the cross, these henchmen of the 
Lord, these valiant knights errant in the cause of religion, render 
service that is as valuable as though they themselves were the actual 
pioneers with ax and gun. Man by nature is essentially religious. 
He must have his church as well as his dwelling place and school, and 
when he goes out into the wilderness, the next thing that he looks 
after when he has builded his rude cabin and provided for his family, 
is somebody to preach to him. He was raised to respect religion in 
his New England home or in the sunny clime of the south, and the 
words of the traveling preacher in the little primitive school-house, or 
under the shadow of the trees in the forest, are golden to him. They 
remind him of his far-off home where he was born, and they bring to 
him consolation in his time of hardship. They encourage him to 
renewed exertions in his efforts to make the wilderness blossom. They 
nerve him to meet the savage foe, and impart strength to his arm for 
any emergency. And the itinerant preacher and mission priest were 
not faint-hearted. They were prepared on many an occasion, to draw 
a bead and use the knife on savage or brute, as promptly as they 
were to enforce their doctrines or console the dying. Mr. Black was 
the pioneer preacher of the northwest, and he was followed by Rev. 
Landou Taylor, who was appointed presiding elder of what was then 
known as the Sioux City district. Mr. Taylor arrived at Sergeant's 
Bluff in the spring of 1856, and was met by T. Ell wood Clark, who 
gave him a "hearty reception," as the minister expresses it in his 
book published in 1883, "and kindly proffered to take me in; and at 
Sioux City, Brother and Sister Yeomans had always an open door" 
for him. The salary paid the new minister was not sufficient to keep 
him, and he raised a crop of corn. He remained on this (Sergeant's 
Bluff) circuit until the summer of 1858, when he was succeeded by Rev. 
George Clifford, as presiding elder. Mr. Clifford was a very zealous 
worker and a worthy successor of Mr. Taylor. Whilst here, in 1860, 
he was instrumental in organizing what was projected as the "Wood- 
bury Seminaiy and Collegiate Institute," at Sergeant's Bluff. The 
institution was to be a Methodist college, and considerable funds were 



286 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

raised for the purpose, but the matter fell through from various causes. 
The mouey raised, however, was appropriated to the erection of two 
good school-houses. 

In 1856 a small board building was erected in Sergeant's Bluff for 
church purposes by the Methodists and other friends of religion, 
Avhich was used till the building of the school-house some time in the 
sixties. In 1880 the present neat building was erected. The pastor 
(1890) is Kev. T. Edson Carter. 

A church society of Congregationalists was organized in 1873, 
but the regular church organization took place in the fall of 1874, 
which was effected by Rev. John Morley of Sioux City. There were 
at the time about eighteen members. Mr. Morley preached the first 
sermon in the old school-house. The present church was built in 
1887. It is a handsome structure and cost about $2,500. The first 
preacher in this new church was Rev. John Marsland, who remained 
only about six months. The present pastor is Rev. John Gray. 

The winter of 1856-57 will be remembered by all who were living 
in Iowa at the time, as the most severe that ever occurred within their 
experience. Hundreds of cattle and even deer and elk perished, and 
a number of human lives was lost in the terrific storms of Decem- 
ber and February. Rev. Landon Taylor, who, as related above, 
arrived in Woodbury county in 1856, writes of his experiences so 
vividly that a quotation from him will tell a portion of the tale so 
well remembered by all the early settlers now living here: 

The fall of 1856 was very beautiful, and within a few days I went to work and put 
me up an office 12x16, and before cold weather I had it furnished, using it for a study, 
bed-room and chapel. Council Bluffs was 100 miles south of us, upon which we de- 
pended for provisions, but the weather had been so pleasant during the month of No- 
vember that a supply had not been obtained. On the first day of December, winter 
commenced with snow from the northwest, increasing in severity until the afternoon of 
the second day, when the climax was reached. To give my readers something of an 
idea of its character: About 2 P. M. I started from my office to dinner, about ten rods dis- 
tant. When about one rod on my way I became lost; not being able to see my hand be- 
fore me, and the storm cutting my breath, I halted and queried: " Strange if I should 
perish within a few feet of my door." But I thought " as I am facing the storm north- 
west, if I return southeast I will strike my office," and this happy idea brought me into 
safe quarters, but dinner was dispensed with for that day. The storm continued for 
three days and snow reached the depth of four feet on the level, accompanied with a 
crust so hard as to bear up a man. No one could travel for weeks, and the people 
being short of provisions, many had to subsist upon hominy and a few potatoes. 

The preacher and his friends had a little bacon in addition to corn 





f7 v ^-' 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 289 

and potatoes, but those soon were about to run out; so lie and T. Ell- 
wood Clark planned a trip to Council Bluffs, a description of which he 
gives thus: 

Brother Clark aud myself, each one wilh a team, started out upon this perilous jour- 
ney of 100 miles. When we met a team loaded we gave the whole road. In that event 
we shoveled a side track sufficiently large to admit one team until the other went by, 
and thus we continued until we reached our destination. Having obtained our supply, 
we faced the storm, which at times was so furious that we could scarcely see our teams,, 
the drifts filling up the road as soon as it was broken, when on the eighth day we reached 
home. * * * Such was the depth of snow during this winter that in some 
instances it was dangerous to venture far from home, in view of the hungry wolves. A 
Mr. Little, where we put up one night, had been out to his grove about a mile from home 
after a load of wood, when his large dog was set upon by wolves, and in less than five 
minutes the hungiy brutes left nothing of the poor dog but his bones. In another 
instance a negro had been out a little distance from home chopping, when he was driven 
into a fence corner by a pack of the wolves, who left nothing of him but his bones, by 
the side of which was his ax and six dead wolves. These were found when the snow 
had partially left the soil bare. 

Many scenes similar to those related are said to have occurred. 

The following in regard to several of the early settlers has been 
furnished the writer: William H. James, who lived at Sergeant's 
Bluff, went to Dakota City. He was probably the first lawyer to come 
to Woodbury county. He came in 1854, and none among the other 
settlers could claim to have studied Blackstone and Chitty. Marshall 
Townsley, the county judge, and Orrin B. Smith, the prosecuting 
attorney, knew nothing of the principles and practice of law, save what 
they may have picked up in watching trials before they came west. 
There were only fourteen votes cast at the April election of 1854, 
although there were probably ten or a dozen others in the county enti- 
tled to vote. Among those, whose names and location the writer has, 
there was no lawyer. James was elected secretary of state of Ne- 
braska, and the governor dying, he became governor through the pro- 
visions of the law made and provided for the emergency. He was 
termed the "accidental governor," but very ably filled his position. 
Samuel F. Watts, one of the partners in the steam saw-mill that was 
put into operation in 1855, between Sergeant's Bluff and the Missouri 
river, was a surveyor. He moved to Colorado, and the last heard of 
him he was living near Julesburg. B. E. Bowe was from New York. 
He boarded with Marshall Townsley, and was eccentric in manner 
which finally developed into insanity. He died in 1856, or about that 
date. B. Haszard worked for Thompson at Floyd's Bluff. He was a 



290 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

wild, reckless fellow, and a great scrapper and wrestler. He went to 
Denver and became a miner. Several years ago he was very severely 
injured by being thrown from his pony. L. Cunningham was the 
first assessor. He stayed about Thompson's. 

The origin of the very singular name that has been bestowed upon 
a small stream which runs through the center of "Woodbury township 
— Deadmans Run — is as follows: About 1853 the body of a man was 
found near the little stream mentioned, or rather, as the best authen-' 
ticated account gives it, attention was called to the body by one of 
the party to which the dead man belonged. A party of surveyors 
was encamped near the stream, and one of them, a young man, whose 
name was never given, was killed, either accidentally or by design. 
One of the party went to the settlement at Floyd's Bluff and informed 
the authorities there, who held an inquest on the corpse where it was 
found, and buried it on the spot. There was considerable mystery 
surrounding the affair, and the truth did not leak out till some time 
afterward, when it was ascertained that the young man who was killed, 
and his slayer, were lovers of the same young lady, who lived not far 
from Council Bluffs. They either fought a duel, or got into a quar- 
rel which resulted in the death of one of the men. There was, evi- 
dently, nothing underhanded in the affair, as the rest of the party 
would not do or say anything to criminate the unfortunate slayer. 

Game was very plentiful in the early days, such as buffalo, elk, 
deer, turkeys, beavers and all aquatic animals peculiar to the north- 
west. The Indians lived truly on the fat of the land, for it was only 
a matter of going out and shooting a fine elk or half a dozen turkeys, 
whilst beaver-tail was on the figurative red-skin bill of fare, whenever 
a bronze Lucullus so desired it. Elk occasionally passed along the 
bluffs in full sight of the settlements, and Mr. W. P. Holman in 1855, 
saw a herd of these beautiful and powerful animals numbering per- 
haps fifty. They were grazing along the bluffs not far from the 
village of Sergeant's Bluff. As soon as they discovered they were 
seen they took flight to the northward, and before the hunters could 
get their guns, they were far on their way to Minnesota. Wild bees 
were to be found in great abundance, and in some instances, literally 
tons of honey could be gathered, being the result of the work of years 
of countless myriads of the industrious little insects. Battlesnakes 
were also abundant, entirely too much so, and a sad case of bite of 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 291 

the venomous reptiles would occasionally occur. Wild fruits of the 
choicest and most luxuriant character, indigenous to the western coun- 
try, were to be found here in great quantities, such as plums, grapes, 
blackberries and raspberries. 

Prairie fires were of annual occurrence, and did much damage. 
They were usually the result of careless hunters, who would be the 
means of destroying thousands of dollars worth of property in crops 
and improvements. Some special cases will be found in another por- 
tion of the sketches of the townships. The cyclone would now and 
then give an intimation that it was around, but like the prairie fires, 
an account of its doings will be deferred to other townships, where it 
made more display of its power. The grasshopper is such a hack- 
neyed subject that one feels a hesitation in giving anything in regard 
to it. It is difficult to say anything new in relation to that terrible 
plague, but the ravages were so dire, that a word or two will not be out 
of place. A gentleman in Sergeant's Bluff, among many others that 
could be quoted, states that the 'hoppers, in less than three hours 
time, ate two fields of corn and oats so completely, that not a sign of 
anything green could be seen in the entire space. The genuine 'hop- 
per — he with the voracious appetite, and not our comparativelv harm- 
less annual summer visitor — always comes from the northwest, hopping 
or flying to the southeast, only resting when the winds anchor him for 
a space, or when he seeks the earth for his breakfast, which lasts all 
day, and night, too, for that matter. 

Corn, of course, is now the principal product of the township, but 
some little oats and fine potatoes are also raised. No improved fruit 
of any consequence is to be found, and not as much wild fruit as for- 
merly. There is some stock-raising, cattle and hogs, but not as much 
in that line as there was a few years ago. Fine beds of clay, how- 
ever, make up for any lack of productions otherwise in the township. 
Near, or rather within the village of Sergeant's Bluff, there are de- 
posits of the finest pottery, tile and brick clay to be found in the state- 
They have been pronounced very superior in quality for the purposes 
mentioned, and their value was recognized many years ago. As early 
as 1858, parties at Dakota City worked these beds of clay. Zeigler & 
Eckhart went into the manufacture of earthernware at the town named, 
but there being no market for their wares sufficient to justify them, 
the business was abandoned. The manufacture of stoneware was 



292 HISTOEY OF ■WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

again commenced, but at Sergeant's Bluff, some years ago, and now 
J. L. Mattocks conducts the business on quite an extensive scale. He 
finds sale for his products, not only in Woodbury county, but ships 
much of it to various points in Iowa, Nebraska and Dakota. The firm 
of C. J. Holman & Bro., who commenced business in 1866, in quite a 
modest way, and who own the fine deposits of clay, sand and gravel 
where their works are located, just at the edge of Sergeant's Bluff, 
have improved their means of production to such an extent as to make 
their works one of the most important businesses of the northwest. 
They manufacture paving and sidewalk brick, hollow brick, ordinary 
building brick and drain tile. They run the latest improved machin- 
ery, and use the circular oven kiln, which insures more uniformity in 
the application of the heat to the brick and tile. This firm also do 
considerable in pork-packing in the fall and winter, and the Holman 
lard is a well-known staple in Sioux City and the surrounding country. 
The Sioux City & Sergeant's Bluff Brick company is also a large 
concern, located at Sergeant's Bluff, and working the same class of 
deposits of clay as the Holman company. They have extensive works, 
all the latest improved machinery and brick and tile kilns, and their 
output is about equal to their competitor, the two plants turning out 
annually, about 10,000,000 bricks. The principal office of this com- 
pany is at Sioux City. 

Sergeant's Bluff (the oldest town in the county that has survived 
Thompsontown, which was staked off first, but which never became a 
town) was unfortunate in being so near its large sister to the north of 
it. It has one of the most beautiful locations in the state and many 
natural advantages. It had quite a set-back in 1857, in consequence 
of hard times, when many of its residents left for more prosperous 
points. The stagnation lasted till the Sioux City & Pacific railroad 
reached it, since which time it has grown very perceptibly. Many 
new buildings have gone up, and it has good business establishments. 
It has a fine graded school, and an excellent building, with four teach- 
ers. There are two other schools in the township. In 1863 Mr. 
Holman laid out a cemetery, which has since been purchased by the 
township authorities. The Y. M. C. A. was organized in March, 1886, 
and the first president was G. A. Coombs; vice-president, R. Hall; 
secretary, W. P. Holman ; treasurer, F. E. Woodford. Present officers 
(1890) are: President, E. A. Brown; vice-president, S. Sweet; secre- 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 293 

tary, G. A. Coombs; assistant secretary, C. H. Blake; treasurer, G. 
H. Dula. The association has a very nice hall for their meetings, 
with library and. organ, and receive about thirty different periodicals 
and newspapers. They keep hanging in their .room, the banner carried 
off by Woodbury county, as a reward from the corn palace exposition 
company for the best display in the procession of 1889. The business 
interests of the town are as follows: General stores, C. J. Holman & 
Bro., J. A. Taft, E. G. Bitz; drugs, Carl Ingvolstad; saddles and 
harness, Mr. Knutson ; butchers, A. Hansen, A. Krouse ; confectionery, 
N. Welch; millinery, Mrs. Gundersen; blacksmiths, H. Carter, M. 
Swalley; hotel, E. B. Evans; physician, F. W. Marotz; postmaster, J. 
A. Taft; dealers in cattle and hogs, Baker & Cheeseam. 

Glen Ellen is a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
railroad; also a post-office, with Mr. Lukins as postmaster. Ed. 
Webster deals largely in stock at this point, and considerable quanti- 
ties of grain are handled here. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 
LITTLE SIOUX TOWNSHIP. 

Second Division of County — Products — Rich Soil— Ga.me — Fine Scenery — 
First Settlet.s— Ourin B. Smith — Mormon Settlers — White Settle- 
ment— Smithland— A Militia Major— Some Sketches— Wesley Tub- 
man — Rev. Landon Taylor — An Adventure— First Marriage- 
Firstlings— Hardships of the Pioneers— The Weeping Prophet- 
First Officers— Storms— Intense Suffering— Indian Outrages— Ink- 
padotah's Band— Town of Smithland, Its Business, etc. 

LITTLE SIOUX TOWNSHIP, the second division of the county 
created in 1855, originally comprised, as shown in a preceding 
chapter, all that portion of Woodbury county lying east of the west 
fork of the Little Sioux river, but, by a gradual partitioning off and 
subdivision, it has shrunk to its present dimensions, one congressional 
township, the same as nearly all of its sister townships. Little Sioux 
retained a size of twice the bulk of the other townships till 1884, 
when Oto township was created from its ample substance. It is the 



294 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

third running westward of the southern tier of townships, and is 
bounded on the north by Grant, on the east by Oto, on the west by 
Willow and on the south by Monona county. The surface is con- 
siderably broken, and ranges of bluffs traverse many portions of it. 
The land, however is extremely rich, especially in the valleys, and 
very varied crops may be raised. Wheat is well adapted to the soil, 
or the soil to wheat, and oats, barley and all small grains, as well 
as corn, are produced to perfection, corn, of course, predominating as 
a crop. The soil is a black loam, easily cultivated and practically in- 
exhaustible in consequence of its freedom from any extraneous con- 
stituents not needed for plant growth, and from its depth. The same 
fields, in many instances, have been put to the same crops for many 
years successively, and to-day yield as abundantly as they ever have. 
Below this fine deposit of surface soil, lies a stratum of clay which will 
produce the best of brick, and there must also be a stratum of pottery 
and tile clay, as there are in many of the bluffs throughout the county. 
There are also fine beds of sand, some of it as excellent as any to be 
found in Ohio or Pennsylvania, used in the manufacture of glass. 
The township is well watered, the Little Sioux river running through 
the southeastern portion, and the Lynn Hollow, AVeber and Cotton- 
wood creeks watering other sections of the same. There are num- 
erous springs here, and one of them, known as Medicine spring, on 
the property of M. L. Jones, at Smithland, was thought by the 
Indians to possess great healing properties, as they used to come long 
distances to bathe themselves in its waters. Timber is more plenti- 
ful in this section of the county than in any other, and is more varied 
and of better quality. Very excellent bur and red oak, are to be found 
here, as well as walnut, elm, hackberry, box elder, maple and bass- 
wood, or linn, while some of the hardier small fruits are produced in 
Little Sioux township, and throughout the Little Sioux valley gener- 
ally. Game of all kinds has always been plentiful, and fish are to be 
caught in abundance in all the streams, _such as buffalo, pickerel, pike, 
suckers and catfish. Stock-raising is carried on to a considerable 
extent, and fair quantities are shipped over the Cherokee & Dakota 
railroad, a feeder of the Illinois Central system. 

The scenery in Little Sioux township is very beautiful, and reminds 
one, more than any other portion of Woodbury county, of the eastern 
or middle states' landscapes. The quiet little valleys and the thickly- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 295 

wooded hills, between which run gurgling streams, afford a very 
pleasant contrast to many other portions of northwestern Iowa. 

There has been some controversy among old residents of Wood- 
bury, as to who was the actual first settler of the county, and some 
have claimed that it was Orrin B. Smith, who at present is residing 
in Florida, but the claim is not supported by sufficient evidence to 
make it tenable. The facts, so far as they can be ascertained, are as 
follows: William White, Curtis Lamb and J. Sumner, known at the 
time, as apostate Mormans, left the Mormon settlement at Kaneville 
(now Council Bluffs), and came to the Little Sioux valley, where they 
squatted upon land, one of them upon the site of what is now Smithland, 
and the others in the vicinity. Just what time these three men came, 
is not now known, but it must have been about 1850 or 1851, possi- 
bly earlier, for in the fall of 1852, Orrin B. Smith, his brother, Edwin 
M. Smith, and John Hurley came from Council Bluffs to this section 
on a hunting expedition, and upon their following up the Little Sioux 
river, they were surprised to find the three white men named above, 
living comparatively comfortable in the then wilderness. They 
stopped with Sumner a short time, as he had made some improve- 
ments on his property, aud then proceeded on their way up the river. 
On the return of the hunters, Orrin B. Smith, Avho was so struck with 
the beauty of the location where Sumner had squatted and held two 
claims, that he made the latter an offer for his rights in them, which 
was accepted, the sum paid being $100 in gold. Smith took posses- 
sion and shortly afterward returned to Council Bluffs, where he sold 
one of the claims to Eli Lee, who, with his family, came out in the 
following February, 1853. Smith moved his own family out shortly 
after the date named, and the little settlement began with these six, 
some of them with families: The two Smiths, Lamb, White, Lee and 
Hurley. What became of Sumner the writer could not ascertain. 
The settlement at first was known as the White settlement, so called 
for William White, who, however, afterward moved to Monona county, 
and was drowned in Silver Lake. He put in the first ferry across the 
Little Sioux river. 

Following those named in the preceding paragraph, came, about 
the middle of August, 1853, William Turman and John McCauley, 
then John Turman. In 1851 M. L. Jones and John B. Pierce came 
in, as well as Joseph and Thomas Bowers, Alvah North, James Mc- 



296 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Donald, Martin Metcalf and two or three others. Metcalf was a 
Methodist exhorter and it might be claimed that he was the first per- 
son to conduct Christian religious exercises in "Woodbury county. 
Pierce was a native of Canada, and died many years ago. Ira Price 
came in 1854 or 1855, but went to Nebraska in 1856. Alvah North 
went to Salt Lake City in 1857. George Coonly was an early resi- 
dent of Smithlaiid, but he got tired of the west, and iiually went back 
to New York. There is a grove near Smithland which is still called 
by bis name. John Howe also lived at Smithlaiid, but went to Cali- 
fornia at an early day. Ebenezer F. Petty was a resident of Little 
Sioux township, and did the principal tanning of buckskin. He is 
said to have been " constitutionally tired," and that he was very much 
opposed to hunting, because it required too much exertion, but that he 
was an excellent fisherman, enjoying the shade of a tree to perfection. 
Albert Jones came to Smithland in February, 1855, and afterward 
went to Pike's Peak, on the tide of 1859, remaining in Colorado until 
1884. He is, with his brother, M. L. Jones, in the merchandising 
business in Smithland. T. Davis was one of the early ones. C. A. 
Cobb came in 1855, and died in 1860 with heart disease. He was a 
cousin of M. L. Jones. R. H. C. Noel was a resident of Smithland, 
and ran for county judge in 1855. He remained only about one year, 
when he went to White Cloud, Minn. Noel was a highly educated 
man and a talented lawyer, but with no energy. Seth Smith, who 
lived across the line in Monona county, but who was identified with 
Little Sioux in all things except actual residence in that town- 
ship, was from Ohio, and had been in that state a militia major. 
He brought with him a full suit of regimentals, cocked hat, gilt 
epaulettes, glittering sword, and split-tail coat, and these insignia 
of greatness made him a man of mark. It elevated him, of 
course, when the occasion came, to the captaincy of the party who 
waited upon the Indians in the winter of 1856-57 for the purpose 
of inviting the red-skins to evacuate that neck of woods, some of the 
details of which will be given farther along. 

Wild fruits of many kinds were very abundant in those early 
days, and game, the best in the land, was to be had by shooting or 
trapping. Along the streams beaver, mink, otter and other aquatic 
animals were very plentiful, and many an old hunter reaped a rich 
reward from their skins, which sold as high as $8 and $10 in some 




<£d^K, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 299 

sections. An occasional pair of buffalo would stray down the valleys, 
and even a moose from the upper regions would graze along south- 
ward till he was in sight of the settlements, when he would spring, 
startled, back toward his northern prairies, as though he had been 
absent minded and forgotten where he was, in his enjoyment of the 
rich grasses of the untrod hills and dales of the Little Sioux region. 
Droves of elk, also, as well as deer, would sometimes be seen feeding 
along the slopes, but this animal, so wary of the approach of man, 
and so fleet of foot, could but seldom be found on the homely boards 
of the pioneers. A gentleman, whilst traveling along the prairie not 
far from Little Sioux township, in 1857, thus describes a scene that 
he witnessed: " In ascending a little bluff, as I reached the top, 
before me stood 100 elk of various sizes. As I approached they crossed 
the road a little in front of me, then formed a ring, the mothers 
with their fawns within; the males with their great horns completing 
the circle without. There they stood, in this fortified position, until 
I was out of sight. This was the grandest horned battalion that I 
ever witnessed, and'was worth a journey to see. I stopped my horse 
for some time to look at this living fortress, but they faced me with 
a look of defiance, as much as to say, 'come on if you dare!'" 

The first birth (or births, for twins were born) was two children 
born to Edwin M. Smith, in 1854, and the first death was that of one 
of these same children, who did not long survive its entrance into this 
world. The first marriage was that solemnized on July 4, 1855, 
between Morris Metcalf and Melinda Hatch. If a minister married 
them it must have been Rev. Mr. Black, for he was the only one in 
the county at the time. A justice of the peace possibly tied the nup- 
tial knot. The first store in the township was opened in 1855, in the 
then newly laid-out city of Smithland. Howe Brothers, who came 
from Massachusetts, were the proprietors. The first hotel was started 
in the same city by William Jackson, in 1856, and the first log cabin 
in the entire eastern half of Woodbury county was that put up jointly, 
it is supposed, by White, Lamb and Sumner, before 1853. The first mill, 
a steam saw-mill, was put up in 1856, within what is now the corporate 
limits of Smithland. It was owned and operated by Swett, Baker, 
Smith and Wellington. During the year of its erection, Smith acci- 
dentally fell upon the saw and was killed. The first physician to do 
any practice was Rev. Mr. Haven, a Methodist minister, who had 



300 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

studied both professions. He did not regularly practice, but his 
knowledge of the healing art was used by the early settlers, and it 
came into good play in that primitive time. The first post-office was 
established in Smithland, in 1855 or 1856, and the postmaster was 
Orrin B. Smith. A mail route had been established about that time, 
which ran from Fort Dodge to Sioux City. The first roads to run 
through the township, was the Panora and Sergeant's Bluff, and the 
Reel's mill and Correctionville road. The first fine large barn erected 
in Little Sioux township and for ten or a dozen miles around it, was 
built by Orrin B. Smith. It still stands within the corporate limits 
of Smithland. This barn was inaugurated, or dedicated, by a dance, 
which was attended by old and young for many miles around. Every- 
body took a hand, or rather a foot, in the frolic, and the"flowin' bowl" 
was passed around pretty lively, but as a general rule, there was very 
little drinking along the Little Sioux. The settlers there left that to 
the French-Canadians, half-breeds and Indians, over along the Big 
Sioux and Missouri rivers. The first school in Little Sioux was pre- 
sided over by Miss Hannah Van Dorn, in 1855, and the first school- 
house, a small log structure, was erected in Smithland. 

The first minister to preach in Little Sioux township was Rev. Mr. 
Black, who came to Woodbury county in the fall of 1855. He was at 
Smithland the following spring of 1856, and went out to meet Rev. 
Landon Taylor, the presiding elder, who had just been appointed as 
such by the Iowa conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Rev. Taylor was accompanied by another minister, Rev. D. J. Havens, 
son of the noted old-time Methodist preacher, Rev. James Havens, of 
Indiana. The younger Havens had come with Taylor, presumably to 
take the place of Mr. Black, as the latter left shortly afterward, and 
we hear no more of him in thisTegion. The two new ministers were 
conducted by Mr. Black to the house of Mr. Van Dorn, near Smith- 
land, where they remained over Sabbath, and on that day, the presid- 
ing elder preached his opening sermon on his circuit, in the cabin of 
Orrin B. Smith, and at night Rev. Havens filled the primitive pulpit, 
figuratively speaking, for the only pulpit visible was a rough kitchen 
table, and a modest chair of homely fashion. But the surroundings 
of the man of God made no difference in the unction with which he 
expounded the gospel. The people of the settlement turned out their 
full number, and no matter to what particular branch of the Christian 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 301 

church they held allegiance before they came out to the wilderness, 
they united as one in giving the brave old pioneer preacher a hearty 
welcome and a rich response to the "glad tidings" he brought them. 
In a frontier settlement, where each must cling to the other for mutual 
protection and sympathy, all creeds and special formalities, great and 
small, are, as they must be within the Pearly Gates, dropped or buried 
out of sight. Rev. Taylor was called the "weeping prophet," from 
the fact that he always cried when he preached. The father of the 
young man, Havens, the old itinerant of Indiana, worked in the same 
or similar fields as the Rev. Peter Cartwright, and he could, as well 
as Brother Cartwright, not only bang a Bible, but the eye of any bor- 
der bully who had the temerity to interrupt him during his religious 
services, and the young man is said to have been a chip of the old 
block. Mr. Havens, whilst in charge of the Smithland circuit, was 
making a convert of the lady whose husband was killed by falling on 
his circular saw some time previously, and in due course she changed 
the plebian name of Smith for that of Havens, at the residence of 
Doctor Yeomans, in Sioux City. The happy couple left for "other 
fields and pastures green," in the course of a year or more. 

As an illustration of the trials and hardships of the pioneer min- 
ister, the following experience of Revs. Taylor and Black, after leav- 
ing Smithland, at the close of their pastoral engagements in Woodbury 
county, is given: "We came to a large stream, widening out ten or 
twelve rods, and now what was to be done? Brother Black, my trav- 
eling companion, can not swim, the water is too deep to ford, some of 
our articles must not be wet, and now I will test its depth by wading 
through. Carrying our blankets in my hands, extended upward, I 
started for the other shore, and found that I could just go through, 
the water coming over my shoulders. Safely landed, I deposited my 
load on the bank, and then swam back after the second. Thus I con- 
tinued wading and swimming alternately until all were over, excepting 
Brother Black and the buggy. Well, what disposition is to be made 
of them? Fortunately for us we have a rope on hand, and sol fasten 
this to the shafts of my buggy, lash the preacher fast to the rear, and 
Fanny, my mare, brings all over in safety. It was amusing to see a 
very short man rolling and whirling in the stream, but it was the only 
hope." 

Bev. George Clifford succeeded Mr. Taylor in his work here. 



302 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

When Mr. Taylor left in 1858, the state of the Methodist church on 
his circuit was as follows, which will give an idea of the sparse popu- 
lation: Members, 141; probationers, 36; baptisms, 24; churches, 1; 
Sunday-schools, 6; scholars, 158; preaching places, 10. 

In 1855, at the creation of Little Sioux township, the trustees 
elected were: Township trustees, William Turman, James McDonald, 
Mendal Metcalf. Metcalf lived in that portion of Little Sioux now 
comprised in Oto township. In 1858, at the April election, O. B. 
Smith, the founder of Smithland, had submitted to the voters the 
important question whether they desired an addition to that embryo 
city. The sovereigns decided that they wanted the addition, which 
was accordingly recorded. The judges of this election were E. Todd, 
William Turman, Daniel Metcalf and the clerk, E. M. Smith and C. 
A. Cobb. 

The cyclone, at least by its comparatively modern name, was not 
known in the early days of Woodbury, although evidences of its visit 
are not wanting in some sections of the county. That great terror of 
the "wild and woolly west" of the present day, might jump down on a 
prairie or on to the summit of one of those smoothly shaven and 
beautifully rounded bluffs, and stand on its hind legs and howl for a 
month, and nobody would have beeii the wiser, simply because nobody 
was near enough at the time. The increase in population in the 
cyclone belt during the last thirty years, has brought the monster into 
notoriety. The blizzard, also, by name but not in fact, was conspicu- 
ous by its absence. This hyperborean fiend was simply called a heavy 
snow-storm. But when those of northwestern Iowa said " heavy 
snow-storm " they meant what they said, and those who were in this 
section during the winter of 1856—57 will never forget their experi- 
ences with one of the kind indicated. There was great suffering all 
over the state, and those who lived along the Little Sioux and were 
partially protected by the hilly nature of the country were no excep- 
tion to the general rule. Families were so cut off from neighbors 
that they were on the verge of starvation. Many of the settlers lived 
on corn and potatoes for weeks at a time, and numbers of persons had 
limbs frosted, resulting in one or two cases of amputation. A writer 
who resided in the county at the time, gives so graphic a description 
of the state of affairs during the great storms of wind and snow dur- 
ing: the winter indicated, that one can do no better than give his own 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 303 

words in regard to it. He says: "On the 2d and 3d days of Decem- 
ber one of the most terrific snowstorms that ever blew out of the 
heavens, swept over this section of country, hurling snow into every 
crack and crevice that air could penetrate, and into drifts of fifteen 
and twenty feet in depth, burying cattle, sheep and other stock so 
deeply that hundreds perished from the extreme cold. On the 7th 
day of February following, another severe snowstorm, nearly equal to 
the one of December, added much to the distress of many of the set- 
tlers of the northwest, as but few. were prepared for it. The snow 
was now about four feet on the level, which completely hemmed in 
some settlers who were living remote from the more populous portions 
of the county, and whose stocks of provisions gave out before it was 
possible to get more. Some killed their cattle and subsisted upon 
them for days after their flour and meal had given out, whilst others 
lived upon parched corn." A man who had built a small cabin in one 
of the little valleys along tbe Little Sioux, about fifteen miles from the 
nearest purchasing point, managed to get through the drifts to that 
point, where he paid $10 for a small sack of flour. The same writer 
quoted from above, says in relation to the party just mentioned: "By 
the time the flour was consumed, the snow had increased in depth, and 
he and his wife were so afflicted with scurvy that he could not go for 
more flour." They were compelled to kill a poor starving cow, all 
bones and no flesh, upon which they managed to subsist for several 
days, when succor arrived. Their firewood also had given out, and 
they had to go a long distance to timber. After consuming all the 
wood in their reach, they attacked the walls of their cabin by chop- 
ping and splitting blocks from the logs. In this manner they man- 
aged to pull through; and to add to the distress and hardships of the 
hardy and honest old pioneers, when the snow began to melt and the 
ice to thaw in the streams, torrents of water rushed and foamed along 
every river and creek and run in the county. The Little Sioux and 
West Fork were swollen far beyond their banks, and great damage 
was done by the merciless waters. 

Truly the trials and tribulations of the early settlers of most por- 
tions of the great west were many, but the foregoing were noT; all they 
had to encounter. The devastating fires that would break out every 
autumn among the rank and dry grass of the prairies, would send a 
chill of horror to the heart of many a lone settler in his little log 



304 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

cabin as he saw the distant smoke and watched with eager eye to 
ascertain whether the wind blew toward his humble home, or whether 
there was a likelihood of its doing so, if it were in another direction. 
He well knew that no power he or his neighbors could command 
would arrest the fiery demon in his merciless march. Powerless he 
was, indeed, when in the track of the roaring, raging, irresistible 
storm of flame, and all that was left him to do was to grasp his child 
in his arms and his wife by the hand, and fly for life from the onward 
rush of the surging simoon of death. And the grasshopper, too, had 
to come to plague the luckless soldiers in the vanguard of the army of 
civilization, but the little pest did not come in such force on his first 
noticeable visit to this section in 1858, as he did later on. He only 
gave a foretaste, or rather took it, of what he might be capable when 
he would get on his war paint and get his appetite up to its normal 
condition. The first visit was bad enough, but he seemed only to be 
reconnoitering, or skirmishing about the camp of the enemy, for he 
confined his captures to garden truck almost entirely. He may have 
been more dainty then, in the selection of his bill of fare than he was 
in 1864, when saw logs, Des Moines radishes, trace chains and Council 
Bluff's beef, stood no more chance than a stranger in Omaha with 
$4.25 in his pocket in the shades of evening. In the two most noted 
visits, the first in 1864, as stated, great destruction followed in the 
path of the innumerable millions of these insects, but fuller accounts 
will be found elsewhere in these pages. 

In 1855, a Californian named Ordway, who had made his pile in 
the golden state, came to Smithland on a land-buying expedition and 
obtained accommodations at the cabin of Orrin B. Smith. Mr. Smith 
was not home at the time, but his wife took charge of a heavy valise 
the traveler carried and stowed it away at the head of a bed. About 
the same time a man named Wilbur Eddy arrived with a wagon and 
team, and, it being snowy, stormy weather, was permitted to put up his 
team in Smith's yard. He also had a head or two of cattle which he 
turned loose to graze. All went to bed as usual at night, but in the 
morning the valise was gone, which the traveler said contained $3,500 
in gold. The man Eddy said, also, that his pants had been stolen. 
He was suspected, however, of the main theft, and M. L. Jones and 
others commenced to investigate matters, when they found a track 
that led down to the river, following which they discovered the valise, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 305 

emptied of the money, and the pants stuck under the ice among some 
brushwood. In going back to Smith's house Eddy said that his cat- 
tle had strayed away up the hill into the woods, and he started in that 
direction. He was followed at a little distance by Jones who kept 
behind the trees, and was rewarded for his detective service by seeing 
Eddy kicking the snow up against a hollow tree. When Eddy passed 
on, Jones crept up to the hollow tree and took out a package that con- 
tained every cent of the §3,500. The thief was arrested as soou as he 
came back, and taken to Sergeant's Bluff, the county seat, but a law- 
yer got out a habeas corpus, and, no witnesses appearing, he was dis- 
charged from custody. Mr. Ordway, now a wealthy old gentleman, 
paid a visit to Smithland in remembrance of the adventure, in the sum- 
mer of the present year (1890). 

The hard winter of 1856-57, together with the stringency of the 
times and the Indian scare induced by the Spirit Lake massacre, caused 
many of the settlers along the Little Sioux to leave the county, and 
either go farther westward or return to their original homes. The 
killing of Pennell, for which Shook was tried, also had some effect on 
the settlers farther up the river. Some of these returned and others 
did not. Land fell in price, and there was wide spread depression. 
The Civil war coming on a few years later, and the increasing boldness 
of the Indians of the northwest, added still more to the retardation of 
speedy settlement. Not until about 1866 or 1867, did the tide turn, 
but when it did, the increase was healthful for many years. Some few 
came in during the war, but very little increase in population occurred 
till the latter dates mentioned above. 

In the late fall of 1856, a band of renegade Indians, headed by 
Inkpadotah, came into Little Sioux township and camped. There were 
twenty-two of them, all, or nearly all of them, being outcasts from the 
Sioux and Winnebago tribes. At first they were comparatively peace- 
able, but as they gradually discovered that their numbers were about 
equal to the able-bodied men of the white settlement in their vicinity, 
they began stealing corn, or anything of that kind easily unrecogniz- 
able, until finally, they got to stealing an occasional hog or steer, and 
still later, shooting cattle without any apparent fear of being molested, 
but the pioneers, after complaining to several of the leaders about 
their depredations, resolved to take stronger means to rid themselves 
of the thieves. So they got together, twenty-one of them, and made 



306 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Maj. Seth Smith, who lived just across the line in Monona county, 
captain of their party, in consequence partly, because he was a good 
man for a leader, and partly because he owned that magnificent suit of 
regimentals, with its quivering epaulettes, gaily bedecked cocked hat 
and flashing sword. These would strike terror to " the souls of fright- 
ful adversaries." The party consisted of the twenty-one mentioned, 
and below are the names of eighteen of them, as furnished the writer 
hereof, by one of the number now living on the Little Sioux; the other 
three our informant could not remember: 

Seth Smith, captain. O. B. Smith. Thomas Davis. 

Eli Lee. William Tin-man. Welsey Turman. 

John Howe. Ed. Howe. John Floyd. 

Eli Floyd. John Kinnea. Thomas Bowers. 

Jim Kirbey. Thomas Nagle. Jonathan Leach. 

M. L. Jones. M. B. Mead. A. Livermore. 

This party proceeded to the Indian camp, but some of them were 
away. Capt. Smith demanded that the Indians should leave that 
vicinity, when they replied that the snow was so bad up north that they 
could not get anything to eat there. They, however, said they would 
like to go down to the Omaha reservation and shake hands with them 
and bury the hatchet. The whites of course did not care where they 
would go, but they wanted them to " go — go at once, and not stand on 
the order of their going," and that they would help their red brothers 
to get to the Omahas in the morning. Capt. Smith and his warriors, 
however, in leaving, thought that a little precaution might be a good 
thing, so they took the guns from the savages and carried them home 
with them. In the morning when the whites went to the camp to assist 
the Indians in getting off, and restoring to them their guns, they found 
that they had left during the night. The Indians fled to the north- 
ward, committing depredations everywhere, which finally culminated 
in the horrible butchery known as the Spirit Lake massacre, a recital 
of which is not in place here, it having happened outside the territory 
comprised in this work. There have been many versions of this affair, 
but the above facts were obtained from parties who were concerned in 
it. It might possibly be, as one writer states, in an endeavor to 
palliate the atrocity, that individual Indians were whipped at Smith- 
land, but one can feel assured that if such were the case, the red-skins 
deserved it. That was not a sufficient motive for the crimes they 
afterward committed. The same writer says that the great mistake of 




^#Z£^7 




WOODBURY COUNTY. 309 

the whites was in driving the Indians away. One of the gray-haired 
old veterans who helped to form the famous twenty-one, told the writer 
that the only mistake they made was that they did not shoot the whole 
party of red devils when they had them in a trap. 

Smithland. — Orrin B. Smith first surveyed this town in 1855, but it 
was not recorded. In 1856 it was again surveyed and platted and put 
on record. It was incorporated in June, 1890, and the first mayor 
was It. C. Itice, and the present mayor is C. Ashwoi - th. 

The present business of the village is as follows: General mer- 
chants, M. L. Jones, J. J. By an & Co. ; dealers in coal, lumber, hard- 
ware, farm machinery, wagons, etc., Jones & Barlier; druggist, B. C. 
Bice; groceries, B. C. Fisher, Mrs. McKenzie; furniture, J. 0. Buthroff; 
harness-maker, L. G. Garnet; millinery, Mrs. W. J. Wolf, Mrs. C. M. 
Foster; livery, John B. Oldis, Tadlock & Merritt; bankers, Bice & 
Smith; training stables and veterinary hospital, conducted by C. H. 
Hidden; meat shop, John Yothers; meat and notions: Frank Young; 
restaurant, J. S. Wise; physicians; Charles Bice, C. P. Ashworth; at- 
torney at law, J. A. Prichard; hotels, St. George, John H. Oldis, 
proprietor; Central house, Charles Edgar, proprietor; two blacksmith 
shops; Smithland Mills, grinds grain and saws lumber; Smithland 
Butter & Cheese Manufacturing Association, separator process, 
capacity 1,000 pounds butter per day, president, M. L. Jones, secre- 
tary, F. H. Smith. 

About 1871-72 the "Little Sioux Valley Beporter," a weekly news- 
paper, was started by B. C. Bice, who ran it about two years. The 
" Smithland Advertizer " started in the spring of 1887, published by 
the Advertizer company ; it was run for nearly a year. The "Smithland 
Exponent" was started November 24, 1887, and name changed to the 
"Farmers' Exponent" in the spring of 1890, proprietors, Jenness & 
Hills. Smithland high school is a very fine institution of three grades, 
the principal is C. F. Clark; intermediate department, Miss Bosena 
Warne ; primary department, Mrs. Helen Morgan. There is a very flour- 
ishing Farmers' Alliance, a W. C. T. U., a lodge of Knights of 
Pythias and a lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. There is 
also a very beautiful cemetery at Smithland, but no church, no post- 
office, and no mill or other industry outside the village. 

There was, as has been shown, preaching by Methodist ministers 
way back shortly after the first, settlement of Little Sioux township, 



310 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

but no church building belonging to the denomination till about ten 
years ago, when the present edifice was dedicated in the spring of 
1880. Rev. I. B. Kilburn was the pastor when the church was dedi- 
cated. The present pastor is Rev. Freeman Franklin. 

Adventist preachers have visited this section and held services at 
various places for many years past, but about fifteen years ago they 
purchased the old school-house, and have used it since as a place of 
worship. Ministers of that faith occasionally come along and hold 
services. The proper name of the denomination is Seventh Day 
Adventists, and their belief is considered peculiar, but it may not be 
more ultra in that direction than some of their sister churches. They 
keep Saturday as the Sabbath, and work on Sunday when they feel 
like it. 

There was no Congregational preaching in the township until 
within a few years. Bev. Mr. Herrick, of Cherokee, first came, about 
June, 1887, and was followed shortly afterward by Bev. Mr. Towle, 
from Grinnell. There were a few Presbyterians and some others who 
did not affiliate with the other denominations, who resolved to form a 
society. There were eleven, and they met in the Adventist's church. 
Bev. Herrick preached the first sermon. Bev. Mr. Skinner, pastor at 
large, preaches every four weeks. They have a Sunday-school at- 
tached. 




■WOODBURY COUNTY. 311 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
UNION TOWNSHIP. 

OORRECTIONVILLE TOWNSHIP— ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES— SPARSE POPULATION 

—First Officers— Paper Towns — A Howling Wilderness — Elias 
Shook — Killing of Pennell — Some First Settlers— First White 
Woman— A Stampede— The Great Blizzard of 1856-57— Frightful 
Prairie Fires— Great Suffering— Frozen to Death— First Preach- 
ers—A Wedding Scene— Uncle Johnny Freeman — A Trapper — Ot- 
ter, Mink and Beaver— Indian Scare of 1861— A Night Attack— Cor- 
rectionville, Its Business, Churches, Societies, etc. 

UNION TOWNSHIP is the result of the last subdivision of Cor- 
rectionville township, which, as shown in another chapter, com- 
prised at its creation, March 2, 1857, the northeast one-fourth of 
Woodbury county. The name, Oorrectionville, was retained by the 
township through all the curtailments of its territory, and up to No- 
vember 27, 1871, when a majority of the citizens petitioned to have it 
changed to "Union," which the supervisors of the county granted. 
The order of the board, September 2, 1872, making the last division 
and leaving Union what it is now, is as follows: "Ordered that one- 
half of section thirty-four, all of sections thirty -five and thirty-six in 
township eighty-nine of range forty -two, be detached from Pock town- 
ship and attached to Union township." This was procured at the 
instance of Jesse Said and others. Union comprises one complete 
congressional township, the northeastern one of the county. It is 
bounded on the north by Plymouth county, on the east by Ida county, 
on the west by Putland township and on the south by Pock and Ked- 
ron townships. The township is one of the richest in Woodbury 
county, and is well watered. Two lines of railroad traverse it diago- 
nally — branches of the Illinois Central and the Chicago & Northwestern. 
The surface of the country is generally gently rolling prairie land, very 
fertile, and, as showing the state of intelligence of the inhabitants, 
school-houses dot the landscape in every direction. In contrast to the 
present fine showing in the matter of education, and as an indication of 



312 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the sparse population of Correctionville township in 1860, reported by 
the superintendent of instruction of the county, and recorded in the 
proceedings of the county court, the following statement is given: 
Correctionville township, school-age children, males, ten; females, 
eight; total, eighteen. 

James L. Gaston was the first clerk of the township, being elected 
on the first Monday in April, 1857. At the next April election, 1858, 
G. A. Willitts was elected justice of the peace. The judges of the 
election were John R. Householder, John M. Downing and Abel S. 
Bacon, and the clerks were William A. Estey and G. A. Willitts. 

There were, possibly, no settlers in that portion of Correctionville 
township now comprised in Union, in 1854, or even in 1855, unless 
they came in the fall of the last year named. It is true that the town 
of Correctionville was surveyed in September, 1855, but that is no 
evidence that anybody was living there at the time, for the hundreds 
of cities laid off in 1855, 1856, 1857 and 1858 would, if they had 
grown to the size of even 1,000 population, have made Iowa one mass 
of humanity as dense as that of the city of London. A gentleman, 
who was in this state at the time named, wrote the following, in 
1871, in regard to the rage for laying off towns and cities: "During 
the years 1856 and 1857, the town mania ran to an alarming extent 
among the settlers of the northwest, while corn and wheat fields were 
sadly neglected. Very many good quarter sections were spoiled, by 
being driven full of stakes and gorgeously displayed on paper, while 
the only perceptible improvements were the aforementioned stakes, and 
the only citizens, gophers, who held the lots by right of possession, 
and who seriously objected to having their range intercepted with 
Cottonwood stakes." In consequence of the northern border of Wood- 
bury county, especially the eastern half of it, being so 'far from the 
settlements along the Little Sioux and Missouri and Big Sioux, set- 
tlers were slow in coming to the section indicated. For it will be 
remembered that the entire country north of Woodbury was simply 
a howling wilderness clear up to the British possessions. Thousands 
of savage Indians roamed and hunted and fought in that terra in- 
cognita, as unmolested in their scalping frolics as the wind as it swept 
down from its home in the northwest. One can scarcely realize that 
in all the grand aggregation of now prosperous states to the northwest of 
Woodbury county, Iowa, teeming with life, should have been, less than 



< 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 313 

forty years ago in the condition just stated. Very few persons cared 
to risk their scalps in making settlements so far north as the spot 
now occupied by Union township. 

It is generally conceded that Elias Shook, he who was charged 
with the killing of Pennell, if not the first settler in the northeastern 
corner of the county was one of the first. M. H. Pierson, for whom 
Pierson's creek was named, was also one of the first to make a settle- 
ment here. The wife of Mr. Pierson, who is still living, at an 
advanced age, is, probably, the first white woman who came to the 
township, unless the two Shook women, Sidney and Sarah Sbook, who 
appeared at the trial of Shook, were here before her. Morris Kel- 
logg, Fred Spengler, D. H. Robbins, William Dewey, Isaac Guth- 
ridge, Harvey Phillips, Frank Davis, L. Richardson, Erastus and 
Zach Allen, G. W. J. Garoutte, and a few others were all early settlers. 
Later on, in the sixties, quite a number came in and made settlements, 
and among them were John M. Freeman and John Watson in 1863, 
and others. 

Settlement was considerably retarded about 1856 and 1857, several 
matters combining to depress those who were already here, to such an 
extent as to cause them to discourage their friends who had an idea 
of migrating westward, from coming. Many of the settlers who had 
made good improvements sold out cheaply, and moved away. Three 
causes are said to have been principally instrumental in producing 
the exodus. First, the murder of Pennell horrified a great many per- 
sons; then the great prairie fire of the fall of 1856; and lastly, in the 
spring of 1857, the horrible massacre of settlers about Spirit Lake and 
elsewhere. The causes leading to the massacre by the Indians have 
already been given, and a few words in a general way about the prairie 
fire, and a mention of the Shook murder case. The summer and fall 
of 1856 was very beautiful, with just enough rain to make vegetation 
splendid and the grass on the untouched prairies rank. The hot sun 
of the dog days ripened every sprig of grass, and by the later fall 
months everything was as dry as the figurative powder-horn. At this 
time some careless person across the line, in Monona county, threw 
some fire out of his pipe, which smoldered along without attracting 
any attention, until it suddenly burst forth into flames. In an instant, 
says our informant, who saw it from a bluff in the distance, the roaring 
fires rushed onward, almost with the speed of lightning. Nor could it 



314 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

have been otherwise, with the perfectly inflammable condition of the 
long dry grass. It almost flashed like powder, crackling and snapping 
and seething before a stiff breeze that blew steadily from the south. 
Onward it flew, spreading to the east and west, far to the northward. 
In some places, where it would not be intercepted by streams that 
were too large for the monster to leap, it spread a distance of ten 
miles. It passed over a large slice of the eastern portion of the 
county, lapping over into Ida county. Starting, as stated, in Monona 
county, it extended its ravages far up into the regions which at that 
time were only inhabited by roving bands of Indians. Fighting this 
flaming flood was as practical as battling to resist the fury of the 
modern cyclone. Nothing but rain or lack of fuel could avail to stop 
its devastating march. The scanty crops raised here and there, which 
were housed in the primitive barns, or stacked in the fields, all, of 
course, fell a prey to the devouring element, and many a sad pict- 
ure was presented to the view of the pioneer and his family, when they 
made their way back to their humble home, from which they had fled, 
after the passage of the resistless fire. Buildings, crops, household 
goods, fences, everything combustible, was utterly destroyed. They 
either had to make their sad way back to their original homes in the 
states farther to the east, or throw themselves upon the charity of 
more fortunate neighbors, who lived beyond the fire line. 

Elias Shook, who was tried in the spring and summer of 1856, 
for the murder of a man named Pennell, is said to have been a very 
tough character. He had been a miner at Galena, and the man who 
conducted him from Correctionville township to Sioux City for trial, 
informed the writer that there was scarcely a spot on his face and 
hands that did not have a scar upon it. He was a large, muscular and 
wiry man, and had a decided stammer in his speech. The killing 
occurred in what is now Union township, and the facts appear to be 
about these: Shook had come into the township and had taken up two 
claims. He endeavored to hold them both, placing himself on one, 
and his little son on the other. Pennell also came in about the same 
time, and, liking one of the claims held by Shook, concluded to make 
improvements thereon, knowing that Shook had no right to hold more 
than one. Matters went on some little time, until one morning Eras- 
tus and Zack Allen in passing Pennell's cabin and seeing no signs of 
any body being about, entered the house and discovered Pennell ly- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 315 

ing partly out of his bunk, dead, evidently having been so for many 
hours. It is said that the Aliens expected foul play in consequence 
of something that Shook had let slip some time previous, and 
their suspicions could rest on no one else than him — no one else 
had any motive, and settlers were too valuable to be sent off by the 
rifle route without some good reason. Shook was arrested and tried, 
but the technicalities of the law gave him his liberty, but no one ever 
doubted who the murderer was. His character was so well known to all 
persons, that the deputy who escorted him to the county seat, informed 
him before starting, that if he made the least motion to escape, or raise 
his hand without good reason, that he would instantly shoot the top 
of his head off, so he went along as peacefully as a lamb. The names 
of the following persons, who were witnesses in this first cause cele- 
bre of Woodbury county, are given as showing some additional in- 
habitants in the eastern portion of the county: E. R. Allen, Z. G. 
Allen, Alexander Stephens, Thomas Hawes, G. W. J. Garoutte, 
Edward Livermore, Elizabeth Stephens, E. G. Livermore, Sidney 
Shook, Sarah Shook, Hiram Bostwick. 

During the prevalence of the December blizzard of snow in 1856, 
a man named Garoutte, evidently the one mentioned in the list of 
witnesses above, was caught in that frightful storm and perished. 
He lived not far from the present site of Correctionville, and had gone 
to Sioux City for supplies, having a wagon and a pair of horses. He 
went before the storm came on, and, finding that there might be 
great difficulty in getting back to his home after it commenced, if he 
delayed, he concluded to venture out while it was snowing and blow- 
ing fearfully. He had reached a point a few miles from his home, 
when he found that his progress with his team was so slow that he 
was fearful, it is supposed, of being caught by the night, as it must 
have been near dark ; so he abandoned his team and started on foot. 
His team wandered out of the road, and were afterward found frozen to 
death, but the body of Garoutte was not discovered till the snow 
melted toward the spi-ing. 

Religious services were few and far between in the early days, but 
it is thought that Rev. Mr. Black and Presiding Elder Taylor preached 
at one or more of the cabins in the vicinity of Correctionville in 1858, 
at least, as these ministers were along the Little Sioux at that time, 
and those two pioneer Christians never lost an opportunity "where two 



316 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

or three were gathered together," of urging their fellow mortals to follow 
the cross of the Redeemer. The population was so scattered that it 
was difficult to get many together, and when the settlers desired to 
hear the Word expounded, they went down to Smithland. The first 
school-house built, in the old township of Correctionville, stood about 
where the main building occupied by Cathcart & Woodruff, in Cor- 
rectionville, now stands, and the school-house forms a portion of the 
rear of the building. There are now six or seven schools in the town- 
ship outside of the high school in Correctionville. 

Relating some of the old-time scenes, one of the early settlers told 
of a wedding that took place, and of a few of its peculiarities, which 
illustrate the crudeness of the period. One of the Bacons, with his 
affianced, called in Squire George Everts to officiate at the marriage 
ceremony, and to tie the nuptial knot into a double -twister, as some one 
expressed it. When the groom, who had on a pair of blue overalls 
tucked into his boots, and a flannel shirt, stood up with his bride 
before the magistrate, he saw a basket of eggs on a table near by. As 
the justice was about to propound the usual questions, Bacon reached 
out, and getting one of the eggs, cracked it on the edge of the table 
and sucked the contents, after which he remarked to the blushing 
bride: "If we don't have much to eat hereafter, we'll have bacon and 
eggs to-day anyhow." 

Mr. John N. Freeman, or " Uncle Johnny," as he is familiarly 
called, first settled at Smithland, and began the erection of a mill at 
that town, but he sold out and moved to Correctionville before it was 
completed. He then commenced to build a mill in 1864, on the site 
where the present one in Correctionville is located, or rather it is just 
outside of the town limits, in section thirty-four. There was another mill 
built not far from town, and with improved machinery, roller process, 
etc., but the dam was badly constructed, causing it to leak, making the 
water power unreliable, hence it was abandoned for the time being. 

Hunting and trapping was carried on to a large extent during the 
early settlement of the township, and many of the settlers, when they 
first came, found their only means of obtaining any ready cash, to be 
in selling the skins of the aquatic animals to be caught along the 
many streams that traverse the county. Mr. Freeman was one of those 
who was very successful in enticing the valuable otter, mink and bea- 
ver into his traps. They were comparatively plentiful, but the older 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 319 

ones of the animals named, were so wary of traps that it was difficult, 
unless extraordinary means were used, to hold them after they had 
been caught in the traps. With his strong teeth the beaver could 
gnaw away any kind of wooden stake or other wooden device to which 
the trap might be fastened and walk away with it. Mr. Freeman told 
of how he caught a very large beaver, that he knew to be in a certain 
stream, and he knew that no ordinary device would bag the sly old fel- 
low. So he found where the beaver always went into the stream, and at 
that point he set a heavy steel trap, at the bottom under the water, and so 
fastened it down that the beaver could have no opportunity to come to 
the surface for air, for although a beaver can stay under water for a 
considerable length of time, he must have air, and he can be drowned 
just as readily as a human being. The trapper had driven a stake into 
the bottom of the creek, and piled rocks around it where the chain 
holding the trap was fastened, so that the animal could not get at the 
wood to gnaw himself loose. The morning after setting his trap Mr. 
Freeman went out to it, and found, lying on his back, drowned, the big 
fellow he was after. The poor brute had actually removed all the rocks 
around the stake, and made one or two feeble bites at the wood, when 
he gave out, fell back, and expired. He must have been without air 
for an unusually long period, and his strength must have been almost 
completely exhausted, to have given up just at the moment he reached 
the wood. The skin of that beaver and a number of others, including 
several otter and mink skins, the fortunate trapper took to Sioux City 
and sold for $90. Otter skins brought $7 and $8, mink $5 and $6, 
and beaver $4 and $5. 

The streams along which the trapjring was done are quite numer- 
ous throughout Union township. In addition to the Little Sioux 
river, which runs through the southeastern portion, and Pierson creek 
in the southwestern, there are East Pierson creek, Garner creek and 
numerous smaller runs and brooks. On section number six in the 
northwestern corner of the township, George W. Ruck has utilized 
one of the smaller streams for the purpose of the cultivation of Ger- 
man carp, which has, in recent years, been introduced into many sec- 
tions of the country. Mr. Ruch also raises native fish, such as the 
black bass, perch, catfish, buffalo and sunfish. He usually has about 
500 carp, for which he finds a very ready home market. He com- 
menced the culture of the native fish in 1885, by simply making a 



320 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

pond that is on his place, more habitable for fish, by keeping it clean 
and supplying some food occasionally. The experiment worked like 
a charm; the fish grew fast, became more numerous and were of bet- 
ter flavor. In 1888 he constructed improved ponds, placing in them 
apparatus for changing the water and affording better facilities for 
spawning and hatching. He has named his place Union Ridge Carp 
Ponds. 

The second Indian scare to the settlers along the upper Little 
Sioux river was one of much local note. To one of the gentlemen 
who took part in the affair the writer hereof is indebted for the 
appended account, which tells the tale so well that we give it in the 
words of the gentleman himself: "For several years prior to 1861 
the San tee Sioux Indians became more and more troublesome to the 
settlers of northwestern Iowa. They made frequent raids on the 
settlers, stealing their most valuable stock, and not infrequently mur- 
dering some of the unoffending citizens. So frequent and alarming 
were those depredations, that in the spring of 1861, it was thought 
necessary to use military force to awe the savages into subjection. 
Accordingly a company of home guards was formed in Sioux City, 
and the vicinity. These troops were afterward called ' frontier guards ' 
as it sounded better. * * * * This grand cavalcade 

of braves took up their line of march for the tented field of the 
Little Sioux valley, and after a four or five clays' march from Council 
Bluffs, where they had been ordered to rendezvous, and after many 
strategic movements to intercept Mr. Lo's party, with whom they 
could not catch up, they returned in good martial order with their 
captain, the ' great medicine chief,' Dr. Smith, at their head, covered 
with glory, and their scalps in a good state of preservation, but they 
had hardly finished recounting the deeds and exploits of a bloodless 
campaign, when they were startled once more by the tocsin of war 
again sounding in the Little Sioux valley, and the cry of the settlers 
that, ' Indians are upon us; come over and help us.' The response 
was echoed back in good military style, ' we will come.' Our brave 
captain had now returned to fight, bleed and die with his brave ' coun- 
trymen and gentlemen soldiers,' as he delighted to call them. We 
were soon on our prancing war steeds, and making rapid strides in 
the direction of the foe. Arriving in the Little Sioux valley, our 
captain, in order to give ample room and opportunity for his brave 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 321 

soldiers to make a full display of their courage, divided them into 
small squads in the different settlements along the river. Sergt. 
Stephens was stationed at the house of Morris Kellogg, at Correc- 
tionville, and had under his command N. Pratt, Adam Falk, William 
Eoberts and Isaac Pendleton. At night the sergeant quartered his 
braves in the house, removing some of the chinking from between the 
logs, in order that they might discover, through the orifice, any ap- 
proaching enemy. Pratt, being an elderly man, was permitted to 
retire to bed upstairs. A guard was posted, it was a bright moonlight 
night, and Roberts was that guard. About 2 o'clock in the moi'ning, 
when looking through a crack in the wall toward the stable, which 
stood a few rods from the house, he discovered a fine specimen of an 
Indian stealthily approaching the house. He moved very cautiously, 
making a few steps softly, and then stopping to listen. After he had 
come up between the house and stable, he halted for a few moments, 
and hearing no alarm, he returned to the cornfield just in the rear of 
the stable, when the guard quietly awoke the sergeant, with the start- 
ling intelligence that ' the Indians are upon us,' who, in turn, aroused 
the remainder of his command, who were luxuriating in the arms of 
Morpheus. They were placed in position, around the room, Pratt 
upstairs at the window, Roberts at the door opening toward the sta- 
ble, the door being slightly ajar, and Pendleton just back of Roberts, 
in full range of the opening. No sooner were they placed in position 
than four of the enemy approached the stable door, which was in range 
of the deadly missiles of the soldiers, and they tried to open the 
door; finding it chained and locked, they produced a file, and com- 
menced filing, when Kellogg said, in an excited manner, 'I see an 
Indian.' No order had yet been given to fire, but on this remark 
from Kellogg, Roberts fired, the others following. The Indians im- 
mediately returned the fire, twice in rapid succession. One buckshot 
or slug took Pendleton in the forehead, the missile ranging around 
the skull to the back part of the head, and one taking effect in his 
cartridge box. Roberts was also wounded, a ball striking him in the 
left side, and ranging around on a rib, fracturing it. The Indians 
escaped. The next day the wounded were .conveyed to Sioux City." 
Up to this time the Indians had stolen twenty-one horses from the 
settlers at various points — ten were stolen near Smithland, two at 
Mapleton, five on the Floyd river, two at Correctionville and two at 



322 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Ida Grove. Another scare occurred in the latter part of July, 1861, 
and a company was again rendezvoused at Correctionville, but there 
was no more trouble with the red skins in this section. 

Correctionville. — The town of Correctionville was surveyed Sep- 
tember 25, 1855, but no improvements were made there for several 
years afterward, at least nothing that could give it the character of a 
town. It was never boomed, not even by the railroads, but like Topsy, 
it " just growed." John Kohlhauff put up the first hotel. In 1869 
A. D. Graves was postmaster, he was also an attorney at law. He 
kept a kind of a store in connection with the post-office, but had few 
goods. Jaynes' patent medicine almanacs were sent to him and he 
had printed on the back of them " A. D. Graves, wholesale dealer in 
rope, soap and Jaynes' medicines." Graves came from Kansas, and 
died about 1880. Johnny Erwin, as he was called, used to come into 
the Correctionville settlement with a covered wagon in which he car- 
ried a small stock of general merchandise, selling his goods from 
his seat in his vehicle. He afterward opened a small general store 
in a building that stood on a portion of the space now occupied by the 
fine brick block on Main street, west of North street, and his business 
increased till he had a large trade. He died about four years ago. 

Correctionville was incorporated on December 25, 1882. The first 
officers were: 

Mayor— J. S. Ellis. 

Councilmen — M. E. Crowther, A. L. Ellis, D. H. Ferguson, E. A. 
Hall, Daniel Griffith, J. S. Stauffer. 

Treasurer — E. S. Hatfield. 

Clerk — D. K. Freeman. 

Mayor, 1890.— L. P. Adams. 

Councilmen— A. J. Weeks, Ed. Lent, G. W. Fitchner, F. L. Wat- 
son, W. M. Wright, J. O. Thompson. 

Treasurer — R. S. Hatfield. 

Clerk — Henry Maennel. 

The present business of the town, which seems to be in a very 
thriving condition, is comprised in the appended list of the various 
incorporated concerns and private firms. There are a number of very 
handsome and commodious buildings in the business portion of the 
place and many fine private residences. 

Hanford Produce Company is a branch of the Sioux City Hanford 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 323 

Produce Company, wholesale packers and jobbers of fancy dairy and 
creamery butter, eggs and poultry, and all dairy and creamery stuffs. 
A. S. Hanford, president; C. M. Hanford, vice-president; W. H. Han- 
ford, secretary. The establishment at Correctionville was stai-ted 
three or four years ago as the Palace creamery, but the Hanford com- 
pany purchased it in 1889. J. H. Reynolds is manager at this place. 

Dealers in grain — Northwestern grain company; A. W. Briggs, 
manager. 

Lumber — Joyce Lumber Company, branch of the Lyons company; 
J. B. Heritage, manager. 

Plymouth Boiler Mill & Elevator Company, of Le Mars — O. C. 
Foster, manager at Correctionville. 

Lumber, coal and building materials — George S. Sardam & Co.; 
Frank Sardam, manager. 

Sioux Valley State bank — Incorporated in August, 1882. First 
officers were: President, L. Tinkel; vice-president, E. A. Hall; 
cashier, George A. Bailey. Present officers: President, Joseph Y. 
Hinchman; vice-president, E. A. Hall; cashier, George A. Bailey; 
assistant cashier, O. A. Cate. Capital, $50,000. 

Merchants' bank — Organized in April, 1888. B. H. Scribner - , 
president, cashier First National bank, Cherokee, Iowa; N. Farnsworth, 
cashier. 

Real estate, loans and insurance — Adams & Bunn. 

Insurance — M. A. Petty. 

General merchants — George W. Fitchner & Co., Goss & Co., Cate 
Bros., E. A. Hall, Williams Bros. 

Drugs, books and stationery — A. J. Weeks, W. M. Wright. 

Hardware and farm machinery — Cathcart & Woodruff. 

Hardware — Page & Martin. 

Groceries, boots and shoes — O. H. Newell. 

Groceries and crockery — A. Orner. 

Groceries — R. S. Hatfield, Bancroft Erwin. 

Boots and shoes — John Madge. 

Shoemaker — Mr. Jenkins. 

Harness and saddlery — William Rheubottom. 

Merchant tailor — O. M. Otloe. 

Millinery — Lyman & Co., Mrs. Q. A. Christy, Mrs. Hitchcock. 

Meat markets — Myers' Sioux Valley Meat Market, Orr & Anderson. 



324 HISTOBY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Jewelry and watches — Castle Bros. 

Furniture — C. A. Butler. 

Confectionery — W. K. Patrick. 

Tinware — William Coe. 

Wagons and blacksmitking — C. B. Cleasby. 

Blacksmiths — E. Lent, William Betzlauff, Hollister. 

Painter — A. J. Kannal. 

Barbers — A. C. Smith, Isaac L. Hardenbrook. 

Restaurant, fruits, etc. — Thomas McNear. 

Hotels — Petty's Hotel, Thornton House. 

Livery — Thompson Bros., Catlin Bros. 

Dealers in cattle, hogs, etc. — R. O. Rodgers, Burlingham & Miller, 
Orr & Anderson. 

Lawyers — W. C. Miller, Earl Edmunds, J. M. Sammon, 0. J. 
Blodgett. 

Physicians— W. F. McQuitty, J. G. Biller, A. J. Weeks, J. A. 
Thornton. 

Postmaster — D. K. Freeman. Only postoffice in township. 

The " Sioux Valley News." — This bright and very readable news- 
paper was established in 1882, by Chapman & Freeman, who con- 
ducted it about two years, when D. K. Freeman purchased the interest 
of Mr. Chapman, and has continued to be the owner of it to the pres- 
ent time. Mr. W. R. Mill, who has been an old attache of the paper 
for many years, took the management of the "News" in September, 1889. 
They have a Campbell power press, jobbers and other machinery, 
and turn out good work, whilst the paper is ably edited and conducted. 

Methodist Episcopal Church. — The very neat and comparatively 
commodious structure owned by this denomination was built in 1880, 
under the auspices of Rev. Mr. Gardner. Before this edifice was 
erected, preaching and other religious services were conducted in 
school-houses. Rev. J. W. Lothian is the present pastor. 

Baptist Church. — This church edifice was built in 1883, and is a 
neat building for the purposes to which it is dedicated. Rev. G. Hus- 
ton served for three years as pastor, until February, 1890, when Rev. 
Mr. Day was called to the charge. 

There was a Catholic church here, built in the fall of 1884, but it 
blew down and was utterly destroyed in the following spring, and was 
never rebuilt. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 325 

A very beautiful cemetery is located just east of the town, and 
there is another in the township on section ten. 

The Correctionville high school is an institution that would do 
honor to any city. Prof. Atkinson, the principal, with his able assist- 
ants, have raised the standard of education in Correctionville very 
perceptibly. 

Burning Bush Lodge, No. 474, F. & A. M. — This lodge worked 
under dispensation from March 28, 1885, until June 11, 1886, when 
it was chartered. The charter members were George A. Bailey, 
W. L. Ehlers, C. Torrey, George S. Todd, C. B, Gilger, F. W. Tib- 
betts, W. E. Messerole, S. W. Hester, Wesley Goss, I). H. Harris, 
D. H. Furgason, J. A. Bush, A. Anderson, B. Delameter, George B. 
Hutchcroft, A. L. Brockway. Officers under dispensation : George A. 
Bailey, W. M. ; W. L. Ehlers, S. W. ; C. Torrey, J. W. ; George S. 
Todd, sec; F. W. Tibbetts, treas.; W. E. Messerole, S. D. ; S. W. 
Hester, J. D. ; Wesley Goss, tyler. Present officers: W. L. Ehlers, 
W. M.; A. J. Weeks, S. W. ; A. W. Bush, J. W. ; Henry Maennel, 
sec. ; H. A. Castle, treas. ; George A. Bailey, S. D. ; C. W. Orr, J. D. ; 
D. H. Harris, tyler. Meet Saturday evening on or before the full 
moon. Sixty -two members. 

Stella Chapter, No. 17, O. E. S., was organized May 5, 1887. Charter 
members were A. W. Bush, W. L. Ehlers and wife, E. C. Laub, Henry 
Maennel and wife, W. E. Messerole and wife, C. G. Messerole and wife, A. 
J. Weeks and wife, W. F. McQuitty, C. G. Goss, Miss Ella Goss. Charter 
received August 6, 1887. First officers: Mrs. Jennie Maennel, W. 
M. ; W. L. Ehlers, W. P. ; Mrs. J. Weeks, A. M. ; Mrs. Delia Newell, 
sec. ; Miss E. Lyman, treas. ; Mrs. Emma Ehlers, conductress ; Mrs. 
Emma Messerole, associate conductress ; Present officers : Mrs. Jennie 
Maennel, W. M. ; W. L. Ehlers, W. P. ; Miss Ella Goss, A. M. ; Henry 
Maennel, sec. ; Mrs. Carrie Biller, treas. ; Mrs. Emma Ehlers, con- 
ductress; Miss E. Lyman, associate conductress. Twenty-nine mem- 
bers. Meets Tuesday after regular communication of Blue Lodge. 

Agamemnon Lodge, No. 255, K. of P., was chartered April 11, 
1890. Charter members: F. W. Woodruff, A. J. Weeks, Orson D. 
Castle, George Thorn, W. B. Chapman, Allen Orner, C. G. Goss, W. 
E. Mill, J. O. Thompson, M. E. Thompson, F. S. Catlin, William Cat- 
lin, A. Bower, W. W. Overholtzer, J. S. Bogers, Frank Watson, W. 
M. Kheubottom, O. A. Cate, George S. Cate, A. W. Bush, W. M. 



326 HISTOKY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Wright, W. L. Ehlers, William C. Miller, Frank Davies, W. H. Petty, 
H. Maermel, George W. Fitchner, J. T. Kiggins, W. E. Atkinson, 
George L. Castle, L. P. Adams, D. B. Shontz. First officers: W. L. 
Ehlers, C. C. ; F. W. Woodruff, P. 0. ; W. 0. Miller, V. C. ; H. Maen- 
nel, K of R. & S. ; W. M. Wright, M. of F. ; O. A. Cate, M. of E. ; 
A. W. Bush, M. A. ; George S. Cate, prelate ; George Lewis Castle, 
I. G. ; Frank Davies, O. G. Lodge meets every Friday. Thirty 
members. 

Sioux Valley Lodge, No. 470, I. 0. O. F. — Charter received January 
1, 1884, and opened with the following officers: Charles Lee, N. G. ; 
David Moffatt, V. G. ; Will Miller, sec. ; Frank Lanam, treas. ; charter 
members five. Present officers: P. S. Hatfield. N. G. ; George L. 
Castle, V. G. ; J. W. Zeman, sec. ; Allen Bowers, treas. ; number of 
members, fifty-three. Meets every Thursday night. 

William Baker Post, No. 298, G. A. K— Organized March 19, 
1884. First commander, A. H. Petty; those following, to the present 
time, were Appolos Laughlin, George Hoskins, J. A. Bunn, Samuel 
Allison, L. P. Adams, J. A. Livingston. Post meets every first and 
third Monday of month ; membership about seventy-five. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
LAKEPOET, LIBEKTY AND GRANGE TOWNSHIPS. 

Lakeport Township— Its Early Settlement — Boundaries, etc. — Some 
First Officials— Inexhaustible Soil— Luxuriant Vegetation— Corn 
and Timber— Curious Lakes — Fine Farms — Theophile Bruguier— 
The French Canadian — American Fur Company— Interesting Facts 
— Bruguier's Pluck— War Eagle's Daughters— First Settlers- 
Liberty Township— Its Settlement — Counterpart of Lakeport— 
Kich Land— Corn, Cattle and Hogs— Weedland— Salix, Its Busi- 
ness, etc. — Grange Township — Its Creation — Settlement — Its 
Streams— First Settlers— Cattle and Hay Kanches— The Great 
Ditch — Luton, etc. 

LAKEPORT TOWNSHIP stands fifth in the order of creation, 
and was constituted June 3, 1867, ten years after the division of 
the county, in 1857, into four townships. The fact of the four divis- 
ions remaining intact for so long a time, shows how slowly the county 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 329 

settled up at that period; but during that ten years the Civil war 
raged, and people had no time to think about changing their homes 
in the middle or eastern states for a doubtful betterment of their con- 
dition in the northwest, especially as the Indians, becoming cognizant 
of the fight Uncle Sam had on his hands, had grown exceedingly bold. 

The order setting apart a portion of Woodbury township, as passed 
by the supervisors, bounds and describes the new township, as follows: 
"All of townships eighty-six and eighty-seven, ranges forty-seven 
and forty-eight, and the fractional townships west of said townships 
eighty -six and eighty-seven, ranges forty-seven and forty-eight, and 
also township eighty-six, range forty-six." An election was ordered, 
which took place October 8, 1867, when the following officers were 
elected : 

Supervisor — Rufus Beall. 

Justices of the peace — Joseph Greville, Hurlbutt Brower. 

Township clerk — James Allen. 

Assessor — John W. Mather. 

Constable — Robert Brower. 

The judges of this first election were H. Brower,W. D. Brassfield, 
Jacob Van Order. 

Clerks — J. Greville, J. Allen. 

Lakeport is bounded on the north by Liberty township, on the 
south by Monona county, on the east by Sloan township, and on the 
west and southwest by the Missouri river, and its soil is entirely Mis- 
souri river bottom land, than which there is none better on the green 
earth. The soil is wonderfully productive, and one would needs go to 
the tropics to witness more luxuriance of growth than is seen on these 
bottom lands, and they are practically inexhaustible. Mr. Theopbile 
Bruguier informed the writer hereof, pointing from his portico to an 
immense field of growing corn, that he had put that field in corn for 
the past twenty-four years successively. When Lakeport was first set- 
tled there was considerable excellent timber, but the two saw-mills in 
the township, one belonging to John Nairn and the other to Mr. Glower, 
have sawed the most of it into lumber. A great deal of care is now 
taken with the young trees, thousands of which are to be found grow- 
ing where the older ones have been cut, and it will not be many years 
until there will again be fine timber in the western portion of the town- 
ship. A singular condition exists in Lakeport in the matter of running 



330 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

streams of water, for, notwithstanding that the Missouri washes nearly 
half of the boundaries of it, and there is in its central portion what is 
known as Sand Hill lake, yet there is no stream that is entitled to be 
called such. The lake mentioned is a singular formation. It is about 
six miles from head to foot, and resembles a monster snake lying in a 
curved position, representing a rude crescent. It evidently was at one 
time the bed of the Missouri river, or a large bayou, as each of its ends 
are very near the stream mentioned. It contains no water, or at least 
not enough to call it a lake, and the name given to it arises from the fact 
that its banks are ridges of sand, which are elevated above the sur- 
rounding soil. The scenery of this township is peculiar. The land- 
scape presented to the eye is striking. One stands in the midst of miles 
of land as flat as a floor, not the rolling prairie type that is seen almost 
everywhere in Iowa, but simply a level stretch, except along a narrow 
portion that skirts the Missouri. To the westward, however, the eye is 
relieved by the Nebraska bluffs, for along this portion of the county the 
bluffs leave the Iowa side. The impression left, and the fact is doubt- 
less true, as the geologists state, is that this whole river bottom was at 
some time, and not many hundreds of years ago, either, the Missouri 
river. The present stream is simply what is left of the mighty torrent 
that once rolled its surging waters from north to south, now subsident 
against the bluffs indicated above. Wild fruit and game of all kinds 
were plentiful, and tons of honey were to be found in the forest trees. 
Up to the arrival of the early settlers, less than forty years ago, herds of 
buffalo and elk grazed on these rich lands of what is now Lakeport. 

As examples of what can be done with a soil so rich as this town- 
ship has, the farms, or rather plantations, of Theophile Bruguier, the 
Eveleths, John Nairn and J. C. Currier, may be mentioned. The 
latter gentleman only moved onto his present place in the upper part 
of the township about twelve years ago, and in that time he has created 
a farm which, for variety of productions and exuberance of growth, 
can not be* excelled anywhere. The wonderful fullness of the trees and 
bushes of the smaller fruits and berries, and the height and closeness 
of timothy and other grasses, is almost beyond belief. Mr. Bruguier, 
whom everybody knows in the northwest, although not one of the first 
settlers of Lakeport, having first settled up at the mouth of the Big Sioux 
river, is entitled to the distinction of being the old settler, pre-emi- 
nently. John Nairn, William Benner, the Eveleths, and some others, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 331 

were here quite early. From the lips of the old Canadian-French- 
man the writer hereof obtained some interesting facts. 

, Theophile Bruguier (and this is the proper way to spell his name, 
for he so spells it himself, everybody else always spelling it, court 
officials and all, some other way) was born in La Assumpcion, below 
Montreal, Canada, in 1813. He grew up to be a stout lad, 'hardy and 
daring, not knowing the meaning of fear, and with that spirit of advent- 
ure which seems to have always dominated the French-Canadians, 
and which produced those heroic characters known as voyaguers. 
Having the training of a hunter, trapper and woodsman in his native 
country, young Bruguier at the age of twenty-two left his home on 
October 14, 1835, and arrived in St. Louis some weeks thereafter. 
The headquarters of the American Fur Company was located at St. 
Louis., M. Choteau and some of the other Frenchmen representing 
the company, residing in that city. Bruguier entered the service of 
that company, and left for the Indian country November 19, 1835. 
He and some companions started on horseback, and after a long and 
tedious ride arrived at Fort Pierre on January 1, 1836. They followed 
the Missouri river along the most of their route from St. Louis to the 
upper country, and in passing along the bluffs on the Nebraska side, 
Bruguier noticed the fine bottom lands where he now resides. He 
passed along those bluffs thirty-five times, and in 1839 he camped on 
the very farm where he now lives, picking it out for future entry, 
which desire he was gratified in, as he pre-empted it as soon as -the 
land came into market, although he was living in the upper portion 
of the county. He moved to where he now lives, in the upper por- 
tion of Lakeport township, in 1879. He landed at the mouth of the 
Big Sioux river May 13, 1849, about six months after Thompson came, 
as shown in another chapter of this work. As a sample of the per- 
fectly fearless character of Mr. Bruguier, an incident is related of him 
by others who have known his character in days gone by. He does 
not tell this himself, and is as modest about his personal exploits as it 
is possible for any man to be. If he would only relate some of the 
adventures he has had during a life of nearly fifteen years among the 
Indians of the northwest, fifty years ago, it would make a book as 
interesting as any ever penned by a Du Challieu or a Stanley. Before 
1840, Bruguier was landed at a point on the upper Missouri for the 
purpose of making his way across the country to the Fur Company's 



332 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

camp, and almost as soon as he landed he was surrounded by a number 
of Indians, who, thinking to have a little fun at his expense, com- 
menced to howl at him and prod him with arrows, but they had as 
yet not learned the character of Theophile Bruguier. He whaled 
away with the butt of his gun and stretched out one of the red-skins 
(some say he never got up again). He then stepped back and told 
the balance (for he could talk Indian) that if they molested him again 
he would kill the whole party. There is nothing that the fighting son 
of the forest respects so much as courage; so they shook hands with 
the dauntless young trapper, made him a Sioux warrior, and were 
always such friends that he could go alone anywhere in the northwest. 
He took to wife in Indian fashion, two of the daughters of the famous 
Sioux chief, War Eagle, and lived with them in this country, they 
dying respectively in 1857 and 1858. He had several handsome chil- 
dren by these wives, and two of the boys were educated at Ann Arbor 
and St. Louis. One of the boys, after being highly educated, went 
up among the Sioux tribe, the wild instinct implanted by nature's 
immutable fiat cropping out, no matter what the circumstances be. 
M. Bruguier married again, a Canadian woman, and the old couple 
are now living very pleasantly at their home in Lakeport. A voung 
man named Clark lived with Bruguier on the Big Sioux, who fell in 
love with a half -breed girl, and as she did not reciprocate his affection 
for her, he went off and did what Koko in the opera of the Mikado 
describes the torn tit as having done, drowned himself, through dis- 
appointed love. 

Mr. William B. Holman, of Sergeant's Bluff, in speaking of the plen- 
tifulness of honey in the olden time, related that he saw at the home 
of William Benner, in Lakeport, over a ton of honey, and that Ben- 
ner had twenty-two trees more to cut. 

A creamery on a modest scale, was started during the present year 
in the township about one and three-fourths miles south of Salix. 

A cemetery was laid off a few years ago by Mr. J. C. Currier, 
south of his residence, which is almost surrounded by beautiful trees. 
There are fine schools in the township, but no church, village or post- 
office, the towns of Salix in Liberty and Sloan in Sloan township, pro- 
viding for the necessities in those regards. 

Liberty Township was constituted November 10, 1868, and was 
formed from Woodbury township, bounded and described as follows: 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 333 

"West half of township eighty-seven, range forty-six, all of township 
eighty-seven, range forty-seven, and fractional township eighty-seven, 
range forty-eight." The boundaries at present being Woodbury on 
the noi'th, Grange on the east, the Missouri river on the west, and 
Lakeport on the south. Liberty is so similar in almost everything to 
Lakeport that a description of one is a description of the other, 
although the former is much larger than the latter. They are similar 
in shape and have the same western river boundaries. The same rich, 
productive soil, the same level bottom lands, and Liberty also has a 
curved lake, evidently once a bayou, if it were not the main channel 
itself. It is called Brown's lake, and lies in the southern portion of 
the township. There is not a stream of water, nor is there a rock 
above ground, in the township. There is considerable timber, mostly 
cottonwood, in the western portion, and some of it elm, ash and willow. 
The main crop, of course, is corn, corn, corn, but there is considerable 
buckwheat raised also. Some fine horses are bred in the township, and 
large numbers of hogs are shipped from Salix, whilst as fine cattle as 
can be found anywhere, may be seen all over the country. There 
being no streams or springs, drive wells are sunk, which furnish a fine 
supply of water. All small fruits are raised in abundance. The pop- 
ulation is composed of Canadian-French, Danes and a large sprinkling 
of the enterprising Yankee. There is a curious vein of sand running 
through the township from the northwest to the southeast, about fifty 
feet wide. It commences at the Missouri river, and evidently marks 
some ancient channel of that tortuous and unstable stream. The lake 
mentioned above, Brown's lake, as well as Brower's lake, in 
the northwestern portion of the township, like the Sand Hill lake 
in Lakeport, are both fast drying up. Within the memory of the early 
settlers these lakes were filled with water. Wild game was plentiful 
during the first years of the settlement of Liberty township, which 
began in 1854. All the larger, as well as the smaller animals peculiar 
to the northwest, were to be had for the killing, and as late as 1868, 
two fine buffaloes were killed by Jim Allen in the bottomlands, about 
three and a half miles south of Sergeant's BJuff. A gentleman, who 
ate some of the steak from the animals, related the incident, and said 
that they had crossed the Missouri river from Nebraska. These two 
were the last seen in Woodbury county. 

The first persons to make a settlement in the territory now com- 



334 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

prised in Liberty were, possibly, J. M. Cloud, A. S. Dutton and 
John W. Brown. M. L. Jones, now of Smithland, first settled in this 
section of the county, but did not stay long, moving to Little Sioux 
township. Joe Samuels was an early resident of Liberty. He was 
a Virginian, an Indian trader, and married a half-breed, a daughter 
of a French-Canadian and an Indian squaw. He moved farther west- 
ward. A. S. Dutton, mentioned above, went to Colorado, when the 
tide set in in that direction, in 1858. At the beginning of the Civil 
war he joined the Second Colorado regiment, and was wounded, whilst 
on a scouting expedition, by an Indian. Our informant could tell 
nothing further in regard to liim. His name appears in the early 
recoi'ds of the county, in connection with several official positions. 
The first marriage in the county was that of J. M. Cloud, a resident 
of Liberty township, and the first divorce was that of the same couple, 
both events happening not far apart, in 1854 or 1855. The first jus- 
tices of the peace to be elected after the creation of the township, were 
John Mathers and G. F. Robinson, and the first clerk was Edwin 
Sharp, the same being also constable. 

Weed! and is the term by which a very rich and productive section 
of Liberty township is known. It is quite populous, and is situated 
west of Brower's lake, the settlement containing about 350 per- 
sons. It was at one time in contemplation by the residents of the dis- 
trict to apply for its separation from Liberty and its creation into a 
new township, to be called Weedland, but the project fell through. 
It is one of the richest spots of ground in the world, being more than 
half surrounded by the waters of the Missouri, which makes a tre- 
mendous bend half around it. Fine water-melons, vegetables and 
fruits grow abundantly. In the early days the spot was covered, as 
thickly as they could stand, with all manner of weeds, ten and fifteen 
feet high, hence the name. At one point the nucleus of a village 
exists in the shape of a store and a blacksmith shop. 

Liberty township, like most of the others in Woodbury county, 
suffered terribly during the great grasshopper raids. The townships 
bordering on the Missouri possibly suffered more than those in the 
eastern and central portions of the county, as the 'hoppers struck the 
western line first. Some years ago an old resident of the county, who 
has since removed from this section, wrote of the pestiferous little 
winged plague as follows: "On the 23d of July, 1864, the ever-memorable 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 335 

grasshopper raid began in northwestern Iowa and southern Dakota. 
Myriads of these winged miscreants put in an appearance. They were 
as thick and pestiferous in numbers as the creeping lice and slimy frogs 
were in Egypt, in the days of God's judgment. So thick were the 
clouds of these little invaders that the sun was at times darkened ; houses, 
fences, trees, etc., were literally covered with these little pests, and, in 
fact, the whole face of the earth ; where they struck a house they fell 
down in piles from one to two feet in depth." A lady in one of the 
towns where the 'hoppers paid a visit, had gone out calling, and upon her 
return they were piled up so deeply at her door, that she had to get her 
husband to remove them with a shovel. Fields and gardens looked 
promising, but in three hours not a vestige of the growing plants was 
left, and the fields were trimmed down to a half-inch stubble. Squash 
vines were the only green thiDgs left, which, for some unexplained 
reason, the 'hoppers seldom or never touch. " Hundreds of acres of 
luxuriant corn, whose rustling leaves inspired the poor settler with 
hope, were in a few hours swept away." Many of the settlers left 
and never returned. 

The thriving and busy little town of Salix commenced to take on 
the appearance of activity and life about fifteen or eighteen years ago. 
It received its name from the fact of there being so much willow in the 
vicinity of the town and in the township. They did not want to call the 
future city Willow, so they hunted up the botanical term for the com- 
mon willow, and found it to be salix longifolia. The following busi- 
nesses are conducted here: 

The E. H. Smith Company have an elevator, and shell and grind corn 
and grind buckwheat. 

Salix bank, J. C. Currier & Sons ; established in 1886 does a general 
banking business. 

General merchants — Huntley & Ingerson, F. J. Jauron. 

Lumber and building materials — J. C. Currier & Sons. 

Hardware — E. H. Lowe <fc Co. 

Drugs — Chadwick & Co. 

Meat market — G. Duhaime & Sons. 

Confectionery — F. M. Corr. 

Agricultural implements — Davis & Co. 

Harness and saddlery — Albert Devine. 

Blacksmith — Claus Ericksen. 



336 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Wagon shop — E. Harrington. 

Live stock dealers — Huntley & Story. 

E. E. Huntley, postmaster. Samuel Taylor was first postmaster 
in township; no other post-office in the township; telephone service 
in operation; there are two good schools in Salix and six in township 
outside the village; one hotel — the Keeler house, James A. Keeler, 
proprietor. G. M. Gibbs started a newspaper some time ago, but it 
gave up the ghost, and now the Salixians must get their reading matter 
somewhere else. Dr. J. N. Legault is the only physician in the town- 
ship. About four miles north of Salix, It. Hall manufactures weed 
cutters, which are said to be very superior machines for the purpose 
for which they are intended. 

Methodist Episcopal Church. — It is altogether probable that the 
Methodist ministers stationed at Sergeant's Bluff in the early days, 
preached in some of the settlers' houses in Liberty, as the settlements 
extended clear clown into Lakeport. No church, however, was built 
by this denomination until 1879, when the present edifice was erected. 
The first pastor was Rev. W. F. Gleason ; the present pastor is Kev. 
O. A. Luce. The cemetery used by the Protestants is located just 
beyond the southern line in Lakeport. 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church. — - There were doubtless visiting 
priests among the Canadian-French people, who came here at an early 
day, but no account of them could be obtained. Before the building 
of the present fine structure, services were occasionally conducted at 
the houses of members, until a small frame building was put up. 
This blew down in a small cyclone in 1878 or 1879, when the present 
one was built. The church was first served from Sioux City by Fa- 
ther McNulty. Father Lenehan was the first priest of the present 
church. The present pastor is Father J. F. Griffin, who came in July, 
1887 ; membership, 105 families. The denomination has a cemetery 
in the northeast corner of section sixteen, not far from the railroad. 

Grange Township was created by the board of supervisors on Octo- 
ber 20, 1874, the order reading as follows: " The east one-half of town- 
sh ip eighty-seven, range forty-six, be detached from West Fork township, 
and that the west one-half of township eighty-seven, range forty-six, be 
detached from Liberty township, and that all of township eighty-seven, 
range forty-six, be formed into a new township to be called Grange town- 
ship." The boundaries are as follows: Floyd township on the north, Sloan 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 339 

on the south, West Fork on the east and Liberty on the west. The first 
election was held in the Bayne school-house October 12, 1875, and the 
judges of the election were James "Waddle, W. O. Sluyter, M. W. Met- 
calf, and the clerk, L. Burns. 

Grange varies from the three townships that lie west of it, in that 
about one-half of it is level prairie or bottom land and the other half roll- 
ing and slightly broken. It is well watered with, a number of small 
streams, most of them flowing into the Whiskey slough, which traverses 
the township from the northwest corner to the southeast corner. This 
slough is supplied with water from the Big Whiskey, Little Whiskey, 
Elliott and Camp creeks and other brooks and runs as stated. The 
creeks named are all outside of Grange, being in Woodbury and Floyd. 
The township was, until lately, rather too wet, but measures have been 
taken to effectually drain it, an account of which will be found farther 
along. There is one small lake on the Garrettson ranch, which is 
nearly dry, except in wet seasons. The landscape begins to assume 
more of the rolling-prairie type as one goes northeasterly, where the 
most of the little streams appear. Along the edge of the bluffs are 
a few bowlders, none of them rounded, however, thus showing less gla- 
cial action upon them, or a lesser distance from whence they were torn 
from the parent rock. There are some fine clay beds in the bluffs, 
which have been pronounced excellent for brick or pottery ; also sand 
deposits. Some tolerably fair timber may be found along the streams, 
but it is mostly cottonwood and willow, with here and there an elm, to 
break the monotony. There is still a fair showing of game, such as 
prairie chickens, quail, jacksnipe, etc., and an occasional wolf is shot 
for his scalp, the county still offering a bounty on the varmints, just as 
they did thirty-five years ago, when they were numerous and destruct- 
ive. The principal products of Grange are corn, of course, and cattle, 
hogs and hay. The country being open to the westward, gives some 
liability to the cyclone, but no particular damage has been done. The 
first settlers who came into Grange township and made improvements 
were James Waddle, John Hunt, Morris Metcalf, Henry Bayne, John 
Huston and Charles Brown, who were followed by Adam Woodruff, 
George Silvers and some others. Charles Brown constructed a dug- 
out, in which he lived when he first came. It was the first dwelling 
place of a white man in the township. The first white child born in 
Grange was a son of Morris Metcalf, and the first death was, probably, 



340 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Charles C. Metcalf. On the road, which runs through the township 
from Sioux City to Smithland, there used to be an old tavern, a stage 
station, kept by Harry Adams. Before the advent of the railroads, the 
old stage line did a line business, carrying passengers from the south- 
eastern section of the county to the settlements in the northwestern 
portion, and along the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers. About ten 
years ago there was living at the tavern a Dr. Grosvenor, the first phy- 
sician to take up his domicile here. The first post-office was also at 
the old tavern, established about twelve years ago, and Dr. Grosvenor 
was the postmaster, who at the time kept the hotel. 

The first preaching in the township was by Rev. George Clifford, 
presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Rev. I. K. 
Fuller, of Sioux City; also Rev. Mr. Plummer. They all preached in 
the old Bayne school-house, as that was the only place suitable. 
There is a Baptist church at the foot of the bluffs in the eastern part 
of the township, near the old Grange hotel. The first minister of 
this denomination to preach in this church was Rev. Mr. Jones. The 
settlement thereabout is generally Baptist in its faith. Rev. Mr. 
Jones is the regular pastor in attendance. The Bayne school-house 
was built about seventeen or eighteen years ago, and Miss Luella 
Read and Miss Eliza Bayne were, possibly, the first teachers in the 
township. There are now six school-houses and another school taught 
at a private house. The Methodists of the eastern portion of the 
township hold services in the Bayne school-house, and Rev. Mr. 
Lougell preaches for them. There is another Baptist congregation, 
which assembles in the Camp creek church, a small structure on the 
stream named, and Rev. Jones also officiates there. 

Grange is noted for the fine cattle, corn and hay, which are its 
principal products. A. S. Garretson's cattle ranch is a well-known 
enterprise throughout the northwest. This gentleman has 3,000 
acres of as fine land as there is on the continent, and his improvements 
have been made regardless of expense. The ranch is located mostly 
in the central portion of the township, Luton being located on its 
western edge. His water supply is complete in all particulars and 
its cost alone was over $3,000. The main barn is 540 feet in length 
and sixty feet in depth. He has a herd of Hereford cattle, recorded 
animals; also a herd of Polled Angus, and some Holsteins, keeping 
usually seven and eight hundred head. His cattle have a reputation 
in all western markets. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 341 

Strange's hay ranch is another large enterprise, located in the 
vicinity of a sub-station known as Strange's Siding, where the 
immense quantities of hay which the firm, Strange Bros., of Sioux 
City, raise, is baled for market. Two steam presses are constantly 
running for about six months, and the view from this station leaves 
the impression that nothing but hay is raised in the county, for on all 
sides little is to be seen but stacks of hay clotting the prairie as far 
as the eye can reach. The ranch is located partly in the southern 
portion of the township. 

D. T. Hedges has annually over 3,000 acres in corn, most of 
which is in Grange, the balance in Sloan township. He has put up 
twenty-five buildings on his land for the use of his workmen, and 
quite a community is collecting in consequence. 

The Big Whiskey slough alluded to previously, so called from the 
creek of that classic title emptying into it, runs diagonally across the 
township, and has always been the cause of making the soil too wet, 
and injuring much of the growing crop. Recently, however, a 
remedy for this state of affairs has been applied. Messrs. Garretson, 
Hedges, Strange and Marsh have had a ditch dug through the center 
of the slough from Elliott's creek to the southeastern corner of the 
township. This ditch is thirty-five feet wide and eight feet deep, and 
effectually drains the entire township, much land being now dry that 
formerly was wet at all seasons of the year. It is a commendable 
piece of work on the part of the capitalists who have accomplished 
it, and deserves mention here. 

Luton, in the western part of Grange, is -one of the projected 
railroad towns, it being a station of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. 
Paul railroad. It is the only post-office in the township, and has a 
store, blacksmith shop, church and school-house. Considerable corn, 
cattle and hogs are shipped from this station. B. F. Bayne is a 
dealer and shipper of- cattle at this point. Greenholder & Phillips 
deal in hogs and run a general store and the post-office. The church, 
which belongs to the Methodist denomination, was built in 1889, and 
the pastor is Bev. Mr. Luce, who resides at Salix, he having three 
charges. \ 

The township officers (1890) are: Trustees, W. O. Sluyter, H. 
C. Bayne, Aaron Wilson; clerk, G. N. Holder; assessor, Robert 
White; justice of the peace, E. S. Phillips; constable, J. E. Inley. 



342 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

EOCK, KEDEON, EUTLAND, MOEGAN, MILLEE. 

Rook Township— Its Organization— First Officials— Some Early Names 
—Indian Outlaws— First Things— Gushing, Its Business, etc.— Ke- 
dron Township— Rich Land— Streams— Products— Early Settlers- 
Preaching— Indian Mound— Silas Bacon— Anthon, Its Business, etc. 
— Heavy Shipping Point— Rutland Township— Its Late Creation — 
An Unique Section of Land— Pierson — A Thriving Town — Fine 
Business, etc.— Morgan Township— Strictly Agricultural— Corn, 
Cattle, Hogs and Hay — First Settlers— Miller Township — First 
Officers— Fine Scenery — Well Watered — Early Settlement — 
First Preacher— Schools, etc. 

ROCK TOWNSHIP, at least that portion of the original Eock 
comprised in the present township, was of comparatively late 
settlement. When constituted it was a considerable portion of Cor- 
rectionville township, which comprised one-fourth of the county. The 
order for the creation of Eock was passed June 3, 1867, and reads as 
follows: " All that tract of land of Correctionville township lying and 
being south of the ' correction line ' and belonging to Woodbury county." 
The remaining portion of Correctionville to be as heretofore. The elec- 
tion for officers took place October 8, 1867. The judges of the elec- 
tion were George Everts, John Kohlhauff, C. W. Hepburn ; clerks, W. J. 
Hepburn, A. B. Barker. The officers elected were: Supervisor, A. S. 
Bacon; justices of the peace, Joseph A. Bush, J. H. Cornell; township 
clerk, O. Plato. The township is bounded on the north by Ida county 
and Union township, on the south by Morgan, on the east by Ida county 
and on the west by Kedron township. The surface is generally roll- 
ing prairie land, slightly broken in the central and northei-n portions. 
It is well watered by Wright creek, which flows westerly through the 
center, and Bacon creek through the northern tier of sections. Minor 
streams empty into the two streams named, which supply sufficient 
water, and make Eock township one of the best in the county. Wheat, 
corn, oats and the small fruits are raised, though corn, of course, is 
the principal crop. Some fine cattle and hogs are also produced, and 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 343 

large shipments made from Correctionville and dishing. A portion 
of Correctionville lies in Eock township, and there is a mill about 
three-fourths of a mile beyond the southeastern limits of that town, 
that was built in 1862 by Jacob Cornell. It is not in operation at 
the present time, and has not been for several years. 

The first settlers came not earlier than 1856 or 1857, and the causes 
of this have been related in other portions of this work. Richard 
Gendreau was here about as early as any one, coming in 1857. John 
Kohlhauff and B. Bobey came in 1863, and the year following, 1864, 
came N. B. Benning, Ellis Hogue, Charles Hepburn and others. The 
first settlers of Eock were among those upon whom the savages, engaged 
in the Spirit Lake massacre, committed their first depredations in 1857. 
In passing through this township from the vicinity of Southland, 
where they had encamped during the winter, the party of red-skins 
under Inkpadotah, stole considerable stock from the unprotected settlers 
of the upper townships, and committed other outrages. The murderous 
villains had not as yet worked themselves up to the massacre point, 
when they passed along here, or the settlers would have felt their 
tomahawks and scalping knives. But it is probable that fear of pur- 
suit prevented them from any killing until they reached a safer north- 
ern distance. Not only in Eock but in Kedron a number of valuable 
horses were stolen and cattle killed and their best poi'tions carried off. 
It was during the night that the Indians passed through, and the set- 
tlers were not aware of their losses till next morning'. 

•The first white child born in the township was Jeanette Gendreau, 
a daughter of Eichard Gendreau, but the exact date is forgotten, pos- 
sibly about the fall of 1857. John Kohlhauff, in 1864, built and 
started the first hotel in Eock township and called it " Travelers' 
Best." It was located in the southeastern part of Correctionville. He 
ran it till some time during 1882. The history of this township is so 
closely connected with the adjoining ones of Union and Kedron that 
nothing new can be said in that regard. 

The village of Cushing is the only post-office in the township. It 
is a station on the Chicago & Northwestern railway, and is an enter- 
prising, growing little town, and considerable business is transacted 
there. A great deal of grain is shipped, there being an elevator and 
accommodations for handling stock and grain. Considerable building 
material is sold to all sections of the township, as well as to the 



344 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

adjoining county of Ida. It has a very good location and will 
undoubtedly grow. The business of the town is comprised in the fol- 
lowing list: 

General store, Meek & Seitz; general stock ancl furniture, S. H. 
McCarl; grocery, C. B. Daniels; drugs, R. R. Rogers; hardwax*e, C. 
Ruggles; harness and saddlery, Robert Milne; grocer and butcher, 
T. D. Lake; C. D. Sanborn deals in farm machinery and runs an ele- 
vator; lumber, etc., D. Joyce; Mr. Vorlies runs an elevator; stock 
dealer, W. H. Gilman; physician, Dr. Smith; postmaster, C. B. 
Daniels. 

There is also here a good hotel, livery stable, barber shop, black- 
smith shop, wagon repairing shop, a fine uniformed band, with Dr. 
Smith as leader, and a newspaper, called the "Cushing Paralyzer,"with 
C. D. Sanborn as editor and proprietor. 

Kedron Township was created June 4, 1872, by the supervisors of 
the county, and the order reads as follows: "All of township eighty- 
eight, in range forty-three, be detached from Rock township, and be 
formed into a new township, to be called Kedron township." It is 
bounded on the north by Rutland and Union, on the south by Miller, 
on the east by Rock and on the west by Wolf Creek townships. 

Kedron is one of the richest in products of the townships. It has 
the best of soil, and fine wheat is raised here, as well as corn and 
other grains. There is a great deal of upland, which places the crops 
beyond any danger from freshets or too much water, although the 
entire township is well supplied with streams. The Little Sioux river 
runs through the full length of the territory, entering in section one, 
the northeastern corner, and, flowing diagonally, leaves Kedron at sec- 
tion thirty-three, east of Anthon. Rock creek, Wright creek and a 
portion of the south branch of Big creek are other streams, and there 
are a number of smaller brooks and runs that furnish ample water for 
all purposes. The principal product is corn, but considerable wheat 
is also raised, whilst cattle and hogs are to be found in all sections, 
some of them as fine as any to be procured anywhere. There is some 
timber along the streams, some of it very good, such as oak, elm and 
lynn, also the usual cottonwood. Sand deposits occur in the bluffs, 
and as the same formation is here as in other localities in the county, 
where brick and pottery clay is found, it is altogether probable that 
good clay can be unearthed below the rich soil in the hills. 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 345 

The first settlers of that portion of Correctionville township which 
now is comprised in Kedron, were here before 1857, and A. S. Bacon, 
Silas Bacon arid George Everts were among the number; O. Plato 
came a little later; also Tom Jeffray, who took a claim on section one, 
on the Little Sioux river. He came from New York state, but went to 
Council Bluffs to live about 1864. Elias Shook built the first cabin 
in Kedron. No dug-outs were used on the east side of the West Fork, 
as there was plenty of timber; so the cabin of Shook was of logs. 

There was preaching in one or two houses as early as 1857, and 
Bev. E. P. Billings, of the Methodist Episcopal church, held services. 
Kev. Mr. Havens, whose circuit of appointments took in this section, 
preached in the upper eastern corner of the township, as well as in the 
southwestern corner, in 1858. Drs. Kice and McCaull came in 1857, 
and practiced their profession from Smithland to the northern bound- 
ary of the county. A number of Indian relics have been found in 
various sections of the township, and as fine a specimen of a corn- 
pounder as has ever been unearthed is in the possession of Messrs. 
Adams & Bunn, of Correctionville. A very symmetrical mound stands 
to the east of Anthon. It is about ten or fifteen feet in height and is 
perfectly rounded. It is a true mound of the prehistoric races, or at 
least of early Indian construction. It is very ancient, for the present 
Indian race do not, and have not for hundreds of years, built any 
mounds, if that race ever did at all. It is not an elevation produced 
by the washing of the waters, but a true mound, from the fact that the 
soil upon which it rests is gravelly, whilst the mound itself is con- 
structed of soil taken from the adjacent hills. It is evidently a mound 
of sepulture, as, in 1857, S. K. Day, Asel Hall, Isaac Hall, William 
Mead and others dug into it and found a considerable quantity of 
human bones, all of which crumbled upon being exposed to the air. 

During the Indian excitement of the early years of the war, a 
humorous incident occurred, or rather a joke was perpetrated by one 
of the settlers. Silas Bacon was considerable of a wag and somewhat 
of a blusterer, but good-hearted and well-meaning. When the settlers 
were about preparing for an attack on the Indians, who were expected 
to make a raid in his vicinity, Bacon got the largest pair of shoes, 
number thirteens, that he could find, and put them on. As they were 
too large for him they attracted the attention of some one, who asked 
him why he got his shoes so large. He replied that when the red-skins 
saw his tracks in the snow they would know that a man was after them. 



346 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Anthon, one of the most thriving towns on this branch of the Illi- 
nois Central railroad, is located on portions of sections thirty-two and 
thirty-three, not far from the Little Sioux river. It is the only post- 
office in Kedron township, and, being located so far to the south, the 
upper residents get their mail at Correctionville. The village was 
incorporated during the present year (1890). It is claimed that it is 
the heaviest shipping point on this branch of the Illinois Central rail- 
road, Washta coming next, especially for cattle, large quantities of 
corn and wheat being also transported to Chicago and other points. 
There is a large cattle ranch in Kedron, known as Benson's ranch. 

The Roman Catholics have a very nice church in Anthon. The 
church was first at Lucky Valley, but it was moved in the spring of 
1890. Father Tierney officiates as pastor. 

The Christian church was built in 1890, and is a very neat struct- 
ure. Rev. Mr. Thompson visits the members occasionally and holds 
services. 

A Methodist Episcopal church society, with a goodly member- 
ship, exists here, but they have no church building. 

The " Anthon Monitor," a very neat and creditably conducted news- 
paper, is published here. It was established July 26, 1888, and Mr. 
C. H. Cattermole is editor and proprietor. 

There are many members of secret orders and fraternities in and 
around Anthon, but no lodges. The ladies have an aid society and a 
mite society. The following are the business firms and associations: 

Anthon Exchange bank, cashier, John R. Welch; Anthon Build- 
ing Association, branch of the Omaha Provident Loan & Building 
Association; elevators, Wilson & Cooney, J. D. Heritage; stock dealers, 
Wilson & Cooney; cattle dealer, John Jerman; lumber, coal and build- 
ing material, Libbey & Smith, George S. Sardam & Co. ; postmaster 
and notary public, J. H. Carver; general merchants, J. D. Heritage 
& Co., J. H. Carver; hardware and farm machinery, E. B. Booher, F. 
C. Williams; drugs, Daniel Teefey; harness and saddlery, Charles H. 
Genet; meat market, N. Stahl; restaurant, George McKenna; milli- 
nery, Miss Lida Bradley; barber, Abraham Watson; blacksmiths, 
Bartow Bros., William F. Coffin; hotels, Carney House, Hotel 
Denny. 

In addition to a good school in Anthon, there are four outside of 
that village in Kedron township. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 349 

Rutland Toivnship was created from the surplus of Union town- 
ship April 2, 1872, and the order reads as follows: " All of township 
eighty-nine, range forty-three, be detached from Union township and 
formed into a new township to be called Rutland township." It is 
bounded as follows: Plymouth county on the north, Wolf Creek and 
Kedron on the south, Union on the east and Arlington on the west. 
Rutland was one of the latest townships to be settled, and not until 
about 1869 or 1870 were there any permanent residents within the 
territory now comprised in the present bounds, although it is claimed, 
that to take it throughout, it is the best township in Woodbury coun- 
ty. It is high-lying and consequently dry, but not too dry, as the 
gently rolling nature of the surface, which has no large stream, 
retains the moisture without retaining too much, as is the case with 
flatter lands. There is one section for which is claimed the distinc- 
tion of being unique, and standing alone, among all the sections of 
the county, in two or three regards. Section sixteen can be plowed 
over its entire surface and not leave an inch that may not be turned 
with the plow. There is not a rock, tree, stream or anything else to 
obstruct, only pure, unadulterated land. Two or three small streams 
start on their oceanward course, just outside the limits of this highly 
favored section, but do not dare to overstep the line. The township 
is well watered, however, as Pierson's creek, Booth creek, Wolf creek 
and Rock creek all have their head waters in Rutland, some flowing 
easterly to the Little Sioux, and others westerly to the West Fork. 
Very little timber, in fact none, that can be so called exist here. There 
are very good sand and gravel pits on the property of F. W. Joslyn, 
near Pierson. Cattle, hogs and corn are the crops. 

Andrew Baker, Thomas Frazier and Thomas Welch are conceded 
to be the first actual settlers, and a Mr. Landon followed about 1870. 
B. Dayton came about 1872-73. There is a considerable number of 
Germans in the township, a very thrifty class of citizens, most of 
whom are members of the Lutheran church. The balance of the 
population is American. 

The first preaching that took place in the township was by Rev. 
Benton Sellman, a Methodist Episcopal minister. He delivered a 
sermon in a school-house in 1870. The German Lutherans contem- 
plate erecting a church about four miles southwest of Pierson, they 
having already erected a parsonage. The first school was taught on 



350 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

section nine. The township cemetery lies about four miles south of 
Pier son. 

Pierson is strictly a railroad town and a busy little one it is. 
There seems to be a life about it that some of the other towns in the 
county could well imitate. It is a station on the Sac City branch of 
the Chicago & Northwestern railway, and has in addition to telegraph 
facilities and express, telephone service. A great deal of corn is 
handled here, keeping three elevators busy. Following is the busi- 
ness, etc., of the village: 

Bank of Pierson, S. F. Benson, cashier; elevator, M. D. Stevens, 
Chicago, managed and run by W. W. Burgess; elevator, dealers in 
coal, etc., Vorhes Bros.; elevator, H. Keeney & Son; general stores, 
J. H. Keyes, J. C. Mills, William Southall & Co. ; drugs, A. Ander- 
son & Son; hardware, William Mann & Sons, also dealers in farm 
machinery; harness and shoe repairing, R. Pattison; dealer in live 
stock, William Southall & Co. ; lumber, building materials and coal, 
D. Joyce ; insurance, E. Paddock ; meat-market, J. B. Opdycke ; wagon- 
maker, R. Messerole; blacksmiths, B. Dayton, H. Riser; hotel, G. B. 
Baker, proprietor; livery stable, I. J. Ellis; 1 physician, Dr. W. J. 
Efner; Pierson Tornado band, leader, J. W. McGuire; postmaster, J. 
H. Keyes. 

Rock Branch post-office was established 1880, at which time John 
F. Wood opened a store, which he still continues. He is postmaster 
as well as merchant. There is a Methodist Episcopal church here, 
also; pastor, Rev. F. W. Allnut. There are four schools in the town- 
ship. 

Morgan Toionship was created September 1, 1879, the order of 
the supervisors reading as follows: " All of township eighty-seven, 
range forty-two, be and is hereby formed into a new township to be 
called Morgan township." The officers elected at the ensuing election 
October 14, 1879, were: Justices, J. J. Morgan, William McKenna, 
William Clark; township clerk, J. J. Morgan. 

This township is strictly an agricultural and cattle-raising sub- 
division of the county. Within its bounds, which are Rock on the 
north, Liston on the south, Ida county on the east and Miller town- 
ship on the west, there is no post-office, no store, no mill, no church, 
no cemetery, and no industrial establishment of any kind, simply corn- 
growing and cattle and hog-raising. The land is first-class, and some 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 351 

of the finest cattle produced anywhere, are sent to the railroad stations 
for shipment, whilst large quantities of corn are sent to Anthon and 
Liston. The township is well watered by small creeks along which 
grow a little timber, but scarcely good enough in kind to be classed 
as timber. Morehead creek flows through the eastern portion of 
Morgan ; South branch of Big creek in the northwestern ; Reynolds 
and Koker creeks in the southern and a branch of Miller creek in the 
western. The township is pretty thickly settled, especially in the 
southern portion, and it is well provided with schools, there being a 
school-house on section eight, one on section twenty-two, one on 
section twenty-eight, and one on section thirty-five; still another is 
about being erected. 

In the matter of first settlers very little can be said, but J. J. 
Morgan, familiarly called Jerry Morgan, was about the first to come. 
William McKenna and William Clark were here at an early day also. 
The township is of so late a date that there is none of the usual old 
history in connection with it. Mr. C. C. Frum has a cattle and hog 
ranch, which is the leading feature of Morgan. 

Miller Township came into existence as a separate township the 
year following Morgan, its eastern neighbor, it being created June 7, 
1880, the order of the board of supervisors reading thus: "All of 
township eighty-seven, range forty-four, be detached from Grant town- 
ship, and that all of township eighty-seven, range forty-four, be and is 
hereby formed into a new township, to be called Miller township." 
The first officers, elected November 2, 1880, were: Township trustees, 
Luke Case, E. Hall, James Reddin ; clerk, G. Durst. The township 
is very varied in its surface conformation, the eastern portion being of 
the same character as Morgan, while the western is hilly and broken, 
and reminds one of the eastern states, excepting that the land here is 
far superior to the exhausted lands of the states indicated. All the 
beauty of the valley and stream and gently rising hill are here seen. 
The Little Sioux river flows in tortuous course from section four, where 
it enters the township to section thirty-one, where it passes into Oto 
township. The valley formed by this beautiful stream is certainly one of 
the loveliest to be seen anywhere, and the finest wheat can be here raised 
as well as corn. The streams are full of fish, such as buffalo, catfish, 
perch and suckers, and there are still many aquatic animals to be trapped 
or shot along them. There are other minor streams in the township: 



352 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Plum, Miller and Kelly creeks. This valley was a noted camping ground 
for the Indians, possibly for centuries, for here they had excellent 
water and fine hunting and fishing, whilst the hills in winter pro- 
tected them from much of the fierce northwestern blasts. Here it was, 
among these hills and along these streams, that Wesley Turman, the 
Indian fighter and hunter, would bring down his game. The Cherokee 
and Dakota branch of the Illinois Central railroad runs the entire length 
of the township on the western edge, but there is no station in Miller, 
Anthon being just out of this township on the north, and Oto also out 
of it on the south. 

The territory comprising Miller was one of the earliest sections to 
be settled. It was a portion of Little Sioux township, and as early as 
1854, Alexander Stephens and Thomas Haws were here. In 1855 
came James S. Miller, Albert Livermore and Martin Livermoi'e and 
one or two others, and by 1857, Ed. Hall was here and several others 
settled near by. A daughter of William Turman who came to Little 
Sioux township in 1853, is living in Miller. She was a little girl 
when her father and mother and her uncles came, and afterward mar- 
ried Minor Mead, also one of the earliest settlers. Mrs. Mead has a 
fund of recollections of the pioneer days, its hardships and its priva- 
tions, as well as the fun and frolic engaged in by the boys and girls. 

Rev. Mr. Snyder, an itinerant Methodist Episcopal preacher, trav- 
eled and preached all along this section of country at an early day, but 
like Morgan township, there is no church here; neither is there a 
store, mill, post-office or cemetery, but there are three school-houses. 



WOODBUEY COUNTY. 353 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

WEST FOEK, WOLF CEEEK, GEANT, MOVILLE. 

West Fork Township — Eakly Settlement — Surface, Crops, etc.— Wild 
Fruit and Game — Ranches— Splendid Township — A Prairie Scene — 
Early Names — Rev. George Clifford— Grasshoppers— Cyclone- 
Climbing Hill, Its Business, etc.— Wolf Creek Township— First Set- 
tlers—Hardships of the Pioneers— Small-pox Epidemic — Dug-out 
Cabins— First School and Preaching — Lay of the Land— Springs- 
Grant Township— Early Settlers— First Cabin— Friendly Indians- 
General Surface— Crops— Streams— The Great Road— Peiro and 
Lucky Valley— Moville Township— Fine Farming Land— Farmers' 
Alliance— Late Settlement, etc. 

WEST FOEK TOAVNSHIP, constituted June 2, 1868, and 
formed out of portions of Woodbury and Little Sioux town- 
ships, originally comprised a much larger territory than it now does, 
it having been portioned out into several other townships. It is 
now simply one congressional township eighty-seven, range forty-five. 
The dimensions as laid down by the supervisors in 1868 were: "All 
of townships eighty-six and eighty-seven, range forty-five, and also 
sections five, six, seven, eight, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, 
twenty-nine, thirty-one, thirty-two of township eighty-six, range forty- 
four." The first officers of the election held in October were: Judges, 
Elanson Cody, John E. Harrison, Eli Lee; clerks, Noyce Snyder, M. 
W. Metcalf. 

The surface of West Fork is slightly rolling and somewhat broken 
toward the bluffs and about the streams, but the land is excellent, and 
quite varied crops can here be raised. It is well watered in all sec- 
tions. The West Fork of the Little Sioux river runs through the cen- 
ter of the township from north to south. Wolf creek passes through 
the northeastern portion, and several smaller streams contribute their 
waters to the needs of the husbandman. These streams also afford 
good fishing, and in the olden time when the Indians encamped along 
them, and for many years after the white man made his settlements! 
some of the most valuable fur -bearing animals were found in large 



354 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

numbers, such as the beaver, otter, mink and muskrat, and even at the 
present time some of these animals are trapped or shot. There are 
numerous roads running through West Fork, as the township lies in 
the route of the road from Sioux City to the southeastern portion of 
the county. On the west of the bluffs these roads are very crooked, 
but when they reach the east portion of the township they mostly run 
along the section lines. Wild fruit was found in abundance when the 
first settlers came in, and along the streams some is still gathered in 
season. Fine beds of sand exist in the bluffs near the West Fork and 
at other points along the bluffs. Hay, corn and stock are the principal 
products, and several large ranches overlap from the adjoining town- 
ships. D. T. Hedges' stock and hay ranch is partly located in West 
Fork, the rest of it being in Grange, Willow and Sloan. It covers 
about six sections of land, and immense quantities of hay are raised, and 
large herds of cattle may be seen grazing upon the rich prairie grass. 
These cattle are all used in the Sioux City stock yards and packing 
establishments, and afford employment to hundreds of workmen 
throughout the year. Skinner's hay and stock ranch is another large 
enterprise, which also affords work for many persons. This firm has 
erected on the ranch a considerable number of houses for the ranch- 
men. 

West Fork is, take it all in all, one of the best townships in Wood- 
bury county, the laud being varied from bottom and prairie to well 
elevated upland. The scene presented to the eye from any of the higher 
points is one of the most charming to be witnessed anywhere. A 
writer, describing a scene somewhat similar, so well puts it that an 
extract is here given: " Eastward of these elevations the country for 
a few miles is broken into bluffs and ridges, but beyond these come 
the broad and elevated prairies that roll away to the eastward in suc- 
cessive elevations and depressions, resembling in appearance the long 
swells of the ocean." Numerous streams can be seen glittering in the 
sunshine like silver threads, and those farthest distant fading away 
and reappearing as the angle of the sunlight is changed. On the west, 
at one's feet, almost, are the rich bottom lands of the Missouri, where 
now can be seen Sioux City, sitting like a queen among the hills, and 
southward is Sloan and Hornick, and over yonder to the westward lie 
Sergeant's Bluff and Salix, whilst beyond all these stretch the fertile 
prairies of Nebraska and Dakota. Everything is covered with lux- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 355 

uriant vegetation, embellished with fragrant flowers of every hue, and 
up to the top of every ridge of bluff it is the same. Winged song- 
sters of the air are reveling amid the leafy boughs, and warbling their 
sweetest strains, and then a little valley between two high bluffs, with 
a crystal stream winding its serpentine form through the willows and 
cottonwood that line it almost its entire length. These were the 
scenes that met the gaze of the pioneer settlers when they came in 
thirty-five or forty years ago, and no wonder they were so charmed. 

Mendall Metcalf, W. O. Sluyter, C. E. Ostrander, J. E. Harrison 
and Henry Decamp are admitted to have been the first to make set- 
tlements in that portion of Little Sioux and Woodbury townships 
now comprised in the territory known as West Fork, for the present 
West Fork was cut from two of the original townships which had 
been created in 1855. Mrs. Mendall Metcalf was the first person to 
die in the township, which event occurred not many years after the 
first settlement. C. E. Ostrander is said to have erected the first 
house. Some dug-outs had been constructed prior to the building of 
Ostrander's cabin. There used to be a hotel near Climbing Hill, 
which was kept by George Henry, but it is now simply a stopping 
place for the stage that runs from Sioux City to Danbury, making the 
round trip in two days. The line is kept up for the purpose of carry- 
ing the mails to points not reached by the railroads. This old tavern 
was a great place of resort for the country boys before the advent of 
the iron horse. The first post-office in the township was kept by this 
same George Henry, and the mail station called Odd post-office. 

Thirty years ago Rev. George Clifford, who succeeded Rev. Landon 
Taylor as presiding elder of the Sioux City circuit, preached in the 
old school-houses, there not being a church in West Fork, or any- 
where else in the vicinity. It is altogether probable that Revs. Black 
and Taylor also preached at one or more of the cabins before Mr. 
Clifford came. Rev. Mr. Plummer also preached occasionally. There 
are now two very good churches in West Fork, both of them Method- 
ist Episcopal. One of them is at Climbing Hill, built in 1882, with 
Rev. Mr. Stephens as pastor, and the other is Beulah church, located 
in the southern portion of the township, which is supplied by visiting 
ministers. There is a cemetery on section twenty-two. The town- 
ship is well supplied with schools, there being school-houses on sec- 
tions two, three, five, seventeen, twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty- 
nine, thirty-two and thirty-four — nine in all. 



856 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

West Fork has bad its share of the disasters that have visited 
Woodbury county in various shapes, during the past thirty years and 
more. The grasshoppers played havoc there during their great raid, 
and the western portion of the township more particularly. One im- 
mense cloud of these pests dropped down as though it were a cloud- 
burst, and covered the fields instantly with the crawling, hopping 
insects. Every green thing fell before the devouring plague, and 
when they rose again to hie them to newer fields and pastures green, 
the earth was left almost as bare as after a raging prairie fire. The 
freshets, that occasionally occur on all streams, make no exception to 
the West Fork of the Little Sioux. Some damage was done in 1868, 
but nothing very serious. A small cyclone passed across the town- 
ship a few years ago, but with the exception of blowing a couple of 
outhouses down and injuring some fruit trees by tearing away limbs, 
nothing serious occurred. Prairie fires occur nearly every year, some 
years more serious than others, when a barn or two is destroyed. 
These drawbacks to the farmer and stock-raiser, taken altogether, are 
very discouraging, but the extreme productiveness of the land iu good 
seasons, is so great as to fully equalize matters, and present balance 
sheets that tally. 

Climbing Hill is the only post-office in the township, and a very 
pleasantly located little hamlet it is, lying near the very beautiful 
West Fork river. It has two general stores, kept by S. D. Bayne and 
W. H. Hurd. Ed. Bassford is the village blacksmith. Dr. S. D. 
Angle, a practicing physician, formerly lived at Climbing Hill, but 
his practice not being sufficient, he moved away, to a more thickly 
settled community, or where the climate is not so distressingly healthy 
as West Fork. There was at one time a grist-mill near Climbing Hill, 
which was permitted finally to lapse into "innocuous desuetude." 

Wolf Creek Township was constituted June 2, 1868, being formed 
out of portions of Correctionville, Rock, Woodbury and Sioux City 
townships, and was bounded and described in the order of the super- 
visors of the county as follows: "All of townships eighty-eight and 
eighty-seven, range forty-four, and all of sections one, two, eleven, 
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twen- 
ty-six, thirty-five, thirty-six, township eighty-nine, range forty-five." 
It has since been curtailed, until it is but one complete congressional 
township, number eighty-eight, range forty-four, bounded on the north 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 359 

by Arlington and Eutland, on the south by Grant, on the east by 
Kedron and on the west by Moville. The first officers were: Justice 
of the peace, M. B. Keister; and the township clerk, F. A. Dawes. 

The first settlers to come to Wolf Creek township were Ben Flath- 
ers, Jake Thomson, Doc. Thomson, W. J. Hines, Sam Hardin, E. C. 
Bennett, Henry Gillette, and two or three more who lived a little 
remote from those whose names are mentioned. They came to the 
then wild region, determined to carve out a home for themselves and 
families. They left comparative comfort behind them in their old 
homes, for the rude fare and ruder surroundings of an untrod wilder- 
ness, where none but the Indian and his wild brute game ever trod 
before, unless, to trap or hunt, the white adventurers of this upper 
country had passed along here. But those old pioneers of the early 
past knew no fear, dreaded no hardships, and were ever ready to lend 
a helping hand to their needy neighbors. Except in fancy, one can 
not realize what the vanguard of civilization has to contend with, what 
he has to battle for. As though nature had not placed upon him 
burdens enough in the struggle for life with the elements and for 
bread, the relentless savage must be added to the discom-agements of 
his situation. He must carry his gun with his plow, for, from out the 
tall grass may peer the head of a wily Indian, ready to kill and scalp 
the moment the pioneer is off his guard. And the wife and children 
at the rude cabin near by, what must be their feeling when their pro- 
tector is away, or when, in the silent watches of the night, unusual 
sounds are heard — stealthy, and well recognized as the sneaking red- 
skin on the hunt for his prey, the white man? 

A little later along than the coming of the very first settlers, came 
N. Conaway, in the spring of 1868, who settled on section twenty- 
four. Lewis Peck came about the same time as Conaway, but in con- 
sequence of some technicality he lost his claim, a party coming in and 
jumping it. Peck shortly afterward left and never returned. Samuel 
and Kufus Conaway, brothers of N. Conaway, came shortly after the 
latter arrived, and both settled near him. John T. Thatcher also came 
in the spring of 1868, and settled on section twenty-two. About this 
time three brothers, hearing of the fine land open for claimants in 
northwestern Iowa, came out for the purpose of casting their lot with 
some friends who had already reached their future homes. These were 
Henry, John and J. N. Dicus. Henry settled on section twenty-three, 



360 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and the others near by. William Graham also came in 1868. The 
first death that occurred in the township was that of Mrs. Dicus, the 
wife of the elder Dicus. She died in December, 1868, of small-pox. 
There was a slight epidemic of that fearful and disgusting disease in 
the winter of 1868-69, and considerable of a scare, but only one death 
resulted from it. It was supposed that some new comers had brought 
the germs of the disease in their clothing, the person bringing it, not 
being susceptible to it, having been vacciuated. The person who was 
first to fall ill declared, and her friends knew, that she had not been 
anywhere where there was small-pox prevailing. It was a year's won- 
der where the first patient contracted the dread malady. 

The Conaways, soon after coming in, built a dug-out, in which they 
lived for several years, and this only twenty-two years ago, shows, 
the primitive state of affairs, for Conaway was one of the best off of 
the settlers. A Mr. Wetmore built the first house in 1869. E. T. 
Armitage also came in 1869, and J. P. Bowers a little later. A man 
by the name of Perkins, some years ago started a store on section 
twenty-five, but he soon gave it up, there not being business enough 
to justify even the small expenses he required. There has never been 
another store opened in the township since, the people doing their 
trading at Moville, Lucky Valley, Anthon and Correctionville. There 
is no mill, or other enterprise of any importance in operation in the 
entire township. The first school was taught on section twenty-three. 
A small house was built for the purpose by private subscription, and 
the first teacher was a Miss Brush. There are now eight good schools, 
in the township. 

One of the oldest roads in the county passes along the upper edge 
of Wolf Creek township. It is the Sioux City & Correctionville 
road, which was laid out about 1855, for, be it remembered, that the 
same company which founded Sioux City also laid out Correctionville. 
These two places occupy, or originally did occupy, the same relative 
positions, respectively on the east and west ends of the " line of cor- 
rection " of the surveyors, within the bounds of Woodbury county. 
This old road, as straight as a surveyor's line can make it throughout 
its entire length, with the exception of a few miles as it appi'oaches 
Sioux City, was the great thoroughfare east and west in the early 
days, and is yet a much traveled road. There was formerly a post- 
office called Wolf Dale, on this road on the Arlington side above 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 361 

section five of Wolf Creek, but it was discontinued. On January 10, 
1890, a j)ost-onice was opened on section sixteen of Wolf Creek, and 
the name Wolf Dale was adopted. J. M. Wade is postmaster, and 
this is the only post-office in the township. 

The first sermon delivered in Wolf Creek was by Eev. J. Brush 
in 1869, in William Graham's house, and the first church organization 
was effected in 1872, in school-house number three, by Eev. James 
Patrick ; but as yet they have no church. There is a Methodist Epis- 
copal church on section one, with Eev. Mr. Allnut as pastor, and 
another congregation of the same denomination hold their services in 
school-house number eight, with Eev. C. W. Cobb as pastor. There 
was a Eoman Catholic church on section thirty-five, built in 1883, but 
the building was removed to Anthon, and remodeled and erected in 
that town in 1890. A cemetery belonging to the township is located 
on section one, and the Baptists have one on section twenty-two. A 
Farmers' Alliance, with a membership of about fifty of the best citi- 
zens of the surrounding country, meets at school- house number five. 
The nationality of the citizens of Wolf Creek is mostly American, 
and a thrifty population it is, too, as their fine farms attest. 

The surface of the township is rolling, but inclined to be rough in 
some sections, especially in the southern portion, although there are 
not many elevations of any height. This roughness, however, does 
not detract from the producing quality of the soil, as Wolf Creek is 
highty fertile, and this same broken character lends a charm to the 
landscape that does not exist in the plain prairie country, where the 
eye tires with the monotony of the landscape. The township is 
extremely well watered, and there are more streams that take their 
rise within the limits of Wolf Creek than in any other township in 
Woodbury county. Nearly all the small branches that unite to form 
Wolf creek originate in the many springs to be found in the thirty-six 
sections of this township, and there is not a section but what has its 
little stream. Some of the springs are of good size and furnish the 
finest water. Beds of clay and sand can be reached not far below the 
surface. The township has never been visited by any very serious 
disaster, with the exception of a very severe hailstorm in the early 
clays, but, as there were very few settlements at the time, a corres- 
ponding lack of damage was done. The lively grasshopper, of course, 
paid his respects to Wolf Creek, but he had to live on plain prairie 



362 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

grass and cottonwood, mostly, as he came before there was much popu- 
lation here. Stock-raising, cattle and hogs, and corn producing, are 
the principal industries of the township. It is well supplied with 
schools, there being six in operation. 

Grant Totvnship was created by order of the supervisors in 
response to petitions of citizens of the section interested, November 
10, 1868. It formed a part of Little Sioux township, which at the 
time comprised about one-fourth of the county of Woodbury. The 
order of the board reads as follows: " All of toAvnsbip eighty-seven, 
range forty-three, and all of sections one, two, three, four, nine, ten, 
eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty- 
two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, 
twenty-eight, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, in township 
eighty-seven, range forty-four." The first justices of the peace elected 
at the ensuing election were Joseph Cross and Elias Horton, and the 
first township clerk was W. T. Clark. Some of the above territory 
has since been clipped from Grant to help form another township, 
which leaves Grant now one congressional township, number eighty- 
seven, range forty-four, bounded by Wolf Creek on the north, Little 
Sioux on the south, Miller on the east and West Fork on the west. 

As Grant is one of the Little Sioux valley townships, and not far 
distant from where William White, Curtis Lamb and John Sumner 
made their first settlements about 1850 or 1851, and near where Orrin 
B. Smith founded Smithland, it was one of the sections of the county 
to receive some of the first searchers after homes in the northwest. 
Thomas Flower and William Flower settled on section thirty-six in 
the spring of 1854, and made the necessary improvements for holding 
their claims, in which they were successful. They afterward, during 
the same year, sold their claims to Thomas Golden and Ed. Young, 
. who made improvements and began a settlement in earnest. Also in 
1854 came a German named Jowler (pronounced Yowler in the Ger- 
man and he was so called), who made improvements and secured his 
claim. He built a cabin and broke up considerable land, but his 
humble home caught fire some time afterward and was consumed. He 
managed to save the most of his household effects, which at that day 
could almost be carried out in one armful. An Indian camp was in 
the vicinity, the party being on a hunting expedition along the streams 
of the Little Sioux valley, which was a famous hunting ground for 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 363 

not only the red-skins but their white brothers. These friendly Indi- 
ans helped the unfortunate son of Vaderland to save his effects, but 
the little building was entirely lost. This disheartened Yowler, and 
he sold his claim to B. D. Chapman and departed for scenes of a more 
civilized character. He is now probably a retired manufacturer of 
the foaming amber beverage in some city of the effete orient. Golden 
and Young, also, lost faith in the northwest, and sold the claims they 
had bought of Thomas and William Flower in 1854, to Isaac Hall, 
who still further improved the property. 

A number of other persons came in about 1855 and 1856, but the 
Indian depredations of the spring of 1857 scared many of them away. 
Minor Mead, at an early day, built a small tavern at Lucky Valley, but 
it disappeared many years ago. After the Civil war a great many 
Germans settled in the township, and now form a large proportion of 
the population. They are here, as they are everywhere else, extremely 
thrifty, and farm for all that there is in it, their property being well im- 
proved, and the land kept clean and dry. The rest of the population 
is mostly American. 

The surface of Grant township is, like the adjoining one of Wolf 
Cieek, rolling and broken, but the land is excellent and highly pro- 
ductive, corn, wheat and buckwheat be raised in good quantities, while 
some cattle and hog-raising is carried on. The township is well 
watered, numerous streams flowing almost on every section. The east 
branch of Wolf creek flows into the township in the northeastern 
corner, and continues its tortuous course in a southwesterly direction, 
leaving Grant exactly at its southwest corner. Numerous branches of 
this creek flow into it from all directions, and the west fork of the 
same stream flows through the northwestern portion. Springs are 
abundant, and some of them supply the finest water. Roads are very 
numerous, and seem to run in any direction without system or regu- 
larity, but if you take one of them you will usually arrive somewhere, 
and frequently, if you do not mind your compass, they will land you 
just exactly where you started from. The " great road " from Sioux 
City to Danbury, which crosses the bluffs in West Fork township, 
passes through Grant, and its sinuosities would do credit to a West 
Virginia hillside worm fence, or the track of a " rattler " through 
prairie grass. But roads are great blessings to the traveler, and the 
more the merrier. 



364 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The village of Peiro is located on section twenty-one, and is on 
the stage route from Sioux City to Danbury, heretofore mentioned. 
Mr. Griffin is the postmaster, and also runs a general store. There 
is a blacksmith shop also here. Bethel Methodist Episcopal church 
is situated near by, and a cemetery. 

Lucky Valley, another village, is situated at the extreme edge of 
the township, on parts of sections two and three. There is a general 
store here, a Methodist Episcopal church, with Rev. Mr. Stephens as 
pastor, and a cemetery near by. Six school buildings afford educa- 
tional facilities. 

Moville Township was cut from Wolf Creek and Floyd townships 
September 2, 1872, the order of creation by the suj)ervisors reading as 
follows: " The east half of township eighty-eight, range forty-five) 
be detached from Wolf Creek township, and the west half of town- 
ship eighty-eight, range forty-five, be detached from Floyd township, 
and that the whole of said township eighty-eight, range forty-five, be 
formed into a new township, to be called Moville township." The 
bounds are Banner and Arlington on the north, West Fork on the 
south, Wolf Creek on the east, and Floyd on the west. 

This township has no superior in Woodbury county as a farming 
section, and few equals, as it is very little broken, whilst it is abun- 
dantly provided with water. The West Fork of the Little Sioux river 
runs through the center from north to south and Wolf creek flows 
through the eastern portion. It is gently rolling, and the soil is the 
best. Corn, cattle and hogs are the products, and immense quantities 
of the first are raised, and large numbers of the latter two are shipped 
from Moville village, in Arlington township, the present terminus of a 
branch of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad. Moville township 
is simply and strictly an agricultural one. It has no post-office, no 
church, no store, no railroad, no mill, no ranches, and not even a 
cemetery. The buildings are farm-houses, barns and schools, of the 
latter there being no less than six, which is evidence that the inhab- 
itants should be classed among the reading and thinking class of Wood- 
bury's population. This showing of schools in a township that has 
only one hundred voters is a silent comment that speaks volumes. The 
inhabitants are nearly all well-to-do, progressive and enterprising, and 
although a large proportion of the voters belong to the Farmers' 
Alliance, they do not fool too much with politics. Nearly all the mail 



WOODBUET COUNTY. 365 

matter for the population of Moville is received at the town of Mo- 
ville, just across the northern border of the township, where all busi- 
ness, also, is transacted, which is no small matter, if one can judge by 
the wagons that enter the village named from the south. 

The township, although one of the richest and most fertile in the 
county, was settled at a very late day, and it seems like straining 
matters to speak of the old settlers of Moville ; there are really none — 
or none, compared with the Sergeant's Bluff and Smithland settle- 
ments. It is true the northern edge is traversed by the upper great 
road, the one from Sioux City to Correctionville, along winch passed 
the renowned company of citizen warriors raised at Sioux City for 
the defense of the threatened settlers about Correctionville; the com- 
pany, a squad of which had such a thrilling adventure at the house of 
Mr. Morris Kellogg, and in which the now genial Judge Isaac Pen- 
dleton was wounded. The exploits of these dauntless foemen with 
the relentless red-skins is related elsewhere, and the circumstance is 
alluded to in order to show that persons frequently passed through 
the upper portion of Moville; yet there was land nearer the more 
advanced settlements, and upon this the claim-seeker squatted. 
There were three of the Metcalfs, however, who came pretty early — 
William, John and Wilbur Metcalf. This family was, and is yet, one 
of the most numerous in the county, as the name will be noticed in 
several preceding and succeeding townships. J. B. Smith was another 
early settler, but nearly all those who form the population now, came 
in at a comparatively late date. 



866 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
LISTON TOWNSHIP. 

Order of Creation— Bounds— First Settlers— Dan Thomas— Streams, 
Surface, etc.— Good Land— Early Roads— Cyclones— The Great 
Prairie Fire — Early Preachers— Elder Taylor's Indian Scare — 
Danbury— Origin of Name — Its Business, etc. — Churches, Schools 
and Societies. 

LISTON' TOWNSHIP is one of the most important in Woodbury 
county at the present time, owing to its position, railroad facili- 
ties, general business enterprise of Danbury, and the fertility of its 
soil, together with the fact of its lying in one of the most beautiful 
and richest valleys of the northwest. It is one of the post helium 
townships, created at the time things were taking a start in Woodbury 
county in earnest. It will be remembered that the county was divided 
into only four parcels up to so late a date as 1867, but at that time a 
dozen or more subdivisions commenced and continued to increase, 
till at last there are twenty-four townships. The supervisors on 
November 10, 1868, passed this brief order: "Townships eighty- 
six and eighty-seven, range forty-two, to be constituted Liston town- 
ship." The territory was taken from Little Sioux, which at that time 
had more than it could handle, and was done at the instance of Will- 
iam H. Seaman and others. Seaman was a very active and enter- 
prising citizen, alive to all the best interests of his township, but 
things not going on as actively as he liked, moved away. Liston, it 
will be noticed, comprised two full congressional townships, but the 
township of Morgan was afterward detached from it, which left it as 
it now is, congressional township number eighty-six, range forty-two. 
Dan Thomas was the first justice of the peace elected after the crea- 
tion of Liston. The boundaries are: Morgan on the north, Monona 
county on the south, Ida county on the east and Oto on the west, it 
being the extreme southeastern township. It is traversed in the 
southeastern portion by the Chicago & Northwestern road, the only 
station within its limits, however, being Danbury. 




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WOODBURY COUNTY. 369 

Numerous creeks, branches and runs flow everywhere in Liston, 
the principal streams being the beautiful Maple river in the southeast, 
Reynolds creek and Koker creek, both being branches of the Maple. 
Many springs are found, also, at the heads of these waters. The sur- 
face is somewhat rolling, and broken in one or two sections, but it is 
well wooded, some good timber being cut along the streams and on 
the ridges. The best timber is nearly all the result of planting, a 
great deal of which has been done, and the good work still continues. 
Good roads run all through Liston, and here terminates the stage line 
from Sioux City. The principal products are, as in all sections of 
Woodbury, corn, cattle and hogs. There are some fine deposits of 
blue clay, but none of them are worked; also sand-beds, one especially 
on the old Castle place, on section nineteen. Cyclones have several 
times visited this region, and considerable damage has resulted. In 1883 
a church, a school-house and several residences were badly wrecked. 
Some little damage has occasionally been done by freshets, after the 
melting of the snows of hard winters. The nationality of the population 
of the township is mostly American, but there is a considerable num- 
ber of Irish, especially in Danbury. 

A few settlers were here at quite an early day, but a number of 
them left in consequence of the great prairie fire of 1856, and the 
Spirit Lake massacre of 1857. Some of them returned, but others did 
not. A portion of Liston, at that time the southeastern corner of Lit- 
tle Sioux township, was right in the track of the great conflagration 
mentioned previously, which swept over an extent of country ten and 
fifteen miles wide. The sight of that immense sheet of flame, of the 
width indicated, and extending far noi'thward, was appalling. The 
heavens were lighted up at night as though the whole globe was on 
fire, and in the day time the smoke obscured the rays of the sun to 
such an extent as to leave the impression of deep twilight. A gentleman 
who witnessed the scene, infoi'med the writer that it is beyond the 
power of tongue or pen to describe it, but says that he can still see the 
awful billows of fire as they rolled along in their resistless course. 
Those out of the fire were fortunate, and stretched a helping hand to 
those driven from their homes. The first actual settler, with his 
family, to come into what is now Liston township, was Joseph L. 
Edwards, a brother-in-law of M. L. .Tones, of Smithland, who came in 
1854; and the next one to make a settlement here was George L. 



370 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Crane. A man named Reynolds also came at an early day, but left 
during the war and never returned. Reynolds creek, a branch of the 
Maple river, was named after him. Edwards built the first log-house 
in the township. 

The first minister of the gospel to preach in this section, as well as 
any other portion of Woodbury county, was Rev. Mr. Black, of whom 
frequent mention has been already made in this work. Presiding 
Elder Lauclon Taylor also visited here as well as Rev. D. J. Havens. 
United Brethren preachers were here at an early day also. There 
was no church building, and they usually preached in the school- 
houses or at the houses of the settlers. Rev. Taylor traveled along 
this country in 1857, at the time of the great Indian scare, when 
everything was in excitement, and when every swaying bush and every 
stump in the woods assumed the form, in the imagination, of bloody 
savages. They were thought to be lurking behind every tree and hid- 
ing among the tall grass of the prairie. Every horseman in the dis- 
tance was viewed as the advance guard of a horde of relentless red- 
skins, and the cry was heard everywhere "the Sioux are coming!" 
The truth was that the Indians were not within a hundred miles of 
Woodbury county, but they were fleeing to the northward after the 
Spirit Lake affair, for when they realized the enormity of their crime, 
and ascertained that the whites were after them with blood in their 
eyes, they fled as fast as they could from the vengeance they feared 
would overtake them. Just at this time good brother Taylor, filled 
with the Indian scare, had occasion to cross the country a little north 
and east of Liston, and while passing alone along the lonely road, met 
with an adventure which will be given in the words of the pious old 
worker in the vineyard of the Lord: "On my return from Denison, 
homeward, riding on horseback, I made a very narrow escape. The 
road was along a willow creek, while before me I could see some dis- 
tance. Directly ahead of me, about thirty rods, in a little opening of 
the willows, I saw my enemy sure enough. The main road would 
have taken me within eight rods of the place of concealment. 'What 
shall I do?' My thoughts ran fast. Fortunate for me, before I 
reached them, the road made an inward curve behind a little bluff out 
of their sight, and at the center of the curve a ravine ran up to the 
left, which would take me into the main road, a distance of about a 
mile. You may rest assured that I improved my advantage, and 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. 371 

Fanny went up that road with speed. Within a few minutes I was 
safe in the main i-oad and out of the reach of danger, and I thanked 
God for the rescue." 

Danbury. — : Just north of the town site of Danbury, for some years 
before the laying off of that town, there was a store kept by Dan 
Thomas, who was postmaster also of the office kept in his store, which 
was named Liston post-office. This was the first store in the township, 
and the nucleus from which has arisen the very pleasant and progres- 
sive town of Danbury. The land was owned by Mr. Thomas, and when 
the railroad came along that way, he gave to the company the town site, 
provided they would make it a station and build a depot there, he to 
retain every alternate lot. It was accepted by the railroad people, and 
Thomas named the stripling city Danbury; but he and the inhabitants 
of the little burg desire it to be particularly understood that their 
town is not named after Danbury, Conn., although they have had a 
newspaper called the Danbury "News," which would seem to be a con- 
firmation of this Connecticut idea. But no, Mr. Thomas constructed 
the title from the front part of his own name and the rear end of the 
name of the county — Dan and bury. The railroad reached this point in 
1877, and Danbury began to grow. The founder of the town, Mr. 
Thomas, opened the first general store, and R. H. Loucks commenced 
the drug business soon after, in the spring of 1878. First hotel was 
opened in the fall of 1878 by Melvin Chapman, and was a portion of 
what is now the Castle hotel. George Hoskins, a blacksmith, also 
commenced business in this same year, and the first doctor was J. M. 
Condron, a veterinary practitioner, who also exercised his skill upon 
humanity. Dr. C. A. Bradley was the first regular physician, and lie 
came to Danbury in the spring of 1880. In 1881 Dr. S. A. McNer- 
ney located here, where he practiced till his death, October 8, 1888. 
This gentleman was highly respected for his skill in his profession 
and for his many social virtues. He was a man of fine education, 
conscientious in his treatment of patients, and affable to all, which 
qualities built him up a practice that was creditable and remunerative. 
Danbury grew quite fast from the very beginning, until in 1882, the 
citizens thought they ought to make a municipality out of their pros- 
perous little town, so they accordingly made application to the court 
for an order of incorporation, which was granted, and an election 
ordered to take place March 7, 1882, when the following officers were 
elected: 



372 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mayor — Dan Thomas. 

Trustees — George N. Castle, George W. Hoskins, William Cook, 
David Tangeman, H. J. Peters, L. D. Herrington. 

Recorder — J. S. Shoup. 

The present officers are: 

Mayor — J. H. Ostrom. 

Trustees — Samuel Boyer, C. F. Kueny, W. Hand, William Rine- 
hold, M. D. Cord, John Kampmeyer. 

Recorder — C. F. Seibold. 

The business firms and other industrial, economical and social 
interests may be summed up in the following condensed lists: Banner 
Mills, patent roller process, Godfrey Durst, proprietor, are located 
just east of the town; elevators, Godfrey Durst, F. H. Hancock; ele- 
vator and dealer in grain, etc., David Tangeman; lumber, W. F. 
Seibold; lumber and building material, S. H. Bowman Lumber Com- 
pany; general merchandising, Seibold Bros., C. C. Cook, John Kamp- 
meyer, Jacob Welte ; drugs, R. H. Loucks ; hardware, W. Hand, J. B. 
Hash; grocery, V. D. Lyons & Son; furniture and hardware, W. B. 
Booher; harness and saddlery, H. T. Wilcox; blacksmiths, three 
shops; confectionery and restaurant, D. B. Newcomer, Con Keleher; 
barbers, J. B. Howe, J. Millington; jeweler, W. Endes; millinery and 
furnishing goods, Mrs. C. C. Frum; meat market, J. H. Hart; variety 
store, R. R. Glassey; shoemaker, Theo. Litzelschwab; live-stock 
dealers, P. C. Keitges, C. C. Frum; livery stables, Bray & Drea, G. 
N. Castle; hotels, Castle House, G. N. Castle, proprietor, Commercial, 
Pat Collins, proprietor; Danbury State Bank, capital $40,000, paid 
up, Alex. McHugh, president; A. J. Santee, vice-president; A. L. 
Wilkinson, secretary; J. W. Hamilton, cashier; I. B. Santee, assistant 
cashier; bankers, Baxter, Reed & Co.; physicians, G W. Murphy, 
W. R. Keeny, C. F. Kueny; lawyers, J. H. Ostrom, D. H. Kerby; 
insurance, P. C. Keitges; real estate, J. H. & E. Ostrom; loan and 
land office, Joseph O'Doherty; auctioneer, T. W. Frentess; wind- 
mills, R. L. Canty; postmaster, V. D. Lyons. 

Danbury high school is an institution that takes a very credit- 
able rank among the higher grade of schools of Woodbury county. 
The school building, which was erected in 1879, is a finely appointed 
and commodious structure. There is an attendance of about 100 schol- 
ars. It is conducted by Prof. H. H. Hahn, principal; Miss Stella 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 373 

Ostrorn, intermediate grade, and Miss Jessie Smith, primary depart- 
ment. 

The " Criterion " is the title of a very ably conducted and well printed 
quarto newspaper, now under the management of J. H. and Ernest 
Ostrom. This journal was established in 1882, as the Danbury "News" 
by J. L. Krozen, who ran it about oue year, when it passed into the 
hands of a company, which changed the name to "Maple Valley Scoop," 
with Prof. J. S. Shoup as editor. The company was known as the Dan- 
bury Publishing Company. At the end of a year the company sold 
the plant to C. P. Bowman, now of Oto, who changed the title of the 
paper to the Danbury " Vidette." Under this name and management it 
was run about one year, when the company which had transferred it, 
took the paper off the hands of Mr. Bowman. In April, 1885, J. H. 
Ostrom leased it, and commenced the publication of the " Maple Valley 
Scoop" once more, and during the year Mr. Ostrom bought all the stock 
of the company. In 1886 the son and daughter of the gentleman 
named took entire charge, and in 1887 the name was changed to the 
present title " The Criterion," and the size of the paper doubled, mak- 
ing it a large quarto, it having been up to that time a folio. 

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church would do credit to a much 
larger town than Danbury, as the church edifice is commodious, hand- 
some and well arranged, whilst the site upon which it and the buildings 
connected with the same are located, is one of the finest in the county. 
After the entrance of the railroad into Liston township, the Catholics, 
who had come in with the new order of things, organized, and in 1881, 
although few in number and poor, actually raised funds among them- 
selves, with a little assistance from some friends, Protestant as well as 
Catholic, enough to build the first building, which cost about $2,500. 
These zealous Christians raised the funds without one dollar's assist- 
ance from the church authorities. It was attended from Sioux City 
at first by Father Barron, and until the present priest, Father 
Meagher, a relative of the well-known Gen. Thomas Francis Meagher, 
the Irish patriot and American general during the late Civil war, 
took charge in 1883. But the first little modest edifice was not des- 
tined to stand long, for in April, of 1883, a violent cyclone swept 
across Liston township, and utterly demolished the church building, 
only, however, to give place to a better one. A fine parochial resi- 
dence and a parochial school edifice are also completed, at a cost of 



374 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

$12,000, the school being under the direction of nuns of the Order of 
Presentation. The school has an average attendance of eighty-five, 
and is well conducted and prosperous. Mother Cecelia, a highly 
accomplished lady, is in charge of the school. 

The Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1881, and is a very 
handsome structure, being large and well finished. The congregation 
is quite large for the extent of the population of Danbury, seeing that 
the Catholic church has so numerous a congregation. Before the 
erection of this building, services of this denomination were held in 
the school-houses, as shown elsewhere in this sketch of Liston. Rev. 
P. S. Johnson is the present pastor in charge. 

Due Guard Lodge, No. 387, A. F. & A. M., Avas chartered July 
29, 1878, the lodge having worked under dispensation for a short while 
previously. The charter members were And. H. Runyon, R. H. 
Loucks, Robert B. Mills, George W. Hoskins, Dan Thomas, William 
Smith, Abel A. Stowell, A. L. Brockway, John P. Creegor, Solomon 
J. Merritt. First officers Avere, W. M., And. H. Runyon; S. W., R. H. 
Loucks; J. W., Robert B. Mills; secretary, William Smith; treasurer, 
A. A. Stowell. Present officers are, W. M., J. H. Ostrom; S. W., C. 
C. Yockey; J. W., C. A. Segan; secretary, G. W. Murphy; treasurer, 
M. D. Cord. Lodge meets Wednesday, on or before full moon. 

Order of the Eastern Star, Danbury chapter, now working under 
dispensation (July of 1890), was instituted in spring of 1890. It has 
a membership of forty-one. The officers are, W. M., Miss Jessie N. 
Smith; W. P., Mrs. C. C. Yockey; A. M., Miss Stella Ostrom; secre- 
tary, G. W. Murphy; treasurer, R. H. Loucks. 

There is a lodge of Ancient Order of Hibernians here, also, with a 
very good membership. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 375 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

ARLINGTON, FLOYD, CONCORD, BANNER. 

Arlington Township— Organization and Officers— Rolling Surface — 
Streams, Timber and Crops— First Settlers— Peter Van Norman — 
Other Early Names— An Old Tavern— Nationalities— Fine Farms— 
Moville, Its Business, etc.— Floyd Township— First Settlers— Ex- 
cellent Land — Fine Stock— Good Crops — The Destructive 'Hopper — 
Habits and Instincts of the Pest— Concord Township— Its Creation 
as Joy Township— Simply Farming and Stock-raising— Surface, etc.— 
Banner Township — Similarity to Concord— First Settlement- 
Original Homesteader — Sparse Population, etc. 

ARLINGTON TOWNSHIP was created by order of the super- 
visors April 5, 1871, as follows: "All of township eighty-nine 
of ranges forty-four and forty-five, be and is hereby detached from the 
townships to which the same now belong, and formed into a new 
township to be called Arlington township." At the time of its cre- 
ation, it will be noticed that Arlington comprised two congressional 
townships, one of which it lost by the detaching of Banner township 
in 1879. The present boundaries are Plymouth county on the north, 
Moville and Wolf Creek townships on the south, Rutland on the 
east and Banner on the west. The first officers elected after the pas- 
sage of the order of creation, were James E. Gordon, justice of the 
peace; township clerk, M. Baumgardner; constable, Charles F. Booth. 
Like the adjoining townships, Arlington is slightly broken in cer- 
tain sections, but the general lay of the surface is rolling. This roll- 
ing character is highly advantageous during dry seasons, as it retains 
the moisture far better than the flat, and at the same time it is never 
liable to be too wet. The West Fork passes through the township, 
which with Booth and Mud creeks supply plenty of water. A num- 
ber of minor brooklets and branches traverse almost every section. 
There are also a number of small springs in various localities through- 
out the township. Sand and gravel beds are reached by going down 
tolerably deep, and rock is almost an unknown quantity, there not 
being one larger than a bushel measure, they being bowlders. These 



376 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

are found at the bluffs, where they stranded hundreds of years ago. 
Arrow heads are occasionally found on the bluffs, lying, possibly, 
where they were shot by the aborigines ages ago, the arrow to which 
they were originally fastened having rotted away long since. Timber, 
also is a scarce commodity, at least timber that can be classed as good. 
The usual cottonwood, willow and a few of the softer kinds of tree- 
growth may be found along the larger streams. 

Peter Van Norman is acknowledged to be the oldest settler of the 
region where he now resides, having been here before the organiza- 
tion of the township. He lives upon a very beautiful farm just west 
of the town of Moville. Isaac Long was one of the very earliest 
settlers, and it is said that he constructed the first dug-out, in which 
he lived for some time. Anderson Wright was one of the first to 
come in and make a settlement, and he is said to have built the first 
frame house in the township. A. H. Roberts, E. H. Booth, William 
Jackson, M. E. Twitchell, John Grosh and the Thomases are looked 
upon as early settlers, as well as W. W. McElrath, who came in at a 
comparatively late date. The township having been settled up at so 
late a date, as compared with some of the others, genuine old settlers are 
scarce in Arlington. The east and west road between Correctionville 
and Sioux City passes along the southern boundary of the township, 
and at a point on section thirty-six, the southeastern corner, there 
formerly was a post-office known as Wolf Dale, which was canceled 
some time since, and removed to Wolf Dale township several miles 
south. At this point some years ago, Jacob Grosh kept a tavern, 
which is also discontinued. 

The nationality of the population of Arlington is mostly Ameri- 
can, some of the inhabitants coming from Pennsylvania, Illinois, 
Indiana, the New England states, New York, Kentucky, etc. There 
are a few Germans and Norwegians, also. The principal industry of 
the township is fanning and stock-raising, cattle, hogs and corn being 
produced in abundance. Considerable flax is raised, one firm at 
Moville having shipped in 1890, over 2,000 bushels of flaxseed, and 
another firm about 1,000 bushels. Supervisor W. W. McElrath has 
one of the largest and finest farms in Arlington on sections nineteen, 
twenty and twenty-one, comprising some 1,500 acres of land in the 
county. In addition to the usual farm products of this section, Mr. 
McElrath handles about 400 head of cattle yearly. The first store 
was kept by Frank Thomas on section thirty-two. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 379 

t Moville. — This business-like and growing town is the present ter- 
minus of the branch of the Chicago & Northwestern railway projected 
to run westward through the townships of Banner, Floyd and Wood- 
bury to Sioux City. It is the shipping point for a large extent of 
country, and has some very good mercantile establishments. 

On May 27, 1889, the district court of Woodbury county, in re- 
sponse to the petition of W. L. Sanborn, B. E. Boyd, W. H. Dewey, 
and others, asking the incorporation of the town of Moville, the court, 
after due examination of the premises of the petitioners, ordered that 
W. L. Sanborn, B. E. Bojd, W. H. Dewey, J. W. Hippie and A. B. 
Thatcher, be appointed commissioners, who shall at once call an elec- 
tion of the voters residing in the territory to be embraced, the limits 
being the southwest one-fourth of section twenty-nine, township 
eighty-nine, range forty-four. The election to be held on Saturday, 
August 10, 1889. Notice of the election was published in the Moville 
"Mail." At the election seventy-four votes were cast, fifty for in- 
corporation, twenty-three against incorporation, one vote reading 
"against." At a subsequent election held August 29, 1889, for cor- 
porate officers, the following was the result: 

Mayor — H. S. Becker. 

Recorder — A. B. Thatcher. 

Trustees— W. L. Sanborn, W. H. Dewey, R. M. McCarter, J. W. 
Hippie, B. E. Boyd, C. A. Beard. 

Rules and regulations were formulated and passed at a subsequent 
meeting. At the same meeting W. J. Welch was unanimously elected 
marshal, and J. W. Mohler, treasurer. The present officers (1890) are: 

Mayor— C. A. Beard. 

Recorder — A. J. Beem. 

Trustees— W. H. Dewey, L. Case, R. M. McCarter, H. S. Becker, 
J. M. Emmick, J. W. Hippie. 

Assessor — Ed. Sherrard. 

Marshal — J. L. Foltz. 

Treasurer— W. E. Hall. 

W. W. McElrath erected the first store building in Moville in 
1887, and B. E. Boyd put in the first stock of goods. The first hotel 
was kept by L. Case. The business and other interests are as follows : 
Steam elevator, W. W. McElrath, dealer in grain, live-stock and real 
estate; steam elevator, W. L. Sanborn, dealer in cattle, hogs and 



380 HISTORY OF W00DBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

grain; general merchants, Varley & Son, W. H. Lee, J. M. Emrnick; 
Farmers' Alliance have a co-operative general store; grocery, J. C. 
Guinn, George McMaster; hardware and farm machinery, Beem & 
Bevelhymer; agricultural implements and hardware, R. McCarter & 
Son; jeweler, Frank Dewey; drugs, Hippie & Gibson, W. H. Dewey; 
saddles and harness, John Harney ; furniture, W. E. Hall ; millinery, 
Mrs. W. E. Hall; boots, shoes and clothing, J. A. Huston; lumber, 
building materials, coal, wood, etc., Redinon & Moore; lumber, coal, 
wood and building materials, J. & W. C. Shull; wagon shop, F. F. 
Hall; blacksmiths, G. R. Dennin, E. B. Ray, Sam Laughery; livery 
stables, A. L. Brockway, John Rounds ; butchers, Beard & Paris ; 
restaurants, C. A. Herrick, John Rounds, Samuel Jenner ; shoemaker, 
J. W. Gibson; barber, John Cook; Farmers' Bank, R. McCarter, 
president; N. M. McCarter, cashier; real estate and loans, R. C. 
Sherrard; lawyer, C. R. Metcalfe; physicians, W. H. Dewey, J. W. 
Hippie; postmaster, B. E. Boyd. 

The Moville " Mail " is the title of a very neatly printed and ably 
edited six-column folio newspaper. A. B. Thatcher is the editor and 
proprietor, and he is a live go-ahead young gentlemau, who not only 
runs his paper, but is a justice of the peace, which makes his police 
reports come at first hands. The " Mail " is now in its fifth year. It 
was started August 1, 1887, by O. M. Thatcher, and the present pro- 
prietor took charge in August, 1889. 

There are three hotels: Northwestern, Mark Traves, proprietor; 
Case House, L. Case, proprietor; Fargo House, S. E. Smith, pro- 
prietor. 

Moville cornet band, Ed. Ray, leader. 

Congregational ministers have been visiting Moville for many 
years. Rev. Mr. Sinnett was one 'of the first who came. They 
preached in school-houses and at private residences at fii-st. In 1887 
the society, which had existed for a long time, built the edifice which 
stands in the town. Rev. Francis Lawson is the present pastor. 
They formerly had a church near the cemetery, about a mile from 
town. It was just about completed when a stroke of lightning set it 
on fire and it was consumed. 

The United Brethren in Christ have a very neat church edifice in 
Moville. It was built in 1889, and Rev. A. J. Patterson was instru- 
mental, largely, in the building of this church. He preached the first 
sermon in it. The present pastor is Rev. William H. Adams. 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 381 

There is a Methodist Episcopal church society here, but they have 
no church building. They use the United Brethren church, through 
courtesy of that denomination, every other Sunday. Kev. C. W. Cobb 
is pastor. 

The Roman Catholics hold services in Moville, in the school-house, 
every four weeks. The priest in charge at Kingsley conducts che 
services. 

A Methodist Episcopal church congregation exists in the northern 
part of Arlington township, but they have no church building. The 
cemetery near Moville is under the control of the township authorities. 

The Moville high and primary school is known as independent 
school district number one. Prof. A. E. Bryant is the principal, and 
Mrs. Mattie L. Bryant is assistant. The attendance is about ninety. 
The school was organized March 1, 1889. The directors are R. M. 
McCarter, John Harney, J. W. Mohler. There are seven schools in 
the township in addition to the Moville school. A very good library, 
known as the Parmele library, is maintained by the citizens of Moville. 

Moville Lodge, No. 509, I. O. O. F., was instituted May 14, 1890. 
The charter was issued to James Farrar, N. G. ; H. M. Thomson, V. 
G. ; F. J. May, secretary; A. J. Herbert, treasurer; A. B. Thatcher, 
P. S. Meets every Wednesday evening. 

A Farmers' Alliance was started in April, 1890, and has gathered 
in quite a respectable membership. 

Floyd Township was created April 5, 1871, by supervisors' order, 
as follows: "That the west half of township eighty-eight, of range 
forty-five, and all of township eighty-eight, of range forty-six be and 
the same is hereby detached from the townships to which the same now 
belong, and formed into a new township, to be called Floyd township." 
Originally, as seen by the above, it consisted of one and a half con- 
gressional townships, but one-third was afterward taken from Floyd, 
which left it as it now is, one complete congressional township, with 
bounds as follows: On the north by Concord and Banner, on the south 
by Grange, on the east by Moville and on the west by Woodbury 
townships. 

Floyd is one of the best sections of Woodbury, it having a diversi- 
fied surface. It has much of the rich bottom land and considerable of 
the bluff or upland formation. The soil is inconceivably rich, and it is 
well watered. Elliott's creek, the Big Whiskey and minor branches 



382 HISTOR? OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES 

traverse the township at all points. It is a strictly agricultural sec- 
tion, there being only one extremely small store on section four, at 
what is known as Crawford's post-office on the stage route from Sioux 
City to Moville. There is no church, no tavern, no mill, no physician, 
but splendid farms and ranches. 

The first settlers of Floyd were Alexander Elliott, "William Elliott, 
John Law, Jacob Amick, George Anderson, Jerome Jones, William 
Lee, and one or two others. Alexander Elliott, built the first house, 
which was the only one between Sioux City and the settlement in Little 
Sioux township, Southland. The road between the two points named, 
runs through Floyd township, and the old stage line is still kept up, 
making three round trips per week. The principal products here, as 
generally in Woodbury, are corn, cattle, hogs, with the exception in 
Floyd, that sheep is added to the list. Alexander Elliott has a ranch 
upon which he raises a great number of sheep, keeping usually from 
1,500 to 2,000 head. He sells from $3,000 to $5,000 worth of wool. 
He also deals largely in cattle and horses, and raises some fine stock. 
His ranch comprises a tract of land about 2,000 acres, highly improved 
and with all modern appliances for the proper operating of his large 
business. 

The. Chicago & North western's proposed extension of their branch 
line which now terminates at Moville, runs to Floyd, but the railroad, 
through a policy that is difficult to understand, unless it be to create 
a longer haul to Chicago than a shorter one to the Sioux City mai'kets, 
and thereby get the benefit of the same, has delayed the construction 
of the gap, which is only about twenty miles. 

During the great grasshopper raid, Floyd suffered greatly from 
those pests. Every green thing, or any other color of vegetable life, 
except the trunks of trees and their larger limbs, fell a prey to the 
devourers. Great masses dropped into fields and gardens. Garden 
products were tried to be saved by digging ditches around them, which 
had some effect upon the little beast, but the ditches only kept out the 
young ones. A gentleman who has somewhat studied the habits and 
instincts of the 'hopper, says they have an irresistible instinct to fly or 
hop in a southeasterly direction, and they will brave all obstacles to 
go in that direction. They are hatched in the British possessions, and 
why these subjects of good Queen Vic desire to invade us, is past 
understanding. And when they have flown, or are blown, or hop as 



WOODBUKY COUNTY. . 383 

far to the southeast as the season will permit, the instinct of direction 
is reversed; they want to get back home as badly as they wanted to get 
away from there at first. They and their habits, instincts and appetite 
are a sealed book to us. What they are just exactly made for is beyond 
the ken of man, but they might with just as much grace, ask the same 
question of their questioner. 

A sad occurrence was the death of one of the old settlers and his 
son, a few years ago. In 1874 William Lee and a son about eleven or 
twelve years of age, went out for some wood during a very cold spell, 
and a heavy snowstorm coming on they were frozen to death. They 
were not found until the next clay, their friends having become alarmed 
and going in search of them. About three years ago another man, 
named William Parker, was also frozen in a heavy storm. 

Concord Township was created September 3, 1873, and organized 
under the name of Joy township, but by petition of citizens inter- 
ested, that title was changed in January, 1874, to Concord. Following 
is the order of the supervisors: "All of township eighty-nine, range 
forty-six, to be detached from Sioux City township and formed into a 
new township to be called Joy township." The boundaries are: 
Plymouth county on the north, Woodbury and Floyd townships on 
the south, Banner on the east and Sioux City on the west. 

Owing to the proximity of Concord to Sioux City, the township 
has rather been overshadowed in the way of any kind of business or 
other enterprise than farming. There is no post-office, no church, no 
store, no tavern, no mill and no railroad, with the exception of just a 
touch of the iron rails at the extreme northwestern point of the north- 
western section, number six, but no station. The limits of Sioux City 
on the east is the line of Concord, and to that thriving city all things 
trend in the township. But the land is fine, although broken and 
very rolling. Here it is that one may see the singular beauty of this 
extraordinary landscape. To pass over it leaves the impression of 
being very much elevated, and of course it is correct, but it is not 
higher than the rolling prairie lands in the interior of the state. 
Immense regularly rounded waves of the richest soil on earth, with 
the possible exception of the valleys of the Nile and Amazon, rise up 
to the view on every hand, all green and seemingly shaven with a 
lawn-mower as clean-cut as a landscape gardener could do it. Only 
the fields of waving corn diversify the surface, and in July, here and 



384 . HISTOKY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

there in the distance, may be seen a field of golden wheat. The 
wonderful depth of this soil is marvelous, and its richness beyond 
the conception of the ordinary eastern farmer. - A recent writer in a 
leading periodical, discourses so well and analytically upon the soil of 
this section that an extended quotation from the same will be here 
made: "Dr. Hayden, in his report to the government, says this soil 
contains over thirty per cent of phosphates of lime. Indian traditions 
that have been handed down show the extraordinary productiveness of 
this section to have been well known to them, for in this vicinity, at 
the mouth of the Floyd, the Big Sioux and the James rivers, they 
cultivated their corn, and in the fall of the year, before going on a 
hunt, ' cached ' the crops in large excavations carefully concealed 
from rival tribes. The chief advantage of this soil, however, lies 
not merely in its exceptional fertility, but its marvelous capacity to 
resist the effects of both drought and rainfall. As a matter of fact, 
a failure of the corn crop is unknown here. An examination of the 
soil shows that the surface of this section is one mass of pulverized 
deposit varying in depth from 100 to 200 feet. It forms both the soil 
and subsoil. Its fineness is due to the soft composition of two rocks 
of this vicinity which readily crumbled away under atmospheric 
influences and glacial action into an unfathomed deposit of inexhaust- 
ible productiveness. Now, remembering that this soil is at least 100 
feet deep before the stratified rocks are reached, two vital conse- 
quences follow: In the first place there are near the surface, no 
indurated clay or rock strata to retain excessive moisture, consequently 
the soil is naturally underdrained and can absorb an amount of rain- 
fall that would be disastrous in any other place in the world. On 
account of the same conditions no other soil can equally resist the 
effects of drought. The vast depth of fine deposit acts as a sponge, 
whereas a thinner soil in a hard basis would soon be impoverished." 
Concord is well watered by a number of small streams, which have 
their source in numberless springs, some of which are quite large, 
two of the largest being in the northern part of the township. The 
settlement of Concord came comparatively late, although it is so close 
to the first settlements at Sergeant's Bluff and Sioux City. The 
broken appearence of the country, and the unknown quality of the 
land, which seemed to those who did not investigate the matter, to be 
only sand hills, impelled the early settlers to seek the bottom lands, 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 385 

and those where there was more timber. Peter Eberly, however, was 
one of the first to come in and make a settlement here. The town- 
ship is well provided with schools of its own, in addition to the advan- 
tages it has in the fine schools of Sioux City. 

Banner Township is one of the later created subdivisions of the 
county, and its early history is so connected with Arlington township, 
from which it was detached, that a sketch of the latter covers all the 
early events of the former. It was erected into a township June 4, 
1879, by order, as follows: " All of township eighty -nine, range forty- 
five, be detached from Arlington township, and that all of township 
eighty-nine, range forty-five, be, and the same is, hereby formed into 
a new township, to be called Banner township." The boundaries are 
Plymouth county on the north, Floyd and Moville townships on the 
south, Arlington on the east and Concord on the west. The first 
officers elected at the ensuing election, October 14, 1879, were: 
Trustees, Isaac Long, John Carraher, Joseph Law; clerk, M. M. 
Carraher. 

John Carraher was the first homesteader, and a man named Tevis 
came in quite early; also Joseph Law. Tevis was frozen to death 
some years ago. This section of the county was very sparsely settled, 
even up to twenty-five years ago, as has been stated previously, and 
its history, in the matter of early settlement, is so nearly similar to 
that of Concord, that it would be redundance to go over the same 
points again. Noah Levering, a former resident of the county, says, 
in one of his letters to the state historical magazine, that in the latter 
part of 1861 there was not a house along this section of the country 
from Sioux City to Correctionville, from which one can form some idea 
of the delay in settlement on the splendid land that is now blooming 
like a rose. "Where but a few years ago was seen the smoke ascend- 
ing from the red man's teepee, now is seen curling heavenward the 
smoke of the cabin and mansion, the homes of the hardy pioneer and 
the wealthy farmer; where then the war whoop of the savage broke 
the monotony that reigned around, now is heard the cheering hum of 
industry; where then was heard the thundering tramp of the buffalo 
and herds of elk, now is heard the tinkling bells of the lowing herds 
of ' cattle on the thousand hills.' Those prairies that then yielded but 
luxuriant grass and fragrant flowers, now, by the strong hand of indus- 
try, yield fields of golden grain." 



386 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The surface of Banner is very similar to Concord, but not quite so 
broken in the eastern portion of the township, it being more gently 
rolling. It is well watered. Elliott, Muddy and Mud creeks supply 
this need. Like Concord, there is no store in Banner, no post-office, no 
mill, no tavern, no railroad as yet, but one is projected ; but it has a very 
good Presbyterian church on township sixteen, and fine school-houses. 
The population is mostly American, with a few Germans, and the land 
is cultivated to a very high degree, yielding the great crop of Wood- 
bury county — corn — in abundance. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
WILLOW AND SLOAN TOWNSHIPS. 

Willow Township— Order of Creation — First Officials— Eli Lee — 
First Settlement— Diversified Surface — Cattle Ranches— Good 
Crops— Early Trapping and Hunting— Streams— Toe Skinner Ditch 
— Lek School-house— First Bridge in County— Holly Springs. Its 
Business, Churches, etc.— Hornick, Its Business, etc.— Sloan Town- 
ship— Peculiarities— No Stream, No Lake, No Spring, No Timber 
— But the Best of Missouri Bottom Land— Fine Crops and the Best 
Cattle— First Settlers — First Child — First Death— First Actual 
Settler, George B. Beall— Sloan— A Thriving Town— Its Business, 
Churches, Schools, Societies, etc. 

WILLOW TOWNSHIP was created October 20, 1874, as 
Lee township, but June 7, 1875, on the petition of J. S. Shep- 
herd and others the name was changed to Willow. Following are the 
description and boundaries as given in the proceedings of the super- 
visors: "All of toAvnship eighty-eight, range forty-five, be detached 
from West Fork township and formed into a new township, to be 
called Lee township." The first election was held in the Arnold 
school-house, October 12, 1875, and the judges of the election were 
T. W. Armstrong, M. P. Metcalf , E. N. Seward ; clerk, Noyce Snyder. 
One of the first settlers of the county, Mr. Eli Lee, who is still 
living at an advanced age, in Willow township, has had an experience 
in living in a number or townships without moving a peg from where 
he first located when he came to this section in February, 1853, before 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 389 

the county of Woodbury was organized, and at which organization he 
was elected the first coroner by sixteen votes, there being only seven- 
teen cast, Mr. Lee, presumably, not voting for himself. He first 
lived in Sergeant's Bluff township, and when this large township was 
divided, he found himself in Little Sioux, and next, he had taken up 
his domicil in West Fork, and a little later he had to vote in Willow. 
Morris Metcalf was also an early settler, and James Snyder; then 
came Samuel Baker, Phillip Weaver, Michael Myers, and some others 
not far from these. 

About one-third of the surface of Willow is bluffy and somewhat 
broken, and the rest Missouri bottom, the best land on earth. There 
is no timber of any consequence. The streams are the West Fork of 
Little Sioux river, Wolf creek, Slough branch, Lum creek and numer- 
ous minor branches and runs. Messrs. Skinner & Co., the proprietors 
of the Skinner cattle ranch, are now (1890) engaged in digging a ditch 
for the purpose of turning the waters of Wolf creek into the West 
Fork, and have about twenty-five teams and a large force of workmen 
engaged on the excavations. The purpose is to control the waters of 
Wolf creek while the ditch is being dug down through the township. 
The ditch will be of about the same dimensions as the one in Grange 
township. Freshets during the spring season occasionally occur, 
but no damage of a serious nature has happened for many years. 
Neither are prairie fires of enough importance to notice. The streams 
furnish fine fishing, and buffalo, cat and pickerel are easily obtained. 
Game, the smaller, at least, is plentiful. There were formerly herds 
of deer, but they have now disappeared. Wolves are occasionally 
seen, but they rarely live long thereafter, as there is a bounty on each 
scalp. Prairie chickens, quails, ducks and geese are quite plentiful. 
There are some aquatic animals, but of a less valuable sort than there 
were thirty or forty years ago. The Winnebago Indians come to the 
streams of Willow township during the winter season, and trap consid- 
erably for the mink and muskrat that are left. There is some wild fruit 
along the streams. Very excellent clay beds are found in the north- 
eastern part of the township, and some sand and gravel deposits. 
Principal products of Willow are corn, cattle and hay. 

The first bridge in the county of Woodbury was built over the 
Wolf creek on the Sioux City road in what is now Willow township, 
that is, the first bridge of any consequence ; there may have been 



390 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

bridges over some smaller streams, two or three logs fastened together. 
The bridge mentioned was built in 1855. The old Lee school-house 
was the first building for educational purposes erected in the town- 
ship. It was located at Holly Springs. The first store was opened 
at Holly Springs by E. A. Batman, and the first tavern was at the 
same place, kept by Morris Metcalf. The township cemetery is located 
near Eli Lee's place. 

Skinner's cattle ranch is the great industry of the township. 
This firm, D. H. Skinner & Co., have about 3,000 acres of land, and 
are breeders of fine cattle, also Norman and English coach horses. 
They have usually about 1,200 head of cattle, and 150 head of horses. 
They have fine imported Percheron and coach stallions. A portion of 
the Hedges' ranch is in Willow township also. 

Holly Springs lies on the old Sioux City road, and is a very pleas- 
ant little village, admirably located. There is here a Methodist Epis- 
copal church, with Rev. A. J. Langdell as pastor in charge, services 
every Sunday; also a Sunday-school. The church membership is 
about thirty-five, and the school about sixty, of which E. N. Seward is 
superintendent. 

The Christian church society have a membership of about twenty- 
five, but no church building; Eev. Mr. Pirtle is the pastor. They 
have a Sunday-school attached with an attendance of forty-five, and 
E. A. Batman is superintendent. 

The business interests of the village may be comprised in the fol- 
lowing : 

Postmaster, E. A. Batman; general stores, Wingert Bros., E. A. 
Batman ; Holly Springs Hotel, A. R. Gardner & Co. ; blacksmith, W. 
P. Metcalf. A very good school is conducted here, where thirty-five 
pupils are enrolled. 

German City is another hamlet, located among the hills in the 
northern part of the township. The population of this section is 
largely German, and they have a neat and comfortable church build- 
ing of the denomination known as German Lutheran. They have no 
minister at present (1890), the late pastor having left. The business 
is as follows: 

General store, Henry Bose; blacksmith, John Bosler; postmaster, 
Henry Rose. 

There is here a hall, which is used for social and festive purposes. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 391 

Hornick is a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
road, and is strictly a railroad town,- having been a result of the com- 
pletion of the road named. It has evidences of continued growth, and 
the metropolitan suburban sign board may be seen here, bearing the 
legend, " These lots for sale." 

A Methodist Episcopal church society, with a membership of 
about thirty, exists at Hornick. They have no church building and 
worship every two weeks in the school-house. Rev. A. J. Langdell is 
pastor. They also have a Sunday-school with about forty scholars, 
and Mrs. C. G. Swope as superintendent. 

The Christian church, pastor, Rev. Mr. Pirtle, is also at Hornick. 
It is in a prosperous condition and doing a good work, membership, 
about twenty. 

The business, etc., is as follows: 

Elevator, J. E. Crawford, shells and grinds corn; Wilder & Booge, 
dealers in corn; Hornick & Skinner, real estate, owners of town site; 
postmaster, B. E. Jennings; Clary Bros., general store, and dealers in 
live stock, coal, and farm produce of all kinds, also dealers in agri- 
cultural implements (they have a fine establishment and are doing 
a rapidly growing business) ; A. P. Madden & Co., general merchan- 
dise; Haviland & Bigelow, hardware and drugs, also handle farm 
machinery; S. L. Spencer, lumber and building material; W. C. Gib- 
son, meat market ; Murray Crow, blacksmith ; Jennings House, B. E. 
Jennings. 

There is a good school building at Hornick, and an enrollment of 
pupils of thirty-five. Miss Annie Harrington is teacher. 

The Farmers' Alliance has two organizations in the township, one 
at Hornick and the other at Holly Springs. The officers of the first 
are: President, N. A. Baker; secretary, John Walker. The latter: 
President, Lemuel Burns; secretary, Lee Mullinix. 

Sloan Township, up to the time of its creation, on June 8, 1875, 
was a portion of Lakeport township, which was the first subdivision 
after the late war, in 1867. The order of the supervisors reads as fol- 
lows: " All of township eighty-six, range forty-six, be detached from 
Lakeport township, and formed into a new township, to be called Sloan 
township." The boundaries are: Grange on the north, Monona county 
on the south, Willow on the east, and Lakeport on the west. The 
first election was held in the school-house in the town of Sloan, October 



392 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

12, 1875. The judges of the election were F. O. Hunting, Dennis 
Collins, J. Washburn; clerk, J. R. Coe. 

This township is peculiar in its lack of several features common to 
all and every one of the other townships of Woodbury county. It has 
no stream of water, no lake, no spring, nor is there any timber that 
can be called such; originally there was not a tree, and what few 
there now are, have been planted of late years. In all the other 
townships streams, varying in size from the Big and Little Sioux 
and West Fork to the smallest branchlet, are found; yet, here in 
Sloan there are none. Yet the land is as rich and productive as 
any on the globe. As explained in a previous sketch, the depth of 
soil is so great that it retains moisture for months, and imparts it 
when a dry season occurs. Water for ordinary purposes is obtained 
by drive-wells, and the windmill is a familiar object in the level land- 
scape. This township is Missouri river bottom, pure and simple, as 
flat as a floor, and tropical in its fertility. Corn, cattle and hogs seem 
almost of spontaneous growth ; these, of course, being .the principal 
products. If it lack water in the ordinary manner of nature's 
provision, it does not lack wind, as the cyclone occasionally makes a 
hurried visit, two of those disasters having occurred within the past ten 
years. No loss of life, however, has as yet happened, owing, possibly, 
to the knowledge of the monster's habits by the population, and conse- 
quent avoidance of him. The first cyclone struck the township some 
six or eight years ago and blew down several houses, and in 1889 
another, more severe than the first, struck the town of Sloan, demolished 
the Congregational church and knocked the chimneys off of several 
other buildings. Some years ago a man was killed by lightning. The 
population of Sloan is mostly American — from the New England states 
and New York, with a few from other points, Illinois, Indiana and 
Pennsylvania. The roads of the township, which are quite numerous, 
are all straight lines, running between the sections, with the exception 
of two or three short stretches, on sections twenty, twenty-eight, 
twenty-nine and thirty-five. The Sioux City & Pacific railroad, a 
branch of the Northwestern system, passes over the southwestern 
corner of Sloan, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul over the north- 
eastern corner. The former has a station at Sloan, but the latter has 
none in the township. There are three school-houses here, including 
one large one at Sloan. 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 393 

The first settlers, or at least a number of them, who were here at 
quite an early day, are comprised in the following: Joseph Gravell, 
Frank Moorehouse, Joseph Coe, John Coe, Sidney Curtis, Kobert 
Murray, Jesse Washburn, Ed. Haakinson, George R. Beall, John Flit- 
croft, Andrew Fee, And. Chapin, Flavius O. Hunting and others. 
The wife of James Johnson has the honor of having the first child 
born in the township, and Capt. Eufus Beall was probably the first 
white person to die here. George R. Beall was the first actual settler 
to come in and remain. Some others came but left soon afterward. 
The first post-office was established at Hamline and Joseph Gravell 
was postmaster, but when Sloan Village sprang up the office was dis- 
continued at the former place and one opened at the latter, with James 
B. Johnson as postmaster. The first school teacher in the township 
was Miss L. Hosmer, and the first church building was erected in 
1881. Ed. Haakinson, now of Sioux City, where he is engaged in the 
packing interest, opened the first store in Sloan, where the brick bank 
now is, at the time the railroad was completed to the village. The 
first hotel was opened in Sloan by Fred Evans about the same time 
that Haakinson started the store. It was called the Evans House. 
The first house erected in the township was by either George R. Beall 
or Barnard. The first physician to locate was Dr. O. N. Ainsworth, 
and the first newspaper was published by Charles Hunting, if it can 
be called a newspaper at all. It was small and was not printed in 
Sloan. Joseph Gravell kept a stage station at his house at an early 
day, and the mail was left with him. 

Sloan, the only village in the township, is a station on the North- 
western railroad. It is the greatest cattle handling center of any 
town of its size in the northwest, the population being about four 
hundred and fifty. Sioux City alone exceeds it in the county. The 
town is well improved with good sidewalks, and everything has an air 
of progress, prosperity and thrift. It has a country surrounding 
it which gives assurance of certain success to the endeavors of its 
enterprising citizens. They have telephonic and telegraphic service, 
a good town hall, fire apparatus, a brass band, and a number one local 
newspaper. 

The village was incorporated in 1883. In pursuance of the peti- 
tions of citizens of Sloan, the circuit court of Woodbury county passed 
an order on September 7, 1883, for the holding of an election to take 



394 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the sense of the voters in the matter of the incorporation of the town 
of Sloan, and the commissioners appointed were J. B. Crawford, W. 
D. Buckley, T. J. Mitchell, W. E. Barnard and F. E. Chapin. 

The result of the election was a vote of fifty-four, forty-two for 
incorporation and twelve against incorporation. An election for offi- 
cers was held November 5, 1883, but in consequence of the notice of 
election not having been published in the Sloan "Star" as ordered, 
the election was declared void. Another election was held on Novem- 
ber 2C>, 1888, which resulted in a tie vote for mayor and several trus- 
tees. The two candidates for mayor, J. S. McSparran and Joel Bird, 
drew lots, and Mr. Bird was declared elected. The trustees elected 
were C. A. L. Olson, F. E. Chapin, T. J. Ainsworth, L. A. Mercure, 
J. W. Pike and D. E. Hubbell ; recorder, W. B. Barnard. The board 
of trustees elected J. W. Whitten as treasurer. 

A set of rules and regulations were formulated and passed for 
the governing of the meetings of the board, and ordinances were 
enacted for the government of the town. The mayors in suc- 
cession have been: 1884, J. B. Crawford; 1885-87, T. J. Mitchell; 
1888, J. W. Whitten; 1889, T. J. Mitchell; 1890, D. D. Searles. 
The present officers are: Mayor, D. D. Searles; recorder, J. S. Mc- 
Sparran; assessor, M. B. Hiltz; treasurer, J. W. Whitten; trustees, 
J. B. Dobbs, W. L. Koon, George S. Jeffrey, C. W. Lewis, E. W. 
Schreiber, George B. Wall; marshal, George Armstrong. 

Following are the business firms, dealers, etc., of the town: 

W. L. Koon & Co., elevator, shell and grind corn; general stores, 
Hendee & Wall, T. B. Brader, J. W. Whitten, C. A. L. Olson; hard- 
ware, August Olson, W. D. Utter; Farmers' Bank, George S. Jeffrey, 
cashier; Sloan State Bank, J. W. Whitten, president; O. J. Irish, 
cashier; furniture and confectionery, L. A. Mercure & Co.; grocery, 
D. Backer; harness, Plye & Chandler, George Allen; millinery, 
Napier & Denham; dressmaking, Miss Linda Page; drugs, G. D. 
Montross; blacksmiths, F. W. Schreiber, Law Bros; hotel, Mitchell 
House; books, stationery, etc., J. S. McSparran; shoe dealer, P. A. 
Finney; jeweler, Bichard Lee; barbers, F. H. Farley, Bichard Lee; 
butchers, J. B. Dobbs, J. T. German; liverymen, S. K. Williamson, 
Will G. Lee; lumber, coal, etc., S. L. Spencer; live-stock dealers, O. 
J. Irish, A. W. Chapin, Olson & Evans, Smith & Co. ; real estate and 
insurance, W. D. Buckley, who is also a lawyer; physicians, O. N. Ains- 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 395 

worth, M. B. Hiltz, E. D. Frear; brass band, J. J. Hook, leader; 
Sloan Fire Co. have a hand engine, ladders, hose reel, etc., fire chief, 
C. A. L. Olson; postmaster, J. S. McSparran. 

The "Sloan Star" was started in the fall of 1883, by A. B. 
Thatcher, who ran it about five years, when J. S. McSparran & Co. 
purchased it, in September, 1888, and continue to be the proprietors. 

The first sermon in Sloan township was preached in 1869, by Bev. 
Mr. Crane, who came from Maple Landing. He delivered his sermon 
in a store, kept by Beall & Evans. There were at that time (1869) 
but two Methodists in the township, the wife of George B. Beall and 
the wife of B. C. Barnard. Mr. Crane preached occasionally, until 
the present Methodist Episcopal church was built and dedicated, in 
1881. The first stationed minister was Bev. Mr. Faucett. 

Congregational church services were held in the school-houses 
before the church was built in 1883. Bev. A. M. Beaman, from 
Waterloo, Iowa, who was stationed at Sergeant's Bluff, preached at 
stated times. In 1889 a cyclone blew the church down, when the 
present edifice was built. Bev. A. A. Baker was in charge of the first 
church, having this and Sergeant's Bluff congregations to attend to. 
The present pastor is Bev. John Gray. The membership is about 
seventy-five. 

A fine school building, wherein is conducted an excellent graded 
school is the pride of Sloan. It was remodeled in 1888. Principal, 
Prof. J. M. Jayne. 

Sloan Lodge, No. 465, I. O. O. F., was organized June 21, 1883. 
F. W. Schreiber, N. G. ; T. J. Mitchell, V. G. ; J. E. Mitchell, sec. ; 
S. L. Spencer, rec. sec. ; T. B. Brader, treas. Membership is 
forty-five. The lodge meets in Odd Fellows hall every Saturday 
evening. Present officers, July, 1890, George Armstrong, N. G. ; 
James H. Heenan, V. G. ; W. G. Butcher, sec. ; C. C. Ashby, rec. 
sec. ; J. W. Owen, treas. 

Sloan Encampment, No. 71, I. O. O. F., was instituted April 2, 
1888. Its officers were T. E. Brader, C. P. ; T. J. Mitchell, S. W. ; 
C. W. Lewis, J. W.; H. G. Wilmot, H. P. ; W. L. Koon, scribe; C. A. 
L. Olson, treas. Present officers, C. A. L. Olson, C. P. ; George 
Armstrong, S. W. ; C. W. Lewis, J. W. ; B. S. Moore, H. P. ; C. C. 
Ashby, scribe; W. L. Koon, treas. Its membership is twenty, and 
the lodge meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month. 



896 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Attica Lodge, No. 502, A. F. & A. M. — A dispensation was granted 
by the Grand Lodge in November, 1888, under which the lodge worked 
till June, 1889, when a charter was issued to J. W. Owen, F. H. Far- 
ley, William G. Lee, J. B. Crawford, B. S. Moore, E. D. Frear, A. J. 
Moore, J. T. German, John Walker, T. B. Beam, W. D. Buckley, W. 
H. Bigelow, D. Backer, A. Hollenbeck and W. D. Utter— fifteen. The 
first officers were: W. M., J. W. Owen; S. W., F. H. Farley; J. W., 
William G. Lee; sec, B. S. Moore; treas., J. B. Crawford; S. D., 
E. D. Frear; J. D., A. J. Moore; tyler, T. B. Beam. The present 
officers are W. M., J. W. Owen; S. W., E. D. Frear; J. W., David 
Barker; sec, F. Schreiber; treas., J. B. Barnard; S. D., J. M. Jayne; 
J. D., J. D. Edgecombe; tyler, W. D. Utter. The members meet in 
Odd Fellows hall on Tuesday on or before the full moon. The mem- 
bership is thirty-five. 

Star Lodge, No. 511, I. O. G. T., was organized December 7, 1889, 
by W. W. Andrews. Its officers were: C. T, E. D. Frear; V. T., Mag- 
gie Montross; S., L. B. Chapin; F. S., D. M. Utter; M., A. Bird; G., 
Ella Olson; S., Ernest Smith; C, J. S. McSparran. The present offi- 
cers are C. T., J. S. McSparran; V. T, Maggie Montross; S., C. F. 
Montross; F. S., Sallie Kennedy; M., L. H. Irish; G., Susie Farley; 
S., John Hunting; C, Bev. J. E. Bay; P. C. T., E. D. Frear; S. J. T, 
Mrs. F. E. Chapin. The membership is forty-seven, and the lodge 
meets Monday nights in Odd Fellows hall. 




i 




G/ 



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Orx£ 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 



CHAPTEK XXX. 

OTO TOWNSHIP. 

Last in Order of Creation, but One of the First Settled— Fine Land 
—Good Crops— Surface— Streams— Game— A Rara Avis— Moose— Rock 
and Timber— Some Early Names— First House— First Mill — First 
Road— Terrific Cloudburst— Singular Phenomenon — A Pest of 
Frogs— Indian Mounds— Inkpadotah's Band of Outlaws— Some In- 
dian Names— The Great Sioux Chieftain, War Eagle— His Courtly 
Manner and Burning Eloquence— Schools and Churches— Oto— Its 
Business, Churches, ScnooLS and Societies. 

OTO TOWNSHIP, although the last to be constituted, was one of 
the first to be settled, it being a portion of Little Sioux town- 
ship, and retaining that connection till the passage of the following 
order of the supervisors, November 12, 1884: "All of township eighty- 
six, range forty-three, be and is hereby formed into a new township, 
to be called Oto township." 

The lay of the country in Oto is the same as in the parent town- 
ship, Little Sioux. The surface is rolling and much broken, especially 
along the section bordering on the river, but the soil is rich and highly 
productive, corn, wheat, oats (and fruit in limited quantity) are easily 
and profitably raised. The three first products, as well as potatoes, 
are the principal crops. Cattle and hogs, also, form a great source of 
revenue, many being shipped from Oto and Smithland, the two rail- 
road stations most convenient to the township. The scenery along the 
Little Sioux valley is, like that of the other townships which lie in 
that beautiful section, very fine. Hill and dale and stream unite to 
make a charming outlook. Many creeks and branches are scattered 
all over the township, furnishing water in abundance, whilst springs 
are to be found in numbers, some of them being large, especially one 
on the Grant. Timber is more plentiful here than in the eastern or 
western townships. There is red oak, burr oak, good walnut, elm, 
hackberry, box elder, maple and basswood. The streams are full of 
fish, and have always afforded fine sport. There are still many aquatic 



400 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

animals along the Little Sioux river and the larger creeks, but for- 
merly, when the white men first came in, beaver, otter, mink and other 
game of value were to be had in abundance, and many a settler lived 
off of the proceeds of his sale of the pelts of these animals. There 
was one bird that was seen in the early days, and which remained for 
many years afterward, but which has now disappeared from north- 
western Iowa, that was admired for it peculiarities. This was the 
American kite, or forked -tail hawk. Very rarely is one now seen 
sailing along high in air in Woodbury county. He was in size about 
that of the common chicken-hawk. The head white and wings glist- 
ening bluish, body black with white under the body. The tail is 
beautifully forked, and they sail in a peculiarly graceful manner mov- 
ing the tail slowly and regularly. Skimming along with a curved 
motion, they would suddenly, without any apparent reason for it, 
tumble over and over, and then resume their flight. The larger ani- 
mals have, of course, all disappeared, but as late as 1858, a moose 
track was seen by Wesley Turman and Alexander Elliott. Elk were 
originally plentiful, and Turmau and the other hunters brought down 
many of those graceful and powerful animals. Buffaloes were occa- 
sionally seen, a stray one or two that had wandered down the ravines 
and bottoms along the streams from the northward. There are good 
sand and gravel deposits at various points in the township, and fine 
deposits of clay, which is utilized in the manufacture of brick. Pot- 
tery clay can be obtained by going a little deeper than the brick clay, 
but it is not utilized to any extent as yet. There are indications of 
coal, especially along Fern creek. Oto is distinguished in having 
more surface outcropping of rock, or at least more drift rock, than 
any other section of the countjr. There is a true bowlder, one of the 
northern visitors brought down during the glacial epoch, one that 
became stranded, and could not get away when the ice melted and the 
waters subsided. It is on Fern creek and measures four feet across. 
It is not entirely rounded, showing that it did not come from more 
than a few hundred miles northward. Another rock, a drift specimen, 
projects from the side of a hill and is much larger than the bowlder 
mentioned. 

Almost simultaneously with the settlement at Sergeant's Bluff and 
Southland, settlers began coming into that portion of Little Sioux now 
comprised within the bounds of Oto township. In the spring of 1854 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 401 

John McCauly came in and made a settlement, and in November of 
the same year, Samuel E. Day, Isaac Hall and Parley Morris came 
from Ohio, and took up claims. Mr. Day, who now lives comfortably 
in the village of Oto, in the enjoyment of good health and fine sur- 
roundings, lived, the first season he came, on "johnny cake and cat- 
fish," so he says. In 1855 came A. W. Livermore and Larson Liver- 
more. Also in the same year arrived Thompson Mead, and shortly 
afterward Daniel Metcalf and Charles Parmelee, who settled in the 
southwestern portion of the township. In the fall of 1855 came 
Elijah Adams, and Minor and James Miller. 

Jane Livermore, possibly, was the first white child born in Oto. She 
was a daughter of A. W. Livermore. Achilles Mead was the second child 
born. The first marriage was that of Parmer Hall, and Elizabeth Adams, 
daughter of Elijah Adams. The first death was an old gentleman, Mr. 
Parmelee, the father of Charles Parmelee, who came in 1855, the father 
coming to his son some little time thereafter. The first house erected 
in Oto township was built, on section six, by John McCauly. It was 
a log structure, and was considered a great improvement in that primi- 
tive day, 1854. As timber was plentiful in this section of the county, 
no dug-outs were used. The first store was opened by Daniel Koons, 
on the spot where now is Oto village, in 1868. First tavern, or hotel 
as we now call them, was built by W. W. Squires and kept by him in 
1877, in Oto village, and the first physician to locate here was Dr. E. 
M. Blachley, who came in 1878. The first mill was started about 
1861-62, in Oto, by Edwin Hall. It is now owned by J. S. Horton. 
It was at first only a saw-mill. Then a set of corn burrs were put in, but 
afterward the property was greatly improved by putting in the roller 
process. The first county road laid out, that ran through the town- 
ship, was from Peel's mill, near Council Bluffs, to Correction ville. 
The first post-office established, and the only one in the township at 
present, was created in 1862, and Samuel R. Day was the postmaster. 

On August 8, 1863, there was a terrific cloud-burst near Oto 
village, which raised the Little Sioux fourteen feet in two hours. A 
singular phenomenon accompanied the downpour. A mill-dam had 
just been constructed across the river, and when the water came down 
in such immense volumes it pushed the supports and timbers of the 
dam a mile and a half up stream. With such force and quantity did 
the rain fall at one point not far below the dam, that it spread the 



402 HISTORY OP WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

waters of the river out in both directions, up and down the natural 
current of the stream, and the extraordinary circumstance of the water 
flowing northward, was witnessed by a number of persons. The 
upward flow lasted some time, and when the return came, it swept 
everything before it. The gentleman from whom this account was 
obtained, was the first to notice the singular freak, and fearing that 
he might not be believed, ran and obtained other witnesses. 

In 1857 there was a very heavy rainfall, and the season was very 
wet. There were ponds and puddles of water standing for months 
at places that usually were dry. These ponds gave great opportuni- 
ties for the spawning of frogs; so the following year, 1858, in addition 
to the grasshoppers, a plague of frogs swept over a large portion of 
the township. These small amphibians were everywhere. The roads 
and fields were covered with them. They got into cellars, cupboards 
and doughtrays, and one could scarcely walk without treading upon 
the slimy creatures. 

There have been found a number of Mound Builders' or Indian 
implements of domestic use, as well as some axes and hatches and 
arrows, that bear evidence of great antiquity. Several Indian mounds 
are to be seen not far from Oto, between that place and Smithlaud, and 
a few graves of the aborignes have been opened. In 1855 a party 
of settlers dug a number of specimens of ancient pottery, among 
which was a jar, that originally would have held about three gallons. 
It contained the bones of an infant, which, upon being exposed to the 
air, crumbled and were entirely lost. 

Oto was the scene of a great many of the depredations perpetrated 
upon the white settlers in 1856-57. The band of Indians composing 
the party, were mostly stragglers from other tribes. They were not 
recognized by the government at the time as a tribe, but attended the 
distributions with the Yankton Sioux, and drew annuities just the 
same. These stragglers were from the Sisseton and Yankton Sioux, 
with a slight mixture of low caste Winnebagoes. " They were originally 
known as the Two Finger tribe, having taken their name from its chief, 
Si-dom-i-na-do-tah (two fingers), who had lost two fingers in battle. 
After Si-dom-i-na-do-tah's death, his brother, Ink-pa-do-tah (red 
top), succeeded him as chief. It was then known as Ink-pa-do-tah's 
band. They spent much of their time hunting and fishing about the 
lakes and rivers of northwestern Iowa. There were among them 
several half-breed whites." 



WOODBURY COUNTY. 403 

One of the early settlers of Oto knew the party well, and informed 
the writer that there was a number of desperate villains among them, 
capable of committing any crime. He mentions Bohonica, the son of 
Inkpadotah, who was at once a fox, a wolf and a bull dog, and who 
scrupled at nothing, being strong, wiry and quick as lightning. Star 
Forehead was another powerful Indian, over six feet in height. Then 
there was Blue Coat, and Charley, and Long Tooth, and Supa, and 
many others who were terrors in their way. These were some of the 
leaders in the Spirit Lake massacre, which sent a thrill of horror 
throughout civilization, and which forever sealed the fate of the Indian 
in the United States. 

In contrast to those outlawed savages, the kingly War Eagle, chief 
of the Sioux, seems to have been of a different race. An old-time 
writer who saw the courtly savage said of him many years ago: "War 
Eagle was a rare specimen of his race, tall, athletic, muscular, with 
massive forehead, bespeaking an amount of intelligence seldom found 
among his race. A few words of his burning eloquence were suffi- 
cient to arouse his people to war and deeds of blood, or to bury the 
tomahawk and sheathe the scalping knife. He was zealous in the 
defense of the rights of his people, and against any encroachment upon 
that soil which natirre and nature's god had given them an inalienable 
right to. The love of country and people is not confined to civilized 
man alone, but swells the heart and nerves, the arm of the untutored 
red man of the forest as well. War Eagle was emphatically one of 
nature's noblest children, upon whom she had bestowed much intellect 
and ability. In point of oratory he was excelled by but few of the 
leading orators of the age in which he lived. But, notwithstanding 
all his great natural abilities, like too many of our own great men, he 
yielded to that baneful monster, alcohol, who is daily fastening his 
poisonous fangs upon the vitals of thousands, and with his fiery tail 
sweeping countless numbers from the stage of action. It was when 
in a beastly state of intoxication, he laid out upon the cold grouud, with 
no covering but the starry heavens, and, drenched with a heavy raiD, 
he took a severe cold, from which he never recovered." At the conflu- 
ence of the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers, on a high bluff, slumber 
the remains of the great Sioux chief, while his spirit, it is to be hoped, 
is in the happy hunting grounds. 

The first preaching in Oto was, of course, by Kev. Mr. Black, the 



404 HISTOBY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

presiding elder Eev. Landon Taylor, and Rev. Mr. Havens, who 
were here quite early. Eev. Mr. Snyder, also was an early preacher. 
The first church was erected in 1882, and Rev. Mr. Fish was the first 
preacher in this church. The Roman Catholics have a very nice 
church on section five, with a cemetery near by. The church is served 
by Father Meagher, of St. Patrick's church in Danbury. The Con- 
gregation alists are (in 1890) about building a church in Oto village. 
There is a cemetery on the division line between Little Sioiix and 
Oto townships that is a partnership affair between the two townships. 
It is on a portion of section seven of Oto and the same proportion of 
section twelve of Little Sioux. 

In addition to a good school in the village of Oto, there are three 
others in the township. The first school opened in the township was 
taught by Miss Kate Rachford in 1864. Mrs. S. R. Day taught the 
next season. The difficulties under which the primitive school teacher 
labored were many, in the matter of getting suitable books, in the 
inconveniences of getting to school in winter and in keeping the little 
log huts comfortable. Even in summer they had their trials. Snakes 
were very abundant thirty years ago, and it is related that while a 
young lady was sitting in her seat teaching, she happened to look up 
to the ceiling, or rather where the ceiling ought to have been, for it 
was simply some poles and a lot of grass or hay piled on them, when 
she saw five snakes hanging down above her head with their wicked 
eyes glistening upon her, and their forked tongues running in and out 
of their wide open mouths. She did not scream as our modern lady 
school teacher would do, but she calmly got up and walked toward the 
cabin door, when to her horror, there were a couple more of the rep- 
tiles hanging clown from the upper part of the door frame. But she 
made a cpuick dart, followed by her scholars, and resumed her teach- 
ing on a log near by, the children standing in a semi-circle about her. 

Oto. — This a station, formerly called Annetta, on the Cherokee and 
Dakota branch of the Illinois Central railway, and is a point where 
considerable business is transacted. Large shipments of corn, wheat, 
oats, hogs, cattle and potatoes are made here. The village is beauti- 
fully located on the Little Sioux river, aud a portion of the town slopes 
back on to the ridge that runs for some distance through the township. 
The town has always been noted for its fun and innocent frolic, and if 
there is to be a dance anywhere in the surrounding country, Oto is 



WOODBUBY COUNTY. 405 

always relied upon to furnish the best of it, music and all, for they 
have a fine band. The village was incorporated in 1888, and the first 
mayor was F. M. Smith; the second, C. P. Bowman, and the present 
(1890), E. H. Brooks. The business interests, firms, organizations, 
economical and social, are as follows: 

Elevator, Walter Bros., proprietors, deal in grain, live stock and 
coal ; lumber, G. Gerner ; dealer in grain, E. M. Dickey & Co. ; butter 
factory, Welch & Smith, who use an improved process for restoring old 
butter, making it over, etc., have what is known as a "cold cellar;" 
general merchants, Welch & Smith, Charles N. Martin; clothing, 
boots and shoes, Miles & Co. ; harness, F. M. Selvy ; hardware, J. 
W. Russell; drugs, W. R. Brooks; new roller-mill, J. S. Horton & Co. ; 
farm machinery, J. M. Hodges; jewelry, A Buser; insurance, C. P. 
Bowman, E. H. Brooks, B. E. Bellows, F. 11 Cutting; lawyer, C. P. 
Bowman; physicians, Dr. G. A. Dillon, Dr. G. F. Waterman; fur- 
niture, Brooks & Thomas; contractor and builder, W. W. Squires; 
architect, B. F. Bellows ; barber, J. M. Hodges ; wagon repairer, B. 
H. McKown; painter, C. H. Bogers; blacksmiths, K. H. Duffuld, W. 
A. Welch; hotel, W. W. Squires; builder, L. W. Haley; wind-mills, 
etc., K. T. Arnold; meat market, H. A. Cutting; grocer, H. Martin; 
livery stable, N. C. Wilson; mantua-makers, Misses Ells & Kirk- 
land; millinery, Mrs. M. E. Smith; music teacher, Etta M. Russell, 
Oto Brass Band, L. Gerner, leader; postmaster, Wesley Davis. 

The " Oto Leader " is published every Saturday, by F. H. Cutting. 

Oto Lodge, No. 343, I. O. O. F., was organized in April, 1889; its 
membership was forty-five, and its officers were first noble grand, W. 

A. Welch; second, N. C. Wilson; third, Charles N. Martin. Of Sid- 
ney ler Post, No. 458, G. A. R., F. H. Cotton is commander, and 

B. Bellows, adjutant. 

' 'iere is also a Farmers' Alliance, with a membership of thirty-six. 



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HISTORY OF 



Plymouth County, 

IOWA. 



CHAPTER I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 



THE traveler, as lie now wends his way through this portion of 
Iowa, can scarcely realize the great transformation that has been 
wondrously wrought here in less than a third of a century. From a 
trackless prairie wilderness, beautiful farms, villages, towns and flour- 
ishing cities have sprung up, fostering the busy hum of machinery ; 
and commercial industry on every hand resounds and gives back her 
happy echo! 

About thirty-four years ago that portion of Iowa now embraced 
in Plymouth county was still a wilderness. No effort had been made 
to cultivate its broad and fertile prairie lands. The native forests 
were undisturbed by the woodman's ax, and all things were as they 
came from the hand of Nature's God. Now what a change one 
beholds! Where once the wigwam of the red man was erected, pi-os- 
perous towns and thriving cities now appear; where the Indian 
passed slowly along on the trail of his forefathers, the Iron Horse 
goes puffing by. The change is indeed great, and one can but marvel 
at the rapidity with which it has been brought about. 

It is the duty of the historian to record these changes; to show 
how and by whom made; to narrate the trials and adventures of the 



410 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

little band of hardy pioneers who first invaded the wilds of this por- 
tion of Iowa, and thus present to generations yet unborn lessons of 
usefolness, for it is from the experiences of the past that the lessons 
of to-day are learned. He who writes of events to which the eye- 
witnesses are numerous, has no room for fancy pictures or flights of 
imagination, but he is confined between the perpendicular walls of 
cold, solid facts. 

Nothing is stronger than pioneer instinct, and many of those 
white men who were just behind the Indian and the buffalo here, are 
yet at their heels still farther on toward the setting sun, and can not 
now furnish desirable data for this work. Death, too, has been busy, 
and while some of the pioneers of Plymouth county are sleeping in 
the " city of the dead," others are tottering toward their last resting 
place. So it behooves the historian to quickly gather all the informa- 
tion he can, while yet these pioneer tongues may tell their story. 

Before beginning the record of human events, the reader is invited 
to a chapter concerning the strange handiword of an all-wise Creator, 
who fashioned the landscape and formed the hillside and lovely valley 
of this section, a chapter treating on the geology and topography of this 
and Woodbury counties. [Seepage 14.] After first learning something 
of the surface and soil so remarkable in its geological formation, the 
leaves of Time's great book will be turned back to about 1856, when the 
stranger would have gazed out upon a landscape of marvelous beauty, 
the one selected by the Sioux and the Dakotahs, as their camp and 
hunting grounds. The waters of the Big Sioux river coursed the 
same meandering channel then as now; the vast expanse of prairie 
was even greener than it now is, and the wilderness was bedecked 
with wild flowers, the fragrance of which is still remembered by some 
of the pioneer band of the first settlers here. All was as Nature bad 
left it — in summer a perfect paradise of fresh blooming flowers, and in 
midwinter a snow-mantled desert. But the scene is forever changed, 
the dusky warriors' tents have given way to the costly and comfortable 
farm-houses and city residences. The farmer plows and reaps over 
the selfsame fields where, forty years ago, the Indian killed the buf- 
falo, deer and elk; and the locomotive, swifter than the fleetest deer, 
follows the pathway then trod by savage tribes, which are now almost 
extinct, and this whole domain is under the supreme reign of a Chris- 
tian civilization. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 411 



CHAPTER II. 

EAELY SETTLEMENT. 

Extracts from Pioneer A. E. Sheetz' Centennial History — Additional 
Facts Furnished by Hon. D. M. Mills— Settlement of Floyd Val- 
ley — Settlement of Sioux Valley— The Prairie Settlements— 
"Homesteaders"— Early Schools and Chorches — The Railroad Era 
—1869— Subsequent Development— Also an Account of the Indian 
Scare of 1862. 

IT was during the summer and autumn of 1856 that the first actual 
settlements were made in what is now Plymouth county. These 
settlements were made simultaneously in the Big Sioux and Floyd 
river valleys.* 

The settlers who remained during the winter of 1856-57, ever to 
be remembered as so severe and long, were chiefly as follows: J. B. 
Curry, E. S. Hungerford, Corydon Hall, Thomas Downing and a Mr. 
Brown and their families. Mr. Brown had his quarters at the junc- 
tion of Floyd river, eight or ten miles farther up than most of the 
settlement. These all endured great hardship — greater, doubtless, 
than at any other period in their lives. These included about all the 
settlers in the Floyd valley, at that date. 

The settlers in the Big Sioux valley were a family of Swiss people, 
named Veragath, in township ninety, range forty-eight; Fred Ulrich, 
a Swiss; Barney Roney, James Dormidy, in township ninety-one, 
range forty-nine, and Mr. Guilliams, in township ninety-two, range 
forty-nine; and their families, and they all fared roughly in conse- 
quence of the severity of the winter. 

With the opening of the spring, so welcome to pioneers who had 
withstood the privations and sufferings of the memorable winter of 
1856 and 1857, came new recruits to the little settlement. Among 
those who came to the Floyd valley were members of a German 
colony: Philip Schneider, John Schneider, Mrs. Elizabeth Schneider, 

*Many facts connected with this chapter have been gleaned from A. E. Sheetz' " Centennial 
History," read at the Fourth of July celebration, in Miller's Grove, near the city of Le Mars. Other 
items were furnished by Hon. D. M. Mills. 



412 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

with her sons, Jacob, Daniel and Henry; also Christian Schmidt, 
Peter Shintel and Peter Emmert. The Americans who came were, 
A. C. Sheetz, Z. Stafford, Eobert Stafford, Benjamin Stafford, Mrs. 
Elizabeth Stafford and her sons, Joseph, Morgan, John and William; 
also Thomas Jarrel and A. Carter, with their respective families, to- 
gether with a number of others, whose settlement was not permanent. 

The next settlement along the Big Sioux was effected by J. B. 
Pinckney, D. M. Mills, John Hipkins, I. T. Martin, B. Videto, 
Squire W. Haviland, Patrick and John Jasson (brothers), also 
Thomas McGill. 

During the summer a town site company, composed of G. W. F. 
Sherwin, J. C. Flint, Messrs. Daggett, Mathews, and one or two 
others, staked off a village plat of 240 acres, on section six, township 
ninety-one, range forty-five, and named the same Plymouth, intending 
to secure the location of the county seat there, at the proper time. 
About half a mile' below this point another village plat was laid off by 
the proprietors, H. C. Ash, and J. J. Saville of Sioux City. This was 
named Junction, some say, through the belief these men entertained 
that the point would soon become the junction of two railroad lines 
corresponding to the Chicago & Northwestern and Dubuque & Sioux 
City land grants. 

At the same time, what was known as the Western Land & Town 
Lot Company, with headquarters at Dubuque, under Col. Thomas, 
laid out a large tract of land in the Big Sioux valley, in township 
ninety-two, range forty-nine, also designed to be the county seat of 
Plymouth county. The chief resident shareholders were I. T. Martin, 
John Hipkins and Bratton Videto. 

The winter of 1857-58, in agreeable contrast to the preceding one, 
was mild. Summer birds and even mosquitoes made their appearance 
as early as February. The spring of 1858 found several new comers 
seeking a home in this section of Iowa's fair domain. Among those 
on the Floyd river were William Van O'Linda, afterward county judge, 
and A. E. Rea. At that time this county was yet a part of Wood- 
bury and these settlers had to go to Sioux City to exercise the right 
of franchise, to pay their taxes, etc. This inconvenience soon brought 
about the organization of Plymouth county, which at first was made 
into two precincts — •" Plymouth " and " Westfield " civil townships. 
W. Van O'Linda was elected first county judge, with his office on 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 413 

section twenty-nine, township ninety, range forty-six, on the Floyd 
river; I. T. Martin, as treasurer at Westfield, township ninety-two, 
range forty-nine; A. C. Sheetz, clerk, headquarters on the Floyd, 
section twenty -nine, township ninety, range forty-six; D. M. Mills, 
sheriff, residing on the Big Sioux river, section fourteen, township 
ninety-one, range forty-nine. Thus the little craft was rigged and her 
moorings set free that she might glide whither coming breezes might 
carry her. A short time convinced tax-payers that a seat of justice 
must be had, and some respectable place in which to hold county offices. 
Accordingly, Andrew Leach, of Sioux City, and Lemuel Parkhurst, of 
Cherokee, the men chosen to locate, reported to Judge Van O'Linda, 
that they designated the southeast quarter of section thirty-four, 
township ninety-one, range forty-six, where the village of Melbourne 
was at once laid out. This was in October, 1859. A court-house was 
there erected, costing the county $2,000. 

It was during the fall of 1859 that the Brookings-Booney murder 
occurred, mention of which appears elsewhere. A variety of incidents 
took place earlier in that year, some of which must needs be recorded 
here. It has already been shown that the Germans figured conspicu- 
ously in the first settlement days in this county. Of those before 
named it should be said they were industrious, temperate, frugal; and 
their habits and deportment most praiseworthy. The facts show that 
these people first introduced the gospel into the county, July 5, 1859. 
Bev. J. F. Schriber, of the German Evangelical society, conducted 
public worship at the home of Philip Schneider. Services were held 
at private houses until 1866, when a chapel was erected and dedicated. 
This society increased rapidly, and in 1876 numbered 150. The 
traveler may now behold two magnificent temples, as a city set on a 
hill, adorned with high towers and joyous sounding bell proclaim- 
ing " peace on earth, good will to men." 

In November, 1859, Bev. Bogers, a United Presbyterian minister, 
held services at Judge Van O' Linda's house. 

Early in 1859 a plantation corn-mill, propelled by wind-power, was 
put in operation by A. C. Sheetz, this being the first attempt at mak- 
ing flour or feed in the county. It served its good purpose until De- 
cember, 1868, when the water-mill was started on the Floyd river. 

The first public school in the county was taught in December, 1859, 
at Melbourne, by William Van O'Linda. 



414 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In June, 1859, William ("Billie") Barrett moved his family to 
section sixteen, township ninety, range forty-six. He finally became 
a great figure-head in Plymouth county government affairs. 

The year 1860 marked many important and interesting events. 
The taking of the eighth national census, by Charles Smeltzer (deputy 
marshal) exhibited the status of the county in point of population and 
industrial callings as rapidly advancing. 

About this time another civil township was erected by the county 
board, which they named Lincoln, in honor of the republican candidate 
for president of the United States. Those of the opposite faith at- 
tempted to overthrow the name by appealing to the courts for redress, 
claiming all had not been legal. The court, however, took no action 
in the matter, and soon after Mr. Lincoln's election, and after he had 
issued a call for volunteer soldiers, petty differences were lost sight of 
and Plymouth county, like her ninety-six sister counties of Iowa, re- 
sponded freely to the various calls for men and money to aid in quell- 
ing the Rebellion. 

The first post-office, says A. C. Sheetz in his " Centennial History," 
was established "at Melbourne, and went into operation in October, 
1862, with A. C. Sheetz as postmaster. In the course of a few months, 
however, the postmaster had occasion to remove to his farm residence, 
on section twenty-eight, township ninety, range forty-six, and no suc- 
cessor was ever appointed to take his place." 

Early in the autumn of 1862 there occurred an almost tragical and 
yet an amusing event, connected with Indian affairs. There had 
been frightful outrages committed by the Sioux Indians at New Ulm, 
Minn., and Spirit Lake, Iowa, the disclosures of which caused intense 
alarm and disquietude among the settlers on the Floyd river. The 
constant reiteration of these atrocities being the only common topic of 
conversation, their fears and alarms reached the uncontrollable point, 
and, without the least preparation or preconcerted plan, the entire 
settlement fled, panic stricken and in the wildest confusion. Many 
stopped at Sioux City and undertook to fortify against an Indian raid 
by erecting earth works and a stockade. Word rapidly spread from 
one settlement to another, and all the settlers along the Big Sioux val- 
ley, the Floyd and adjoining country, seemed seized with the same 
terror. This state of affairs only lasted, however, for a few days, 
when the wandering settlers came back to enjoy the homes they had 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 415 

so swiftly fled from, fearing that if they remained, a fate like the 
blood-curdling incidents of Spirit Lake might soon overtake them. 
There were some so badly frightened that they never returned to their 
homes, but found more congenial locations. This, the last " Indian 
scare" ever had in Iowa, resulted in great demoralization, and loss of 
property to many. The settlement along the Big Sioux valley was 
abandoned for several years. Even in 1876 Mr. Sheetz wrote, concern- 
ing this affair: " Where once stood the hardy pioneer's cabin home, 
and the well-tilled fields, fenced and homelike in many respects, there 
remains no memeiito to-day, save the decaying cabin and torn- 
down fences of those first settlers who left to escape such a fearful 
death as had been so vividly portrayed at Spirit Lake in April, 1857, 
when forty lives were sacrificed at the hands of the bloodthirsty 
Sioux." 

In an interview with Hon. D. M. Mills, the first settler in the Big 
Sioux valley, he related that he raised and threshed the first wheat 
grown in Plymouth county. It was in 1860, and was threshed out by 
horses treading around in a circle. Mr. Mills distinguished himself 
by being, the only settler in the valley who remained, despite the 
Indian scare of 1862. He lived on his farm until 1864, when he was 
unable to procure help to operate his lands, so he removed to Elk Point, 
Dak., and remained until 1871, serving as a member of the territorial 
assembly in the meantime. 

Nothing of singular importance transpired in this county for sev- 
eral years subsequent to the year 1862, unless it may be of interest to 
note that in February, 1864, occurred the first coroner's inquest. It 
was over the body of a Swiss trapper, in the Big Sioux valley, named 
Fred Busse, whose mortal career had been suddenly terminated, but 
just how or by whom did not develop itself, but it was, doubtless, by 
violence — not on his part. His remains were decently coffined and laid 
away to rest, under authority of the county. 

In July or August of 1864, took place the first grasshopper raid 
known to white men in Plymouth county, their advent being heralded 
by a noise resembling the approach of a violent storm. 

In 1865 a new impetus was given to immigration by reason of the 
passage of the " Homestead Act," which granted free homes to 
" actual settlers." To avail themselves of this novel and valuable 
opportunity of gaining a prairie home, there might daily have been 



416 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

seen multitudes of men, coming and going, making choice of lands, 
which, by remaining on for five years, would become their own. This 
stream of new comers did not seem to slacken until every acre of this 
choice government land had been claimed and settled upon under the 
simple provisions of the law. 

The advent of the Iowa Falls & Sioux City (now Illinois Central) 
railroad, in 1869, marked another important era in the settlement of 
the county, at which time markets were opened up, and this, the great 
western slope, was connected with the outside world by an iron high- 
way and telegraphic lines. Le Mars was founded, the county seat 
removed from old Melbourne, and all things seemed to take on a new 
life, arid glorious prosperity crowned the labors of the husbandmen 
everywhere. 

The above portion of this chapter on the early settlement of this 
county has been given in a general way, showing where, when and by 
whom the first settlement was effected, together with some of the more 
important events in the history of the county. We will now refer the 
reader who may be interested in tracing out the early settlers and 
their whereabouts in each of the twenty-four civil townships, to the 
Township History department of this work, found elsewhere, where 
the matter is treated of at greater length, and includes the first events 
and general development of each subdivision of Plymouth county, 
giving a complete history of organization, schools, churches, towns 
and villages; also a record of many of the fatal accidents, murders, 
suicides, great storms, grasshopper plague, etc. 




&%tfu> 



Tt^a^fc-zr 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 419 



CHAPTEK III. 
ORGANIZATION AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

Organization— First Officers Elected— Early Kecords— Form of Gov- 
ernment — County Judge System — Supervisor System — Pioneer 
Court-House— First and all Subsequent Boards of Supervisors- 
Official History of County by Years— Financial Condition of 
the County^ in 1890. 

WHEN Plymouth county was organized in the year 1858, having 
been detached from what is now known as Woodbury county, 
the local government was vested in what was termed the county court, 
or county judge system, which consisted of a judge, sheriff and clerk. 
The county judge had sole jurisdiction of, and, so to speak, was 
supreme ruler in all matters which were not within the jurisdiction of 
the district court. The chief powers then vested in the county judge, 
rest now in the hands of the board of supervisors and their clerk; the 
county auditor, which office was created in 1868, and that of county 
judge, have been virtually abandoned. 

The record books of Plymouth county are well preserved, and 
fortunately were fairly kept by men whose penmanship would, indeed, 
put to blush many an official of a more recent date. The data for 
this chapter has principally been gleaned from the records, commenc- 
ing in October, 1858, with minute book "A" and coming down to 
book "five" of the proceedings of the board of supervisors of 1890. 

The First Officials of the county were elected in the autumn of s 
1858, and were as follows: William Van O'Linda, county judge; A. 
C. Sheetz, district clerk; Daniel M. Mills, sheriff; E. S. Hunger- 
ford, coroner; A. O Sheetz, surveyor. 

Under the county judge system there was one supervisor elected 
from each civil township in the county; and as Plymouth county 
began its organization with two such subdivisions, there were two 
members of the board. This law, however, did not take effect until 
1860, hence it was that from 1858 to 1860, two years, the affairs of 
the county remained in the hands of one man, the county judge, who, 



420 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

be it said to his credit, was a prudent manager of all that devolved 
upon him to do. He was chiefly engaged in issuing orders and coun- 
ty warrants, which in those days were not counted as good as specie! 

The school fund for 1859 amounted to $222. Judge William Van 
O'Linda went to Chicago and concluded to remain there, and in July, 
1860, sent in his resignation as judge of this county. At the next 
election, that same season, he was -succeeded by A. E. Rea, who made 
an efficient officer. It was about the date of his election that the new 
state law, above mentioned, went into effect, by which fact, the two 
civil townships of Plymouth and Westfield each sent a supervisor to 
represent them in the government of the county affairs, also one 
supervisor at large. This form of local government did not begin, 
however, until January, 1861. 

Early Becords. — In August of 1860, bids were asked for by the 
county, to furnish suitable county offices, and one was finally accepted. 
The contract called for the erection of a court-house for $2,000, the 
same to be completed by October 1, 1860. Prior to that the county 
court was held at the judge's residence. 

It was during 1860 that G. W. F. Sherwin (afterward county 
judge of Cherokee county), was awarded the contract of taking one 
L. D. Brookliugs, who had committed murder in Plymouth county, 
and was then in jail at Sioux City, to the state's prison at Fort Madi- 
son, which being nearly in the extreme corner of the state, with no 
railroads, seemed a long and tedious undertaking. For this service 
Mr. Sherwin was to have received $250 in county warrants, the same 
being, at that time, worth about 25 per cent of their face value, but 
through carelessness the prisoner escaped, and was never recaptured. 
Seven hundred dollars' worth of warrants were also given by this 
county to the person who had charge of and boarded the above pris- 
oner in AVoodbury county. So it will be observed criminal prosecu- 
tions cost the people large amounts even in the pioneer days of Iowa. 

Boards of Supervisors. — The board of 1861 was composed of E. 
S. Hungerford (chairman), John Hopkins, of Westfield, and W. A. 
Carter. They met the first week in January, and the minutes show 
that their - first official act after organizing was to purchase a stove for 
the court-house, for which they paid $67 in county warrants. At 
that session a wail of poverty and financial embarrassment went up 
from the board in the following language: 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 421 

" Wheeeas the present condition of Plymouth county is deplor- 
ably embarrassing, with resources so limited that it is impossible to 
conduct the affairs of the county, even on the most economical scale, 
unless some speedy and efficient relief is obtained : Be it resolved, 
therefore, That the county judge use all legal means, from time to 
.time, to secure a better financial standing. Again, that the citizens of 
the county suggest any means that may occur to them to bring about 
the desired end." At this session the board insured the court-house 
and county books in the Hartford Insurance Company, and ordered 
three office desks " like those used in the court-house at Sioux City." 
Benjamin Stafford furnished them for the sum of $300 in county 
warrants, which were then negotiable at twenty-eight per cent of their 
face value. • Outhouse and front steps to court-house were paid for 
by $140 worth of warrants. 

The school fund for 1861 was $470. The total number of pupils 
was thirty-two. The assessment for 1861 was as follows: 44,170 acres 
of land, $136,110; 2,350 town lots, $7,503; personal property $6,023. 
The tax levy was: State tax, 1^ mills; school tax, 2 mills, and county 
tax, 4 mills. The matter of using the swamp land of the county to 
clear up the indebtedness was considered at the January session. 
A horse ferry was licensed by the board, the same being granted 
to Milton M. Kich on section twenty-eight, for the purpose of crossing 
the Sioux river. The rate of toll fixed was : One team and wagon, 
25 cents; one horse and wagon, 20 cents; single horseman, 15 cents; 
footman, 10 cents; sheep and swine, 5 cents each. Double these 
amounts to be charged at night or during high water. 

The board of 1862 consisted of W. A. Carter (chairman), E. S. 
Hungerford and D. M. Mills. By their proceeding it is found that 
Plymouth county had, January 1, 1862, for school funds for the ensu- 
ing year, $142. In June the board called an election to decide whether 
the swamp land should be sold to relieve the great burden then rest- 
ing upon the county. In October they leased the back part of the 
court-house to the government, to be occupied by a division of soldiers 
then camped within the county, and who needed winter quarters. The 
reader will bear in mind this was the second year of the Civil war. 

The board of 1863 was made up as follows: E. S. Hungerford, 
Morgan B. Stafford and (chairman) D. M. Mills. Their first business 
was that of auditing bills, paying for wolf scalps, issuing warrants to 



422 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

court officers and drawing their own pay. At this, their first session, 
they changed the bounds of Plymouth and Westfield township, and 
ordered the drainage commissioner to sell an amount of swamp lands to 
the highest bidder. 

The assessment for 1863 was upon 48,594 acres of land, valued at 
$2 per acre, amounting to $97,188; town lots, $438; personal property 
$4,150, making a total of $101,773. The record shows a militia list 
for 1863, of eleven men from Plymouth township, four from Lincoln 
and one from Westfield, sixteen in all, subject to military duty. The 
tax levy for the same year was: State, 2 mills; school, 1 mill, and 
county, 4 mills on the dollar of taxable property. At the October term 
the board ordered the clerk to take the necessary means to put a stop 
to the court-house rooms being used as warerooms for corn, grain and 
other farm produce, as had been allowed in the past. 

The board of 1864 was constituted of William Barrett (chairman), 
John A. Veraguth and D. M. Mills. They convened at the residence 
of A. C. Sheetz, on account of the unsuitable condition of the court- 
house. This board, realizing that the county was hopelessly in debt, 
moved to levy a special tax to clear up the overhanging indebtedness. 
The proposition was submitted to the people June 1, 1864. The returns 
show that fifteen votes were polled for a special tax and nine polled 
against the measure. At the same election a vote was taken on a propo- 
sition to sell the swamp land to the American Emigration Company 
for $2,000. The vote stood thirteen for and twelve against the measure. 
At the September term, D. M. Mills, member from Westfield, was 
absent, and was cited to represent his township or deliver up the books 
of the same. He came before the board and informed them that on 
account of the hard times his township had become depopulated, and 
he himself had been compelled to remove to other parts, in order to 
provide for his own family. Hence he surrendered all books, papers, 
etc., belonging to Westfield township. In November the board again 
assembled at the house of A. C. Sheetz. Those present were E. S. 
Hungerford and John Snider, who had taken the place of William 
Barrett, who had entered the Union army. 

The board of 1865 were Messrs. Hungerford and Snider. West- 
field civil township having been depopulated, the territory was set 
back into Plymouth and Lincoln. *The board in February, ordered 

*The records up to this time had been written with a quill pen. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 423 

an election to determine whether the county should pay $300 to men 
who would volunteer to enter the army. The tax levy for 1865 was: 
State, 2 mills; county, 4 mills; school, 1 mill; special tax, 10 mills; 
soldiers' tax, 20 mills, and bounty tax, 5 mills. 

The board of 1866 consisted of John Snider and William Barrett. 
Their minutes show a bill paid for the "Iowa State Homestead," pub- 
lished at Des Moines, at a subscription price of $2.50. The sheriff, 
Philip Smith, was paid a salary of $19 for his year's service, and was 
glad for even that amount. 'The tax levy was: State, 21 mills; county, 
4 mills; special, 10 mills; school 2 mills. The board ordered the school 
lands of the county opened up for actual settlement at $1.50 per acre. 

The board of 1867, composed of William Barrett (chairman), 
William S. McCurdy, and E. S. Hungerford at large (his place taken 
finally by A. T. Reed), met and ordered the court-house put in order, 
cleaned and repaired by the time court was to convene. In July, Henry 
Morf made application to rent a part of the court-house in which to 
operate a grocery store. The board granted him the use of same for 
one year, free of charge, providing he left same as good as when he 
found it. The tax levy was: State, 2-J mills; county, 4 mills; school, 
2 mills; bridge, 1 mill, special, 10 mills. In September the board 
created the civil townships of America and Sioux. 

The board of 1868 was made up of William Barrett, from Lincoln 
township; John Snider, of Plymouth; William S. McCurdy, of 
America, and A. T. Reed, of Sioux township. They ordered an appraise- 
ment of all the school lands. A. C. Sheetz, who was school superin- 
tendent during that year, received a compensation of $10. ' It was this 
board that sent long resolutions to the state legislature, asking them to 
see that the old Dubuque & Sioux City railroad line, surveyed in 1858, 
was not changed in its original course through Plymouth county. 
At the June session, the board granted license to W. H. Pinckney 
to operate a horse . ferry-boat over the Sioux river, on section one. 
township ninety-one, range forty-nine. The toll rate to be as follows: 
Team and wagon, 40 cents; one horse and wagon, 25 cents; one horse- 
man, 20 cents; one footman, 10 cents; sheep and hogs, 5 cents each. 
Double these rates for night and high-water work. The valuation of 
property was fixed by the board as follows:. Lands, $107,265; town 
lots, $100; personal property, $26,400; total, $134,124. 

The board of 1869 was composed of William Barrett (chairman), 



424 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

William MoOurdy, W. Hunter and John Snider, with A. E. Rea, 
county auditor, as clerk of the board. The property valuation was 
placed at $182,994 on lands; $28,343 on personal property, making a 
total of $211,337. The tax levy was: State tax, 2 mills; county tax, 
4 mills; special tax, 5 mills, school tax, 2 mills. Nothing of much 
importance transpired that year, except routine business, such as 
letting contracts for bridges and establishing public highways. 

The board for 1870 consisted of William Barrett, John Snider and 
William Hunter. The first business after organizing was to nominate 
Constant R. Marks for special agent to settle with the United States 
land office, in swamp-land matters. They agreed to pay all expense 
incurred and give said Marks twenty-five per cent of all lands finally 
recovered for the county. It was in June, 1870, that the board created 
the civil townships known as Johnson, Stanton, Elgin and Perry. The 
total valuation of assessment for 1870 was: Lands, $271,274; personal 
property, $59,707, or a total of $330,981. The tax levy was: State, 2 
mills; county, 4 mills; school, 2i mills; bridge, 3 mills. At the October 
meeting this board transferred the soldiers' fund, raised in time of the 
Rebellion, to the bridge fund. This board purchased a bridge pile- 
driver for $400. 

The board of 1871 was made up of Andrew Black, George Viedto 
and Carlos Little. The salary of the county auditor was fixed at $900. 
At the June session the board created what is known as Washington 
civil township. 

The board of 1872 consisted of Andrew Black (chairman), George 
Viedto and William Barrett. The county auditor's salary was raised 
to $1,000 per year. During their September meeting it was deter- 
mined that Melbourne was no longer a proper location in which to 
have the county offices, and in view of the fact that the people of Le 
Mars had offered to furnish suitable offices for the county, they re- 
solved to avail themselves of this offer, and hence met, September 28, 
in Andrew's block, at Le Mars. 

lich consisted of Andrew Black, William 
^. fc and W. "* office of Struble Bros., in Le 

Mars. The proposition of Y )ung <fe Corkery to erect a building to be 
used for two years by the county officers, was ^cepted, and they moved 
to the same in April, 1873. The board at their January session made 
the " Sentinel " and " Liberal " the official papers of Plymouth county 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 425 

for one year. They also deemed it wise to offer a premium of $500 to 
any person who should discover a paying coal mine within the limits 
of the county. They purchased two fire-proof safes of a safe company, 
for the sum of $1,850, delivered at Le Mars depot. The question hav- 
ing been previously submitted to the people, as to the policy of remov- 
ing the county seat to Le Mars, this board found upon a canvass of the 
vote, that 587 voted for removal, while 111 voted to have it retained at 
Melbourne. At this time the salary of the county clerk was fixed at 
$900 per annum. 

The board of 1874 consisted of E. H. Shaw, Stephen Reeves, 
Leonard Koenig and William Barrett (chairman). This was during 
the grasshopper plague days of this portion of Iowa, and owing to 
the failure and destruction of crops, relief was sought by the people, 
in way of seed grain, etc. A memorial was sent the legislature by this 
board, and many of the taxes were, by authority of the supervisors, 
remitted. At the February session the question of submitting to a 
popular vote the matter of borrowing $15,000 for a period of five years, 
was considered and finally carried, but before the board adjourned 
they rescinded their action. This board sold the old court-house at 
Melbourne to Anton Nigg for the sum of $31. At the April meeting 
the board voted to appropriate the sum of $3,000 to erect a court- 
house and jail, at Le Mars, on block thirty-five. William Barrett and 
E. H. Shaw were appointed to superintend the construction of the same, 
and it was to be completed November 1, 1874. The lots had been 
donated the county by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls Town Lot & Land 
Company. Three thousand dollars ($3,000) of the swamp-land fund 
was appropriated to seat, paint and furnish the new court-ho' lr - and to 
provide suitable vaults for the same, all to be coi 
26, 1874. 

The board of 1875 consisted of E. 1 i Jeeves, 

William Barrett (chairman!, and. O. E. Hardy. John G. \\ elliver 
was made "sealer of weights and r.e.asures : " fur the county, under a 
state law passed the winter previous to this. This board seeing the 
necessity of cheape: fuel in this locality, offered a premium of $1,000 
to any person who snould discover a paying coal field within Plymouth 
county. The assessed valuation of property was placed for 1875, as 
follows: Land, $2,052,409; town property, $126,596; personal property, 
$130,135; total, $2,529,715, from which an exemption was made, on 



426 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

account of growing trees, to the amount of $45,000. The tax levy was: 
State, 2 mills; county 6 mills; bond, 2 mills; bridge, 3 mills. 

The board of 1876 consisted of William Barrett (chairman), E. 
H. Shaw, L. Koenig, Andrew Wilson and A. W. Parsons. The first 
act of this board was to fix the salary of the various county officials, 
as follows: Auditor, $1,200 and fees; treasurer, $1,500; clerk of the 
courts, $300 and fees; sheriff, $200. The board purchased the Sher- 
man Patent Window Blinds for the court-house at an expense of $328. 

The board of 1877 consisted of William Barrett (chairman), A. 
W. Parsons, Andrew Wilson, L. Koenig and O. AV. Bennett. At the 
June meeting an appropriation (under recent enactment of the legisla- 
ture) of $250 was made, in favor of the Plymouth County Agricultural 
Society. 

The board of 1878 was composed as follows: L. Koenig (chair- 
man), A. W. Parsons, A. Wilson, O. W. Bennett and G. W. Cham- 
berlain. They leased the land known as the poor farm to Henry Davis, 
agreeing to make an addition to the residence on the same. They also 
reorganized a civil township, which had become depopulated and dis- 
organized years previous. It is what is known as Westfield township. 
Mill owners were all notified to construct fish dams in compliance with 
a state law, passed the previous winter.* The tax levy for 1878 was: 
State, 2 mills; county, 6 mills; bridge, 3 mills; bond, 2 mills; county 
school, 1 mill; insane, 1^ mills on the dollar. 

The board of 1879 consisted of the following: L. Koenig, O. W. 
Bennett, George W. Chamberlain (chairman), L. W. Doty and Wal- 
lace Winslow. P. P. Dalton, who had been acting as financial agent 
for Plymouth county, was honorably discharged from further duty. 
But little, save the usual routine of business, came up before this 
board. However, each year nrach work and responsibility was exacted 
of the supervisors in the matter of supplying the large county with 
proper highways, bridges, etc. 

The board of 1880 consisted of George W. Chamberlain (chair- 
man), L. Koenig, L. M. Doty, Wallace Winslow, and George E. Pew. 

The board of 1881 consisted of Wallace Winslow, L. M. Doty, 
James Hughes and C. D. Hoffman. Nothing of special importance 
transpired during this year. 

The board of 1882 consisted of E. D. Hoffman, William Barrett 

*ThIs law was never well received or enforced, and is now a " dead letter." 




m 







PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 429 

(chairman), James Hughes, A. W. Parsons and T. W. Lias. During 
the June term the board granted a license to H. Johndrow to operate 
a horse ferry over the Big Sioux river, at a point on section nine, town- 
ship ninety, range forty-eight. 

The board of 1883 was C. D. Hoffman, T. W. Lias and A. W. 
Parsons. At the October election they considered the matter of levy- 
ing a 2|- mill tax for the purpose of raising funds with which to pur- 
chase and improve a poor farm. It was finally submitted to the voters 
of the county. 

The board of 1884 consisted of C. D. Hoffman (chairman), A. 
W. Parsons, T. W. Lias and George Evans. It was this board that 
made an offer of $5,000 to any person who should discover a paying 
coal field within the limits of the county by the year 1886. 

The board of 1885 consisted of 0. I). Hoffman (chairman), James 
Hughes, George Evans, D. Bradley, John Lang. Nothing special 
marked the year's work of this board. They paid Nicolas Kass $1,300, 
balance due on the purchase of the poor farm property. A committee 
was appointed to superintend the building of an addition to the poor- 
house. They also, at the August session, voted to build a brick addi- 
tion, for vault and office purposes, to the west side of the court-house. 

The board of 1886 was composed of James Hughes (chairman), 
George Evans, John Lang and D. Bradley. 

The board of 1887 was the same, with the addition of J. B. 
Perkins. 

The board of 1888 consisted of James Hughes (chairman), 
George Evans, A. Doring. It was during this year that the county 
made an exhibit of the grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables grown 
in the county, at the famous " Corn Palace " at Sioux City, Iowa. Super- 
visor George Evans superintended the collection. At the September 
meeting they voted to submit to the people the question of levying a 
2-mill tax for the purpose of erecting a jail. When submitted it stood: 
For the measure, 625 votes, and against the measure, 1,941. 

The board of 1889 consisted of James Hughes (chairman), Eli 
Peters and John Becker. At the September session the jail tax ques- 
tion again came up for consideration, as the judge had repeatedly 
stated that he would not confine prisoners any longer in the one then 
in use, it being unsafe as well as unhealthy. The board finally left it 
again to a vote of the people of the county, who decided by 197 majority 



430 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

to have the tax levied and the jail erected. The board of 1890, during 
the month of May, awarded the contract to build an $11,000 jail, which 
will be one of the finest in all western Iowa. 

The board of 1890 consisted of James Hughes (chairman), Eli 
Peters, John Becker, Albert Doring and D. Bradley. 

Financial Condition of Plymouth County in 1890. — The follow- 
ing has been compiled from the county auditor's report, January 1, 
1890: 

State fund $ 473 

County fund 326 

Schoolfund 2,219 

Bridge fund 166 

Teachers fund 4,355 

School-housejfund 1,134 

Contingent fund 1,676 

Road fund 597 

City fund 650 

School-house site fund 35 

Insane fund 295 

Permanent school fund 3,167 

Temporary school fund 2,594 

Swamp-land fund 398 

Poor-farm fund 376 

Teachers' Institute fund 3 

Cemetery fund 82 

Dog fund 516 

Sidewalk fund 66 

Portland Bond fund 39 

County road fund 487 

Special township fund 199 

Total amount on hand $19,810 

The assessed valuation of all property in the county, January 1, 
1890, was $5,883,095, with an exemption of $338,973 for forest trees 
planted and now growing. Marked is the contrast between the finan- 
cial showing of the above with those of earlier years! An assessed 
valuation of nearly $6,000,000 is indeed a wonderful showing for one 
western Iowa county, settled in 1858. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 431 



CHAPTER IV. 
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS. 

The Grasshopper Plague— Recorded Village Plats— Population by 
Townships at Various Dates— Marriage Record — Comparative 
Table — First Events in the County. 

IpVEEYONE who lived in Iowa from 1873 to 1879 knows more 
\j than the historian of to-day can possibly write, concerning the 
fearful and wonderful destroying plague of the grasshoppers, which in 
armies of multiplied millions devasted northwestern and central Iowa. 
Much concerning their times of coming and going, together with some 
of their peculiar characteristics, will be found under the proper head- 
ing in the Woodbury county part of this volume. However, it should 
be said in this connection, that the Indian, with all the thirst for blood 
of which he has been accused, never began to retard settlement and 
devastate the country in general, as did the raids, made during these 
years, by the grasshoppers, which were not unlike the scriptural locust, 
sent as a blighting curse upon the Egyptians, both in their form, size 
and destroying effects. 

No writer has ever been able to fully describe the enormity of the 
late Civil war — its suffering and misery must needs be experienced in 
order to gain any fair conception of what that terrible conflict was to 
those who fought for what they believed to be a just cause. So it 
may be said concerning the grasshoppers, which, by the way, were too 
great an army for man, with all of his ingenuity, strategy and 
strength, to even begin to cope with — they took the field, destroyed 
all they found and moved on to greater conquests, undismayed 
and seldom sacrificing any of their vast winged army. Their work 
brought gloom, sadness and poverty upon hundreds and thou- 
sands of Iowa farmers, who fought manfully year after year, hoping 
that every year would be the last. There are hundreds of young men 
and women here to-day, who, in those unfortunate times, went thinly 
clad during the long severe winters from having their entire crops 
swept away. 



432 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The church and other benevolent societies farther east made many 
contributions — boxes of clothing, food, garden seeds, school books for 
the children, etc. — all of which were appreciated, and the kindness of 
such donations are even now often referred to by men and women 
whose locks are fast whitening. 

In 187G the grasshoppers were so numerous that trains of cars on 
the Illinois Central railroad were stopped by them. They accumu- 
lated on the 'road-bed and filled the entire space between the ties and 
the track, so that when pressed down by the moving trains they were 
crushed to a jelly-like mass and had the same effect upon the rails as 
oil or soft-soap would have produced, causing the drive-wheels of the 
locomotive to slip and revolve without making any forward progress. 

The appearance of the grasshoppers in the sky had the effect of 
darkening the very heavens at noonday, against a brightly shining sun. 
When flying rapidly with the wind, upon a clear day, they caused the 
sky to resemble a heavy snow-storm. They seemed to have their 
course mapped out, and were seldom known to fly in any other 
direction than the one planned by their instinct, always waiting until 
the winds were blowing in such direction. 

Many ingenious devices were invented for the capture and destruc- 
tion of the pests. Among the plans used was that of stretching a wire 
or rope from one side of the field to the other, and have two men draw 
the line through the field of grain, which, in some instances, put them 
to flight and saved the crops. But the most successful plan was to con- 
struct a huge tin or sheet-iron scraper, similar to a road scraper, about 
twenty feet in width. To this horses were attached, and it was then 
drawn over the fields; within this "dust-pan" shaped contrivance was 
placed a quantity of kerosene oil. When thrown into the oil the grass- 
hopper at first seemed to enjoy the bath, but soon curled up his wire-like 
limbs and died. Many farmers went over their fields in this manner, 
and then dumped their load of grasshoppers at the side of the field, 
where they were burned, dead or alive. One Plymouth county farmer 
says he remembers of thus destroying nine barrels full in a single 
half day. Some curious devices were patented by men who believed 
their inventions worth more than their Plymouth county farms. 

The "Sentinel" of August, 1876, had the following: "Sunday, 
August 6, the grasshoppers came down in considerable numbers at Le 
Mai - s and spread out over the entire south half of the county. The 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 433 

best judges say corn is damaged fully fifty per cent. The belt of 
country the grasshoppers cover is about one hundred by one hundred 
and fifty miles in extent, east of the Missouri river, and west as far as 
the Rocky Mountains." 

The editor of the above local paper warned the farmers in the 
following style: 

Don't Bum The Prairies! — The only certain cure here against grasshoppers is 

fire — fire hot as ! If the grass is burned this fall, it is an invitation to the young 

hopper-grass to help himself to another spring crop of grain. It is of vital importance 
that the grass be saved until spring — say May 15. We wish we could make each farmer 
feel the force of the words don't burn the grass till spring ! as that will destroy all the 
grasshoppers and their eggs. There should be township committees appointed to see 
that this plan is carried out. Let the full penalty of Iowa law concerning the setting 
of fires be strictly enforced. Never mind Hayes or Tilden, politics or politicians, but 
make a grand fight to save the prairie grass until next May, and then let the fire be 
applied and we may exterminate these pests. 

Recorded Plcds. — The following is a complete list of the village 
and city plats of Plymouth county: 

Le Mars. — The original plat was executed by John I. Blair, June 
4, 1870. It is situated on the south half of section nine, and the north 
half of section sixteen, township ninety, range forty-five, west. The 
first addition to Le Mars was platted June 10, 1874, by the Sioux 
City & Iowa Falls Town Lot & Land Company. The West Eud addi- 
tion was platted by Benjamin and Martha Foster. Young & Corkery's 
addition was platted October 7, 1872, by William A. Toung and 
Charles E. Corkery. Young & Corkery's second addition was platted 
by the above named proprietors May 2, 1873. Young & Corkery's 
third addition was platted November 8, 1873. The third, fourth and 
fifth additions to Le Mars were all executed by the Sioux City & Iowa 
Falls Land & Town Lot Company, September 1, 1881. The sixth 
addition was platted by Nicholas Herron, July 3, 1882. The seventh 
addition was platted May 10, 1883, by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls 
Town Lot & Land Company. South Side second addition was 
platted March 9, 1885, by a number of Le Mars citizens. A. R. T. 
Dent's first addition to Le Mars was made by Mr. Dent, May 11, 
1887. The second addition to Le Mars was platted by Benjamin and 
Elizabeth Beecher, March 1, 1878. The South Side addition was 
platted by Benjamin O. and Martha C. Foster, April 1, 1871. The 
West End addition to Le Mars was platted July 11, 1873. Wemli's 
addition to Le Mars was executed by J. Wernli and wife, May 27, 



434 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1882. The eighth addition to Le Mars was platted by the railroad 
company May 10, 1883. 

Melbourne (defunct) was platted April 12, I860, by C. C. Orr, on 
the southeast quarter of section thirty-four, township ninety-one, 
range forty-six. It was for many years the county seat of Plymouth 
county. 

Plymouth City (defunct) was platted on section six, township 
ninety-one, range forty-five, May 7, 1857, by G. W. F. Sherwin, 
Henry R. Daggett, John C. Flint, Amos French, John McClelland, 
D. Whitmer, George W. Gregg, John Barber. 

Remsen. — The orignal plat of Remsen was executed August 28, 
1876, by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls Town Lot &'Land Company. It 
is situated on the south half of the northwest quarter of the north- 
west quarter, and the north half of the southwest quarter of section 
six, township ninety-two, range forty-three. The first addition was 
platted by J. Brooks Close, October 4, 1881. The second addition 
was made May 22, 1882, by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls Town 
Lot & Land Company. The third addition was platted July 22, 
1884, by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls, Town Lot & Land Com- 
pany. The fourth addition was platted September 6, 1887, by the 
Sioux City & Iowa Falls, Town Lot & Land Company. The fifth 
addition was platted June 25, 1888, by the Sioux City & Iowa Falls 
Town Lot & Land Company. 

Akron. — This plat was originally named and known as " Portland- 
ville," being in Portland civil township. It is situated on the north- 
east quarter of the southwest quarter of section thirty-one, township 
ninety-three, Range forty-eight, and was platted by Edgar W. Sargent, 
Lewis N. Crill and Celina Crill. The date of platting was June 5, 
1871. Sargent's addition was made May 10, 1876, by A. W. Hubbard, 
and B. W. Sargent. 

Westfield was platted on the northwest quarter of the southwest 
quarter of section twenty-six, and on the northeast quarter of the 
southeast quarter of section twenty-seven, township ninety-two, range 
forty-nine, on August 3, 1877. 

James was platted May 26,1876, on the south half of the southeast 
quarter of section thirty, and the northeast quarter of section thirty- 
one, township ninety, range forty-six. It was platted by the Sioux 
City & Iowa Falls Town Lot & Land Company. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 435 

Merrill was platted on the northwest quarter of section eleven, 
township ninety-one, range forty-six, February 27, 1872, by the Sioux 
City & Iowa Falls Town Lot & Land Company. Frost's addition to 
Merrill was made by William Frost and wife, Ed. Fullbrook and wife 
and John Hornick (trustee), June 28, 1888. 

Dalton was platted February 1, 1890, on the northeast quarter of 
the northwest quarter of section thirteen, township ninety-two, range 
forty-six, by the Northern Land Company. 

Struble was platted December 4, 1889, on the south half of the 
southwest quarter of section five, township ninety-three, range forty- 
five, and on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 
eight, township ninety-three, range forty-five, by the Northern Land 
Company. 

Seney was platted by the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad company 
on the southwest quarter of section twenty-three, township ninety- 
three, range forty-five, on December 7, 1872. The first addition to 
Seney was made by the Sioux City & St. Paul railroad company, June 
3, 1884. 

Quorn was platted by J. B. and F. B. Close, September 18, 
1880, on the east half of the northwest quarter of section twenty-five, 
township 90, range forty-four. The first addition to Quorn was 
effected by F. B. and J. B. Close, September 4, 1882. 

Oyens was platted October 22, 1886, by the Sioux City & Iowa 
Falls Town Lot & Land Company, on the east half of the northwest 
quarter of section five, township ninety-two, range forty-four. 

^_ Kingsley was platted June 4, 1884, 'by T. L. Bowman, on the 
northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section thirty, township 
ninety, range forty-three. Shaller's addition to Kingsley was made by 
Charles L. Early, July 14, 1884, on twenty-one acres of the south- 
east quarter of the southeast quarter of section nineteen, township 
ninety, range forty-three. The second addition was made by the Blair 
Town Lot Company, June 24, 1884. Kingsley's addition was made 
October 16, 1884, by Willian Warner Johnson and David Jordan. 

Population by Townships. — -The following gives the population 
of Plymouth county by the various civil townships which existed at 
the several periods of census enumeration: 



436 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 





1860 


1870 


1880 


1885 




105 
'43 


152 
429 

"80 
'440 

"74 
357 

311 
356 


2,311 
434 
214 
375 
402 

'473 
390 
365 
315 

'529 
112 
233 
357 
305 

235 
274 
528 
260 
350 
104 


4,457 




589 


Elkhom 


317 




562 




608 




875 




154 




260 




552 




522 




441 




629 




446 




436 




292 




412 




700 




649 




388 




250 




675 




430 




519 


Westfleld 


211 






Total 


148 


2,199 


8,566 


15,374 







Following are the county comparative statistics of population: 
Married persons, 5,393; single persons, 9,719; widowed persons, 350; 
divorced persons, 19; persons entitled to a vote, 2,840; persons who 
can not read or write, 101; number of aliens, 539. 

First Events. — The first book of marriage records for Plymouth 
county shows that the first marriage license was granted December 15, 
1860, by County Judge A. B. Eea, to Martin Veragath to marry Miss 
Barbery Indermawer. The following gives the total number of mar- 
riages in the county for each subsequent year to 1890: 
1860 



1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 (no record). 

1869 (no record). 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 



1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 
1883. 
1884. 
1885. 



59 

51 

68 

73 

57 

96 

114 

132 

140 

122 

6 122 

7 142 

8 140 

9 164 

Total 1,672 




S^&^sz^f 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 439 

The first ccnmty warrant issued by authority of Plymouth county, 
was dated April 6, 1859, and drawn in favor of N. W. Mills & Co., 
of Des Moines, Iowa, in consideration of $342 worth of blank books, 
etc., made for the county. County Judge W. Van O'Linda's name is 
signed to the warrant. 

The first deed recorded bears date July 24, 1856. It was given 
by Benjamin and Elizabeth Stafford, to John Barber, for the consid- 
eration of ,1600, on the undivided part of a twenty-six acre lot, on the 
south half of the northwest quarter of section six, township ninety-one, 
range forty-five. 

The first mortgage granted in the county was dated June 10, 1856. 
The amount covered was $280. It was given by Joseph N. Field to 
Willard Barrows and secured by lands situated on the northwest 
quarter of section twenty-four, township ninety-one, range forty-nine. 



CHAPTER V. 
POLITICAL HISTORY. 

Good County Government— The Dominant Party— Prohibitory Amend- 
ment Brings About a Change— State and National Bepresenta- 
tion — The Official Vote by Years. 1858 to 18&0— •' Amendment" 
Vote by Townships. 

TTIHE political history of a county is always one of general interest, 
JL and especially is this true in a free land, where; in the eye of the 
law, all are upon equal footing, where it has been shown that even 
the humblest, the rail splitter, the tailor or the tow-path boy, can 
attain the highest position in the gift of the people. We all delight 
to see merit rewarded; we are pleased with the onward progress of one 
from the lower walks of life, as, step by step he mounts the ladder of 
fame. Every good citizen has a kind of political ambition, and while . 
he may never reach the highest pinacle, there is a possibility that his 
children may. 

There is an excitement about a political campaign which nearly 
every true American enjoys, and although personalities are too fre- 
quently indulged in, as a general thing, all yield gracefully to the 



440 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

verdict of the people — a majority vote — and submit to the " powers 
that be." 

The political history of Plymouth county is quite clearly given by 
a careful study of the abstract of votes for the various years since its 
organization in 1858. Up to the time of the agitation of the prohib- 
itory amendment to the state constitution, in June, 1882, this county 
had always given large republican majorities, but since that date it 
has usually gone democratic — the large foreign-born element being 
opposed to having that restriction placed on what they termed, and 
still look upon, as their "personal liberties," vouchsafed to them 
under the constitution of the United States. 

It may here be stated, that with but few exceptions, Plymouth 
county has always enjoyed good government, under which the bleak, 
wild prairies of her large domain, found by the pioneers who organized 
the county in 1858, have been developed; the angry streams, which so 
deceived and harrassed its early settlers, have all been bridged at 
numerous points; nearly two hundred school-houses have graced the 
county and adorned the beautiful landscape given by nature. The 
prairie wilderness has been dotted with thousands of tasty farm-houses ;. 
enterprising towns and cities have sprung into almost magic-like 
existence. While unworthy men, at times, may force themselves into 
office, it can not but be acknowledged that the great body of office- 
holders of this country are truly representative men — men of positive 
force and character. They are of the number that build up and 
strengthen a town, county and state. 

In this chapter will appear the official election returns, by years, 
from the time the county was organized to the present time. But 
before going into this it should be stated that Plymouth county has 
been ably represented in the state senate by A. H. Lawrence, who was 
elected in the autumn of 1879, serving one term. 

In the house of representatives, the county has furnished the fol- 
lowing: Hon. S. B. Gilliland, elected in the fall of 1879; Hon. William 
Barrett, elected in 1881; Hon. H. C. Curtis, elected in 1883; Hon. A. 
M. Duus, elected in 1885; Hon. W. H. Dent, elected in the fall of 
1887. 

Hon. I. S. Struble, of this county, was elected to a seat in the 
United States congress in 1882, and is still the honored representative 
of this district, having served his fourth term, being elected by the 
republicans. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 441 

G. H. Ragsdale, editor and proprietor of the Le Mars " Sentinel," 
is now holding the office of state printer. 

Official Vote. — -In this connection is presented the official vote of 
Plymouth county for each general and special election from the first 
which was held in 1858, down to the election of November, 1889. 
The subjoined is a true record transcript of all the elections above 
mentioned. 

In 1858, John L. Campbell, being judge of Woodbury county, to 
which the territory now called Plymouth county was attached prior 
to that date, appointed William Van O'Linda as organizing sheriff of 
Plymouth county. It became his duty to post election notices ten days 
before the annual election, and he was instructed to post notices call- 
ing for an election to be held in Plymouth township, at the house of 
Morgan Stafford, also at the house of Isaac T. Martin, in Westfield 
township, these two civil subdivisions then constituting the entire 
territory known as Plymouth county. 

This election was held October 12, 1858 — now follow the official 
returns, by years: 

1858, October, for county judge — William Van O'Linda received 
26 votes; for district clerk — A. C. Sheetz, 27; for sheriff — David 
M. Mills, 27; for coroner — E. S. Hungerford, 29; for surveyor — 
A. C. Sheetz, 13. 

1859, October, for governor — Samuel J. Kirkwood, 24 votes, A. 
C. Dodge, 11; for county judge — William Van O'Linda, 29, D. M. 
Mills, 2; for treasurer and recorder — Nathan W. Putnam, 26, John 
Hittle, 6; for sheriff — David M. Mills, 24; for superintendent of 
schools — Joseph V. Stafford, 32, Henry Gates, 1; for drainage com- 
missioner, J. B. Pinkney, 34; for surveyor — A. C. Sheetz, 33; for 
coroner — Z. Stafford, 32, Henry Ford, 1. 

1860, Special Election, June 12. For appropriating $5,000 of 
Swamp Land fund toward the erection of a court-house — Plymouth 
township, for, 16 ; against, 11 ; Westfield township, for, ; against, 13. 

1860, November, for president of the United States — Abraham 
Lincoln received 32 votes, Stephen A. Douglas, 6; for county judge 
(vacancy) — A. E. Pea, 37 ; for district clerk — A. C. Sheetz, 24, 
Samuel F. Price, 14; for treasurer and recorder — Joseph V. Staf- 
ford, 25, M. M. Kich, 14. 

1861, October, for county judge — David M. Mills received 21 



442 HISTOEY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. * 

votes, A. E. Eea, 15, J. V. Stafford, 1; for treasurer and recorder — 
A. E. Eea, 20, J. V. Stafford, 18; for sheriff— Henry Schneider, 22, 
Benjamin Stafford, 16; for drainage commissioner — Z. Stafford, 38; 
for school superintendent — Jo. V. Stafford, 17, A. E. Eea, 17 (de- 
cided by lot in favor of Eea) ; for surveyor — A. C. Sheetz, 35, A. E. 
Eea, 4; for coroner— J. B. Pinkney, 15, Christian Smith, 13. 

1862, Special Election July 5. Proposition to sell 4,480 acres of 
Swamp Land to pay off county debt — For proposition, 17; against, 0. 

1862, October, for district clerk — A. C. Sheetz, 8. 

1863, October, for governor of Iowa — William M. Stone, 22, 
James M. Tuttle, 5; for county judge — William Barrett, 14, Peter 
Shindel, 2; for treasurer and recorder — A. E. Eea, 18; for sheriff 
— Henry Schneider, 18; for surveyor — A. C. Sheetz, 18; for school 
superintendent — A. C. Sheetz, 15, J. V. Stafford, 3; for coroner — 
Philip Schneider, 2, Philip Smith, 1 ; for drainage commissioner — J. 
V. Stafford, 19. 

1864, November, for president of the United States — Abraham 
Lincoln received 19 votes, George B. McClellan, 0; for county clerk 
—A. C. Sheetz, 16; for recorder*— A. 0. Sheetz, 9, A. E. Eea, 6; 
for county judge — Fred Held, 10, E. S. Hungerford, 7; for sheriff 
— Philip Smith, 16, Lewis Winter, 2. 

1865, October, for governor of Iowa — William M. Stone received 
23 votes; for county judge — Philip Schneider, 10, Fred Held, 4; for 
treasurer — A. E. Eea, 12, Henry Schneider, 8; for superintendent of 
schools— A.- C. Sheetz, 12, A. E. Eea, 4, John Winters, 4; for 
sheriff — Philip Smith, 15, L. M. Eogers, 3; for surveyor — A. C. 
Sheetz, 16, A. E. Eea, 4; for drainage commissioner — Philip Held, 4, 
A. C. Sheetz, 3. 

1866, October, for county clerk — A. C. Sheetz received 27 votes; 
for recorder — Henry Schneider, 16, A. E. Eea, 14.. 

1867, October, for governor of Iowa — Samuel Merrill received 
50 votes, C. Mason, 5; for county judge — A. E. Eea, 21, Philip Sch- 
neider, 20, B. B. Sutton, 9 ; for treasurer— J. H. Morf, 50, A. E. Eea, 
1; for sheriff — Joshua P. Eiley, 22, Daniel Hauser, 16, Thomas S. 
McElhaney, I for surveyor— A. C. Sheetz, 27, Fred Held, 1; for 
school superintendent — A. C. Sheetz, 39, William Pinkney, 10; for 
coroner — Andrew Black, 24, Thomas McElhaney, 18, A. Sutton, 9. 

*It was at this date that the office of " Treasurer and Recorder" was, by state law, made 
separate offices. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 443 

3, November, for president of the United States — U. S. Grant 
received 95 votes, Horatio Seymour, 23; for county clerk — A. C. 
Sheetz, 108 ; for recorder— J. H. Morf, 87, Henry Schneider, 23. 

1869, October, for governor of Iowa — -Samuel Merrill received 
96 votes; for county auditor*— A. E. Eea, 98, S. B. Gilliland, 6; 
for treasurer — J. H. Morf, 105, scattering, 3; for sheriff — Thomas 
S. McElhaney, 37, J. P. Eiley, 32; for surveyor— A. C. Sheetz, 78, 
John E. Robison, 29; for school superintendent — William Hunter, 
40, A. C. Sheetz, 23; for coroner — Andrew Black, 60, Jacob Folsome, 
20; for drainage commissioner — E. S. Hungerford, 1, no opposition. 

1870, October, for county clerk — John H. Bestsworth received 
191 votes, A. A. Albine, 144; for recorder— J. H. Morf, 193, Proctor 
Kent, 152; for coroner— Wm. Hilbert, 217, J. A. Folsome, 24. 
Prohibition of Ale, Wine and Beer (Constitutional Amendment) — for 
amendment, 157, against, 106. 

1871, October, for governor of Iowa — C. O Carpenter received 
360 votes, J. C. Knapp, 124; for county auditor — A. E. Eea, 294, 
George W. Chamberlain, 189; for treasurer — John H. Morf, 322, 
Proctor Kent, 155; for sheriff— E. E. Van Sickle, 287, D. C. Clark, 
196; for school superintendent — J. C. Buchanan, 316, H. C. Par- 
sons, 161; for surveyor — Samuel E. Bay, 315; for coroner — M. Hil- 
bert, 313. 

■1872, November, for president of the United States — U. S. Grant 
received 469 votes, Horace Greeley, 141; for county clerk — E. E. 
Blake, 476, C. L. V. Berg, 138; for recorder— M. Hilbert, 336, N. 
Redmon, 224. 

1873, October, for treasurer — John Herron received 531 votes, 
William Asbury, 269; for county auditor — Gustave Heirling, 458, A. 
W. Parsons, 344; for sheriff— John L. Innis, 479, A. B. Griffin, 321; 
for surveyor — F. W. Gurnsey, 800; for school superintendent, J. 
A. Harroun, 402, E. P. Walker, 399; for coroner— D. K. Charles, 
722, J. H. Wiggins, 28. 

1874, October, for county clerk — E. E. Blake received 736 votes; 
for recorder— M. Hilbert, 463, C. L. Berg, 272; for coroner— J. H. 
Wiggins, 722, scattering, 11. 

1875, October, for county auditor — G. Heirling received 573 
votes, A. P. Brown, 522; for treasurer — John Herron, 687, O. 

*At this date the office ot county judge was abolished and that of county auditor created. 



444 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES." 

Hardy, 397; for sheriff— A. A. Albine, 344, J. G. Guthrie, 298; 
for school superintendent — J. A. Harroun, 583, F. B. Sibley, 542; 
for surveyor — J. B. Winn, 506, scattering, 69; for coroner — J. H. 
Wiggins, 454, Paul Stockfield, 611. 

1876, November, for president — Samuel J. Tilden, 502, Buther- 
ford B. Hayes, 835, Peter Cooper, 12; for county clerk — E. E. Blake 
received 834 votes, George M. Smith, 495; for recorder -^-M. Hilbert, 
799, John McAllister, 528. 

1877, October, for governor of Iowa — John H. Gear received 
779 votes, John P. Irish, 487; for county auditor — Gustave Heir- 
ling, 768, A. P. Brown, 644; for treasurer — John Herron, 1,005, 
Samuel E. Day, 232; for sheriff — James Hopkins, 947, John C. 
Morris, 460; for school superintendent — F. W. Gurnsey, 638, S. 
E. Spinden, 284; for surveyor — F. W. Gurnsey, 806, H. W. Albine, 
390; for coroner— F. A. Xanten, 703, A. B. Griffin, 239. 

1878, October, for recorder — George Stanley received 513 votes, 
M. B. Tritz, 482, M. Hilbert, 402; for county clerk— W. S. Will- 
iver, 908, A. E. Eea, 302, A. W. Parsons, 130. ' 

1879, October, for governor of Iowa — J. H. Gear received 813 
votes, H. H. Trumble, 700; for auditor— A. M. Duus, 611, David 
Gibbs, 547 ; for treasurer — John Herron, 718, George W. McLain, 
438, A. Aldrich, 394; for coroner— Frank N. Myers, 1,251; for school 
superintendent — F. W. Gurnsey, 882, Daniel O'Brien, 707; for sur- 
veyor — F. W. Gurnsey, 1,510, scattering, 10. 

1880, November, for president of the United States — James A. 
Garfield, 884, W. S. Hancock, 756, J. B. Weaver, 60; for county 
clerk— W. S. Williver, 1,013, Daniel O'Brien, 582; for recorder- 
George Stanley, 917, M. B. Tritz, 712. 

1881, October, for governor of Iowa — Buren Sherman received 
1,106 votes, L. G. Kinnie, 814; for auditor— A. M. Duus, 1,454, 
C. E. Bobinson, 486; for school supei-intendent — J. W. Wernli. 
1,214, J. S. Gehan, 717; for surveyor— A. C. Sheetz, 1,924; for 
coroner — F. N. Myers, 1,861, J. C. Cunningham, 73. 

1882, Special Election, June 27, vote on prohibition of liquor in 
Iowa — For Amendment, 750; against, 1,186. 

1882, November, for county clerk — W. S. Williver received 1,155 
votes, B. F. Heirling, 1,125; for recorder— W. S. Freeman, 962, Will- 
iam C. Lawrence, 740, George Stanley, 598. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTT. 445 

1883, October, for governor of Iowa — B. R. Sherman received 
1,296 votes, L. G. Kinnie, 1,378, J. B. Weaver, 47; for county 
auditor — A. M. Duus,2,199, John Porsch, 514; for treasurer — William 
McClintock, 1,583, James Hopkins, 1,109; for sheriff — Gustave Heirl- 
ing, 1,619, E. H. Miller, 1,061; for coroner— F. N. Myers, 1,950, G. 
W. Hunt, 408; for surveyor— F. W. Gurnsey, 1,879, A. C. Sheetz, 756. 

1884, November, for president of the United States — Grover Cleve- 
land, 1,710, J. G. Blaine, 1,648; for county clerk— W. S. Williver, 
1,823, S. H. Roberts, 1,524; for recorder— W. S. Freeman, 1,882, John 
P. Neth, 1,425. 

1885, November, for governor of Iowa — William Larrabee received 
1,485 votes, Charles E. Whiting, 1,930; for auditor— Fred Becker, 
1,860, Peter Egan, 1,590; for treasurer— C. A. Rodolf, 1,917, Henry 
Henrich, 1,502; for sheriff— F. D. Fuller, 1,789, J. W. Hawkins, 1,602; 
for surveyor — L. K. Bowman, 3,280; for school superintendent — Car- 
rie Byrne, 1,846, C. P. Kilburn, 1,356; for coroner — C. J. Corkery, 
1,827, P. L. Brick, 1,547. 

1886, November, for county attorney* — G. A. Garard received 
1,576 votes, S. J. McDuffie, 1,550; for county clerk— W. S. Williver, 
1,550, J. E. Arnodt, 1,545; for recorder— W. Winslow, 1,532, W. S. 
Freeman, 1,530; for coroner — J. C. Morris, 1,558, John Buehler, 1,492. 

1887, November, for governor of Iowa — William Larrabee re- 
ceived 1,357 votes, T. J. Anderson, 1,864; for treasurer — C. A. 
Rodolf, 1,858, John Beely, 1,372; for auditor— Fred Becker, 3,169, 
C. S. Rowley, 51; for school superintendent — Carrie Byrne, 3,069, 
C. Varnum, 51; for sheriff— William M. Boyle, 1,754, E. D. Cad- 
well, 1,486; for surveyor — L. K. Bowman, 3,200, D. M. Kersey, 55; 
for coroner — L. M. Doty, 1,840, Robert Ramsey, 1,366. 

1888, November, for president of the United States — Benjamin 
Harrison received 1,755 votes, Grover Cleveland, 2,140, R. Fisk 
(prohibition candidate), 58; for recorder — Wallace Winslow, 2,213, 
John Bechm, 1,729; for county attorney — Patrick Farrell, 2,120, Frank 
Amos, 1,820. 

1889, November, for governor of Iowa — Horace Boies received 
2,319 votes, Joseph Hutchinson, 1,275; for auditor — Fred Becker, 
3,525, C. S. Rowley, 37; for treasurer— J. F. Albright, 1,848, W. 

*The legislature which convened in the winter of 1885-86 created this office, which hitherto 
had been filled by appointment by the board of supervisors, but is now an elective office. 



446 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

J. Wernli, 1,748; for sheriff— William M. Boyle, 3,496, W. M. Mar- 
tin, 47; for surveyor — L. K. Bowman, 3,546, D. M. Kersey, 36; for 
school superintendent — Carrie Bj^rne, 2,407, Dale Hunter, 1,163; 
for coroner— J. C. McMahan, 2,220, George Carter, 1,552. 

1890, November, for secretary of State — McFarlancl received 1,255 
votes; Chamberlin, 2,027. 

Prohibitory Liquor Amendment. — At the special election held 
June 27, 1882, the question as to whether the following should be- 
come an amendment to the state constitution of Iowa, was voted upon: 

No person shall manufacture for sale, or sell, or keep for sale, as a beverage, any 
intoxicating liquor, whatsoever, including ale, wine and beer. 

The subjoined table shows the vote of Plymouth county, by town- 
ships, there being at that time only twenty. 

TOWNSHIPS. For. Against. 

America. 419 269 

Elgin 33 32 

Elkhorn 73 30 

Fredonia 12 60 

Grant 26 45 

Hungerford 14 52 

Johnson 45 49 

Liberty 5 48 

Lincoln 8 58 

Marion 24 121 

Meadow 42 1 

Perry 3 34 

Plymouth 26 49 

Portland 78 9 

Preston 10 25 

Sioux 7 13 

Stanton 35 43 

Union 30 20 

Washington 32 31 

Westfield 17 6 

Total 939 995 





¥ sl<Vlu9 



' Sst^S&Uts* 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 449 



CHAPTEK VI. 

EDUCATIONAL. 

Eakly School System— The Growth— First Normal Institute— 1875— 
Graded Schools— School Superintendents— Normal School and 
Business College — The Departments— The Present Faculty — Paro- 
chial Schools— General Remarks— Abstract of Superintendent's 
Reports From 1858 to 1889— An Abstract for 1890 by Townships. 

THE educational history of a county is very similar to that or a 
nation, not only in its beginnings, but also in its relation to the 
physical, intellectual, and moral condition of its inhabitants. Nothing 
is more interesting than the study of the beginning of new settlements, 
and the beginning of new educational systems therein; to read 
the opinions of the pioneer superintendents and teachers, to notice for 
some years the entire absence of educational reports, when the pages 
of the official records are filled with reports on highways, bridges, 
appropriations and petitions of different kinds and imports. A close 
observer and student can easily detect the grade of general intelli- 
gence, even the nationality, and the religious condition of the set- 
tlers. A very limited space is allotted to the history of education iu 
Plymouth county, therefore it will be brief. 

In 1858 Plymouth county was organized by the court of Wood- 
bury county, with the county superintendent, the school board, and 
the school district with a school therein. In these prompt beginnings 
we see the wisdom and the good influence of the law, passed by con- 
gress years ago, appropriating land in each township for the mainte- 
nance and support of public schools. Every township organizes at 
once in order to reap the advantages offered by the state in form of a 
state appropriation to each organized school taught a certain number 
of months. 

At the first election in Plymouth county, held October 16, 1858, 
D. Videto was elected county superintendent. But it seems that 
neither the distinguished honor of the office, nor the salary connected 
with it, could induce the gentleman to qualify. The board of super- 



450 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

visors filled the vacant chair July 9, 1859, by appointing A. E. Kea 
county superintendent, as only by a report of this officer was the 
organized school district of the county entitled to an appropriation 
from the state for its school. In 1859 Plymouth county, having then 
112 inhabitants, reported one school in the county, in Plymouth 
township, which then, with Westfield township, embraced the entire 
county. The number of the school population, from five to twenty- 
one years of age, was reported as twenty-six. The school-house is 
now located in Lincoln township. The name of the first teacher was 
James Moreton. 

How many scholars were in attendance the official report does not 
tell. At the general election of 1859, J. V. Stafford was elected 
county superintendent of schools. As an example of the princely 
salaries of the office, it is here mentioned that his bill for services 
rendered as county superintendent from November 1, 1859, to March 
1, 1860, was $8.32, which was duly allowed by the board, and paid in 
county warrants. The recompense was so insignificant that some of 
our former county superintendents did not quality, and others did not 
properly report, or otherwise attend to their duties as school officers, 
holding at the same time some other, better-paying county office. 
The annexed table will show the deficiency of the annual reports to 
the state superintendent. No records are found in the county super- 
intendent's office for the years from 1858 to 1872. These notes were 
gathered from the well-kept minutes of the board of supervisors, and 
the reports to the state superintendent. If, however, the expenses for 
the county superintendency would be as large per school now, as they 
were in 1860, the superintendent's salary would amount to over $5,000 
per* year. 

During the year 1860 the number of inhabitants increased to 148. 
A county school tax was raised of 1^- mills. Plymouth township 
raised that year 9 mills for school purposes, and 4 mills for a school- 
house in sub-district No. 2. The township district of Westfield raised 
6 mills for school purposes, but never reported a school until after its 
reorganization, many years later. During this year Lincoln township 
district was organized and the school funds of Plymouth district were 
divided, Lincoln receiving $248.14; while Plymouth got but $214.77. 
But as Lincoln had not maintained a public school for a sufficient 
length of time, a re-division was ordered; and, at this, Lincoln re- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 451 

ceived but $174.94,. and Plymouth $323.68. The average length of 
time the schools were taught during 1860 was but two and four-tenths 
months. The school report for 1860 records three schools, two 
gentlemen and one lady teacher, a school population of forty-three, 
but only fifteen enrolled, and three school-houses, valued at $950. 

From 1861 to 1866 the population of the county did not increase 
perceptibly. The new settlers came and left again. Having no railroad 
they had no market. In 1863 the number of inhabitants had decreased 
to ninety-three. The school report of 1863 shows but two schools, with 
thirty-one children between the ages of four to twenty-one years, the 
number enrolled nineteen, and the average attending but eleven. Two 
male and two female teachers kept the schools. But the schools were 
taught but two or three months that year. During 1866 the same num- 
ber of schools, with fifty -nine school population, and twenty-sis attend- 
ing, are reported. At the general election, October 19, 1861, A. E. Rea 
and J. V. Stafford were candidates for the county superintendent's 
office, and received an equal number of votes. Thereupon they were 
called to the county seat to draw lots, which decided for A. E. Eea. 

During 1867 the number of inhabitants reached 214. The ap- 
proach of the Illinois Central railway encouraged the people to settle 
the wild prairies near the Big Sioux, whose very name had before 
kept them away. Now, with the immigration from the east, instead 
of from the west, and the laying of an "iron trail," new life was in- 
fused into the county, and " progress " became the watchword of our 
public schools. 

In the fall of 1869 William Hunter was elected county superin- 
tendent. In his printed report to the state superintendent, he reports 
twenty schools — six-month schools; twenty-seven teachers, of whom 
twelve were males. The number of school population from 1869 to 
1871 increased from 324 to 1,024, or about 250 per cent. The num- 
ber of scholars enrolled was but 319, of whom only 117 attended the 
school regularly. The total school expenses for 1871 were $5,671 ; 
or $48 per scholar for six-month school; a costly education, indeed. 
This amount of tuition includes all expenses for school purposes, as it 
should by right. 

County Superintendent W. Hunter writes that his salary for the last 
year amounted to $125, paid in county warrants, whose market value 
then was 60 cents on the dollar. He visited every school, and speaks 



452 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

very highly of the school-houses, but desires more power and better 
pay as superintendent. He favored the organization of the township 
district system, for which so much has been petitioned since, but with- 
out any visible effect. 

In 1871 John C. Buchanan, of the Le Mars " Sentinel," a well- 
qualified school-man, was elected county superintendent, but very 
soon he resigned, seeing that a county superintendent had neither the 
power to do much good, under the existing laws of that time, nor any 
pay for his labor, receiving but $3 per day, and no traveling expenses. 
This low pay for the office of a county superintendent, who needs to 
be one of the best teachers of the county, showed more clearly than 
anything else the want of intelligence of the average legislator. The 
expenses of a superintendent with team are at least $3 per day. The 
more he visits schools the less pay he gets. At the rate of the 
present salary, $4 a day, his net pay is 50 cents less than a common 
day laborer. Were it not for the. hospitality of the people, county 
superintendents would have to live on the honor of the office. And a 
man who has any self-esteem, would hardly be satisfied with living on 
the kindness and hospitality of his neighbors. The vacant office was 
then filled by appointing John L. Innis. During his administration 
tbe number of schools increased to fifty-seven, all ungraded; twenty- 
four male and forty-six female teachers taught these schools; the 
school population rose to 1,648, of which 957, or about fifty-eight per 
cent were enrolled. 

In the fall of 1873, J. H. Haroun, a practical teacher, was elected 
county superintendent. The schools increased fast, and already the 
schools of Le Mars were felt in Plymouth county. 

The First Normal Institute was held in Plymouth county in 1875. 
J. Wernli, then living at Chicago, 111., was called to conduct the 
same. The number of teachers attending was forty-two, from a num- 
ber of ninety-four then in the county. In the fall of this year 
seventy-one schools were conducted six and nine-tenths months, 
taught by thirty-six gentlemen and fifty-eight lady teachers. With 
this year a new era commenced for our school system. With the 
teacher's institute new thoughts, new methods, and new demands were 
brought to the teacher. 

The first result of the institute was, that the teachers learned that 
teaching does not merely imply to "keep" school; that the qualifi- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 453 

cations of a teacher require more than the ability of merely to read, 
write and spell; that his responsibilities are of a higher order; and 
that his influence for good or bad is without an end. This knowl- 
edge created in our better teachers a desire for higher qualifications, 
and many of them went to the state normal school and other noted 
educational institutions to prepare themselves for the great work. 
Thus, year after year, the teacher's standard of qualifications was 
raised, and the schools became more efficient. 

The improvement was steady, but slow. Too soon do our noble 
lady teachers quit their work in the public schools, for which they 
have so well qualified themselves, to enter those high and sacred 
duties for which nature has especially adapted them ; to bring peace 
and happiness into some new homes in the northwest. Many of our 
best gentlemen teachers also leave the educational field for some voca- 
tion which pays better and gives steady employment. But even in 
their new positions they will disseminate their practical knowledge, 
and prove to be important factors for the improvement of our public- 
school system. 

The normal institute was for years the principal school that did 
real professional work for our teachers. While a great deal of 
academic work was required, yet this was done in such a manner and 
with such improved methods, the reason for every new step taken so 
clearly explained, the duties of the teacher to the school, the pupils, 
the school board, the parents, and the public in general so deeply im- 
pressed, that the old way of teaching, without plan and purpose, is 
abandoned, and more and more the teachers try to develop their 
pupils in accordance to the true principles of education. The very 
best of instructors were engaged, and no money expended by the 
teachers is of more benefit to them, and to the public schools, than 
the money spent in and for the teachers' institute. It might seem a 
strong statement, but it is nevertheless true, that many teachers of 
experience, at the time of the introduction of the normal institute, 
could neither properly conduct a recitation in reading, nor analyze an 
example in multiplication or division of common or decimal fractions; 
but many regarded the proper methods as useless innovations. What 
a change in our educational system has been achieved during the past 
fifteen years! The normal institute has gained in favor and im- 
portance since its beginning. It is now well graded; it is attended 



454 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

by every teacher, and all those intending to make teaching their 
business, and it acts as a powerful agent for the higher qualification 
of the public teacher. 

Graded Schools. — Another important factor, that works for the 
improvement of public education, is our system of graded schools. In 
this respect the public schools of Le Mars are the most important; 
they have given to the country schools many better qualified teachers. 

The citizens of Le Mars are, in general, well educated, many of 
them of high culture. Their endeavor was to establish as good 
schools in their town as could be procured for money. The best 
teachers they could obtain were imported. As early as 1874 the town 
had a graded school. During the summer of 1877 the present 
high-school building was erected, and the school transferred from 
the former two-story frame building, 24x36 feet, into that new and 
beautiful building. The first year only four rooms of the new school- 
house were occupied. Now Le Mars has three beautiful brick build- 
ings with twenty-one teachers, and one of the best school systems in 
Iowa. Le Mars has reason to be proud of her public schools, and 
very seldom a school-board can be found that works as systematically 
and disinterestedly as that of Le Mars has worked from the creation 
of that independent district until now. 

The example given by Le Mars was soon followed by Akron, on the 
Big Sioux, which, in 1882, built a fine brick structure, as an educational 
temple, for their graded school. That town, too, hired only teachers 
of experience and superior qualifications, and had a very flourishing 
school from the beginning. Many of our teachers were educated in 
Akron. 

The same year, Kingsley was laid out and built up with wonder- 
ful rapidity, and at once established an independent district, built a 
school-house of four rooms, and organized a very good and prosper- 
ous graded school, from which many students graduated, and either 
began to teach or went to normal schools to obtain the professional 
qualifications. 

In the year 1885 Eemsen established its graded school with the 
same salutary and happy results. These schools were a blessing, not 
only to their respective districts, but also to the entire county. It is 
only surprising that the township districts had not, long before this, 
followed the examples of the towns, and also established union schools 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 455 

in their townships, and thereby graded their schools. What advan- 
tages they would derive from such a system! At the general election 
of 1875, F. B. Sibley, a young and scholarly gentleman, was elected 
county superintendent to supersede J. H. Haroun. Mr. Sibley spent 
his time and energy for the schools of Plymouth county. He insisted 
upon a better attendance at the normal institute, and worked especially 
for uniformity of text-books. The diversity of text-books was one of 
the greatest obstacles of progress. During that time all kinds of 
text-books in the United States were represented in the county. Four 
scholars in the fourth-reader class had four different books and formed 
four reading classes. An effort by the teacher to get uniformity was 
met with objections by the parents. How little a teacher can do under 
such circumstances any one ought to see; but neither the people nor 
the school boards took the necessary steps to remedy the evil. During 
Mr. Sibley's administration the schools increased to eighty. Sixty- 
six teachers attended the institute; physiology was added to the com- 
mon-school branches; the questions of the teachers' examinations 
were issued by the state superintendent, and made uniform for the 
whole state ; and higher and more uniform qualifications was demanded 
of the teachers. 

Work of County Superintendents. — From 1877 to 1881 F. W. 
Guernsey was county superintendent, and also county surveyor. He 
continued the policy of his predecessors, and tried to raise the standard 
of the teachers' qualifications. During his term of office the schools 
increased to 106, the school population to 3,444, the enrollment to 
2,065 and the average attendance to 1,134. The expenses of Plym- 
outh county for school purposes reached about $40,000 per year. 
In 1881 he resigned, and was succeeded by J. Wernli, formerly county 
superintendent in Wisconsin, and a teacher of many years' experience. 
He held the office two terms, when he, too, resigned. His principal 
objects were: 

To qualify the teachers for their work by teachers' institutes and 
teachers' conventions. 

To eliminate the poorer elements from the teachers by making the 
examinations more professional. 

To create more interest for the public schools in the country by 
visiting not only the schools, but by addressing the citizens on educa- 
tional topics. 



456 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

To arouse the energy and diligence of the pupils and teachers by 
instituting a series of township and county examinations. 

To interest the citizens of the county for the establishing of a 
state normal school at Le Mars. 

He but partly succeeded in his plans. The teachers' conventions 
did good work, and were well attended; the teachers' institutes in- 
creased in usefulness; the proposed examinations of the scholars by 
townships and their selected delegates in our great county assembly 
was carried through and proved successful; but many of the older 
teachers who did not intend to change their habits of " keeping 
school," secretly opposed these examinations in their townships, as 
useless and even hurtful innovations, and thus paralyzed the efforts 
of the better teachers and their superintendent in those neighborhoods. 
The proposed conventions of the school officers were not sufficiently 
attended to do a great deal of good. Some of the best and wide- 
awake officers attended regularly, while those that were not aware of 
the great importance of their office remained at home, and could not 
be reached. The county was firmly united in its efforts to obtain a 
normal school, and to vote aid for it, but for various reasons which 
will be mentioned hereafter, the plan could not be carried into effect. 

During his term of office the minimum salary of the superintendent 
was raised to $4 per day by the legislature. Many counties paid 
their superintendents higher salaries, which they are permitted to do, 
and which they considered necessary, in order to get well-qualified 
persons for this most important office. That $4 per day does not pay 
a county superintendent for him and his team when visiting schools, 
needs no further demonstration. A county as large as Plymouth, 
however, would need the time of the superintendent, even of two, 
every day of the year, to work in the schools and among the people, 
to wake them up to action and lead them to a higher and uniform 
standard. The most faithful officer gets tired and discouraged if he be 
not sufficiently assisted by the people, and properly paid. J. Wernli 
declined a re-election at the end of the second term. 

During his administration the number of district townships had 
increased to twenty-four, the independent^districts to three, with 
graded schools, the sub-districts to 121, the number of graded 
schools to twenty-three, and ungraded to 125. The schools were 
taught on an average of seven and one-half months, by sixty-four male 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 457 

and 160 female teachers; the school population had risen to 5,551, 
the enrollment to 4,214, of which eighty-eight per cent were attend- 
ing school regularly. The expenses of the county for school purposes 
— as many new school-houses were built — amounted, in 1885, to 
$78,381, of which about $40,000 was for teachers' wages. The value 
of the school-houses was estimated at $94,069. The teachers' insti- 
tute was attended by 139 teachers, of whom only twenty-four were 
gentlemen, showing clearly that the ladies are, year by year, gaining 
ground as public teachers, and that before long, at this rate, the popu- 
lation of Plymouth county will be educated by ladies. The number 
of candidates examined during this term was 249. 

In the general election of 1885 Miss Carrie E. Byrne was elected 
county superintendent. This was the first time that a lady was 
elected to this office in Plymouth county. She is a practical, 
experienced teacher, who taught for many years in the Le Mars schools, 
with progressive success. Wherever she was employed as teacher, she 
had distinguished herself by her faithful and thorough work, yet 
many of her friends were a little anxious in regard to her work in the 
superintendency. But it was not necessary. Her experience, her 
practical scholarship, and her common sense aided her determination 
to succeed in her new and difficult task. She took up the plan and 
the work of an experienced predecessor and carried it successfully 
onward and upward. Every one, not prejudiced, will acknowledge 
that she is one of the best and most successful county superintendents 
we ever had. The small pay of $4 per day did not hinder her spend- 
ing all her time for the schools of the county. None of the gentlemen 
superintendents before her could afford to spend so much time for so 
little pay. And this steady work, combined with her firmness of pur- 
pose, coidd soon be noticed, especially in the teachers' convention and 
in the normal institutes She is a true friend to the good and faithful 
teacher, and forces the lazy ones to improve. The schools have been 
greatly advanced under her management, and our people, without 
limit of party or "ism," are supporting her. During her administra- 
tion, the county having increased in population also, the township 
districts were, in 1889, increased to twenty-three; independent dis- 
tricts to four; the sub-districts to 134; the schools to 171; the 
number of months taught was eight and three-tenths ; the number of 
teachers 174; the number of people entitled to free tuition in the 



458 HISTOBY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

common schools was 6,520; enrolled were 4,947; and the average 
attendance 2,943. The tuition per month averaged $2; the 146 
school-houses were appraised $122,100. The expenses for teachers' 
wages amounted to $50,000, and the entire expenses tor school pur- 
poses to $75,000; the normal institute was attended by twenty-five 
gentlemen and 195 lady teachers, and at a cost of $448; 189 appli- 
cants were examined, of whom twenty-five were rejected. Of the 164 
teachers examined in 1889, seventy-two had second, sixty-two first, 
thirty professional, and three state certificates. Two teachers have 
diplomas for life. 

Thus the public schools of the county haye grown in magnitude 
and importance, at present forming the greatest factor of the welfare 
of our commonwealth. 

The Northwestern Normal School and Business College at Le 
Mars. — As the improvement of our teachers, and thereby our schools, 
is indebted in a great measure to this institution of learning, its his- 
tory is necessarily a part of the educational history of Plymouth 
county. 

That our county might have one of the best schools in Iowa, was 
for many years one of the leading thoughts of the people. In order 
that this object might the sooner be accomplished, they applied as 
early as 1880 to the legislature for an appropriation, and a law to 
establish a state normal school at Le Mars. Every effort by our citi- 
zens, even the offer of a fine site, and $20,000 in cash as an aid in the 
construction of a building, had no effect. Every attempt since to 
obtain aid and recognition by the state was of no use. 

Prof. J. Wernli having been county superintendent and institute 
conductor for years in the northwest, and being thoroughly acquainted 
with the public-school teachers aud their wants, after having tried in 
vain to induce some leading normal teacher to establish a private nor- 
mal school in Le Mars, until something would be done by the state of 
Iowa, concluded to open a school and to conduct it until a state nor- 
mal would be established. Aided by the citizens of Le Mars, he 
bought the former school- house, which had been enlarged, and after 
having fitted it up in first-class style he, with his associate and friend, 
Prof. J. F. Hirsch, opened the normal, March 28, 1887, with eleven 
students. It grew rapidly in numbers and favor. The first year they 
were assisted, free of charge, by Eev. D. W. Fahs and G. W. Foster, 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 459 

M. D. Soon they had to engage other help in order to meet the 
demands of the classes. During the first year 125 students, the sec- 
ond year 190, and the third year 197 attended the school. Till June, 
1890, over 400 students had received instruction in the instution, and 
more than 125 of them are now engaged as teachers in the public 
schools of the northwest. And this result was obtained without any 
agent except the attraction of the school by its superior work upon the 
young people of the northwest. From its beginning it was owned, 
supported and carried on by the work and the financial aid of its 
founder. 

The citizens of Le Mars, however, having been aware of the tend- 
ency and the usefulness of the school, in the summer of 1890, relieved 
J. Wernli from his arduous task, and, upon his repeated solicitations, 
made arrangements with his former partner, Prof. J. F. Hirsch, and 
Prof. A. W. Bich, a very successful normal teacher, to rent the build- 
ing, and to continue the school. 

The school is divided into six departments — preparatory, normal, 
business, college preparatory, musical and military. 

The faculty for 1890-91 is as follows: A. W. Rich, principal — ■ 
didactics, mathematics and English ; J. F. Hirsch, associate principal 
—science, vocal music and German; Mrs. A. W. Rich — geography, 
United States history and word analysis; Mrs. Luella C. Emery — ■ 
instrumental music; C. Jay Smith — voice culture. 

Thus private enterprise carries on the cause of education where 
it is neglected by the government, or sectional strife. This private 
normal has become a blessing to the northwest, and is now esteemed 
highly by the citizens of Le Mars and Plymouth county. 

Parochial Schools. — In addition to these schools the county has 
two parochial schools, one supported by German St. Joseph's church 
society, at Le Mars, under the care of the sisters. This school is in a 
flourishing condition. The other is at Remsen. 

In conclusion, it may be remarked, that our school-system has 
grown wonderfully. The schools have increased in number, have 
been classified, and partly graded. They have a uniform course of 
study, and better qualified teachers. The standard, intellectually is 
higher than formerly, and is steadily rising. If now our teachers 
and citizens will take special care of the innocent young pupils, and 
give them that moral instruction and training which is valued higher, 



460 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



and worth more, than all mere intellectual growth, our schools will 
become a source of real blessing to our county, and will lead the 
growing generation to real happiness. 

Our educational system should not be the tree of knowledge, which 
cheats our children out of their paradise; but rather the tree of life 
which leads our people to their salvation! 

The following table will show the growth of our schools. Its 
completeness is due to the kindness of State Superintendent Sabin, 
and to his secretary, Mrs. A. B. Billington, and to the records, kindly 
opened to the writer by Miss Carrie E. Byrne, the county superin- 
tendent. The table speaks for itself: 

Following is an abstract of school reports from 1858 to 1889, in 
Plymouth county: 







« 








o 


» 


/, 


8 





No. 


School 




-— 


1 






2, 


•~ ^ 


| 


a 





■£ 


Ho 


uses. 




| 


a 


1 


•a 


o 
•a 


If 


S 


1 


^ "' 


ft p, 




ft 


< 


1 


'i. 


-3 


■a 
<3 


h 


> s 


1 


m - 

6 S 


% 


£ 3 


| 


ti I 3 


X 


3 


w 


m 


5 


P 


< 


& 


£ 


<! 


H 


£ 


jS S H 


1858. . . 


Pi 


ym 


outh 


Co 


unty 


orga 


niz 


ed. 










1859. . . 


l 





1 







•> 














1860. . . 


2 





3 





2 


2.4 


- 2 


"i 


14 


1.96 


2 


0$ 146.75 


1861. . 


3 





3 





4 


2.4 


2 


2 


15 


3.68 


2 


. . . . 890.00 


1862. . . 


3 





3 





2 


3.5 


g 


2 


13 


3.10 


2 


. . . . 490.00 


1863. . . 


2 





2 





2 


3.3 





4 


11 


2.04 


2 


.. .. 467.00 


1864. . . 


2 





2 





2 


4.5 





2 


15 


1.60 


2 


. . . . 222.06 


1865. . . 


2 





2 





2 


3.1 





2 


31 


2.00 


2 


. . . 220.00 


1866. . . 


2 





2 





2 


3. 


2 


2 


26 


1.92 


2 


. . . . 321.00 


1867. . . 


2 





2 





2 


3.5 


2 


2 


27 


.96 


2 


. . . . 432.00 


1868. . . 


4 





4 





6 


5.5 


6 


1 


63 


1.72 


3 


1 885.00 


1869. . . 


4 





5 





6 


7.7 


8 


1 


91 


2.32 


6 


1 2,378.00 


1870. . . 


? 





9 





17 


5. 


12 


11 


141 


2.60 


11 


1 . . 5,943.00 


1871... 


1 





15 





20 


6. 


12 


19 


117 


1.32 


15 


1 .. 5,671.00 


1872. . . 


10 





40 


2 


42 


6. 


16 


29 


283 


2.48 


25 


1 . . 13,857.00 


1873. . . 


14 





57 


2 


57 


1 


24 


46 


No re- 


port. 


43 




1874 . . 


14 


o 


57 


2 


i 


1 


9 


9 


•? 


') 


? 




1875. . . 


14 


1 


68 


2 


71 


6.9 


36 


58 


1,123 


5.73 


70 


1 .. 38,042.00 


1876. . . 


16 


1 


72 


2 


80 


7.4 


50 


64 


763 


4.33 


67 


. . . . 45,800.00 


1877. . . 


16 


1 


77 


2 


84 


7.65 


55 


69 


1,198 


2.61 


80 


. . 1 43,300.00 


1878. . . 


17 


1 


77 


5 


84 


7.6 


65 


85 


1,093 


3.96 


78 


. . 1 42,247.00 


1879. . • 


19 


1 


78 


6 


93 


7.2 


64 


88 


1,087 


4.01 


83 


.. 1 51,770.00 


1880. . . 


20 


1 


85 


8 


95 


7.1 


76 


86 


1,134 


3.35 


88 


. . 1 36,320.00 


1881. . . 


20 


1 


90 


8 


98 


No 


re 


port. 


1 


1 


? 


. . . . No report 


1882. . . 


22 


1 


98 


11 


102 


7. 


42 


107 


1,386 


4.07 


97 


. . 1 47,446.00 


1883. . . 


23 


3 


109 


Hi 


110 


6.6 


45 


132 


1,651 


3.21 


106 


. . 2 62,000.00 


1884. . . 


24 


3 


113 


21 


117 


6.98 


54 


156 


2,072 


3.05 


116 


. . 3 77,300.00 


1885. . . 


24 


3 


121 


23 


125 


7.5 


64 


160 


88$ 


2.97 


122 


. . 3 78,381.00 


1886. . . 


23 


4 


127 


22 


127 


.7.5 


c,c, 


170 


2,139 


2.64 


130 


. . 3 72,573.00 


1887. . . 


23 


4 


127 


27 


131 


8. 


42 


126 


3,071 


2.10 


135 


.. 3 71,000.00 


1888. . . 


23 


4 


132 


26 


141 


8. 


42 


135 


2,545 


2.31 


142 


. . 2 75,802.00 


1889. . . 


23 


4 


134 


27 


144 


8.3 


34 


140 


2,943 


2.00 


146 


. . 2 75,800.00 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 



461 



The subjoined gives the chief factors of the present (1890) pub- 
lic-school system in and for Plymouth county: 



DISTRICT TOWNSHIPS. 



America 

Elgin 

Elkhorn 

Fredonia 

Grant 

Garfield 

Henry 

Hungerf ord 

Hancock 

Johnson 

Liberty 

Lincoln 

Meadow 

Marion 

Preston 

Portland 

Perry 

Ply mouth 

Remsen 

Sioux 

Stanton 

Union 

Washi ngton 

Westfield 

Independent district Le Mars. 
Independent district Kingsley. 
Independent district Remsen . 



Total 3 



148 



140 
180 
142 
204 
190 
180 
130 
160 

57 
145 
174 
168 
144 
200 
170 
300 
100 
131 

93 

41 
238 
140 
155 

90 

1,010 

180 

135 

4,947 



40 
49 
50 
50 
75 
25 
20 
16 
80 
29 
38 
45 
45 
25 

50 
30 
20 
36 
50 
45 
45 
320 
450 
200 
100 
150 

2,108 



-s$?~ 



462 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTEE VII. 
RAILROADS. 

The Value of Railroads— Railroad Land Grants— The First Grant- 
First Road Built — Hindrances— The Civil and Indian War— The 
Minneapolis & Omaha Line— The Chicago & Northwestern Sys- 
tem—The Milwaukee & St. Paul— The Sioux City & Northern — 
Total Mileage in County. 

IN general and special terms, no internal improvement lias accom- 
plished as much for Plymouth county as has the construction of 
its railway lines. Indeed, the locomotive, the printing press, and the 
electric current move the whole globe. 

Up to within the memory of this present generation, new countries 
had to be opened up and developed by the toil of hardy pioneers. 
The soil and mineral wealth had to be developed by this class before 
capital would invest in building an iron highway, but now railways 
outstrip civilization and wind their way on into the great prairie 
plains of the ever changing west, and are finally lost in the darkness 
of some long mountain tunnel in the " Rockies." Then commences 
the settlement. 

Railroad Land Grants. — It was early realized that without rail- 
roads the public lands in the great northwest — an empire in extent, of 
inexhaustible fertility, and rich in its undeveloped resources — would 
continue comparatively valueless, and long remain unsettled. To 
insure the speedy construction of railroads, and at the same time 
harmonize their cost with the benefits conferred, on principles of 
justice to the public, was a problem to which the attention of congress 
was earnestly directed. The whole theory of our system of govern- 
ment forbade their construction by the United States, from appropria- 
tions made out of the national treasury, while it was evident that 
without government assistance of some sort, the railroads could not be 
built for a number of years, if ever. Influenced by these considera- 
tions, congress finally settled upon a plan of granting one-half the 
lands, being the odd numbered sections within certain specified limits, 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 463 

to aid in the construction of designated lines of railroad on them, at 
once doubling the price of the remaining lands, thus giving aid to the 
roads during the time they might be expected to be non-paying, and 
at the same time protecting the public land interest of the country. 
This was a well-solved problem — one which both parties coincided in 
and were responsible for. Indeed with all that demagogues may say 
during campaign times, pro and con, it was a wise piece of congres- 
sional legislation. It was, in fact, an act to civilize the entire west and 
cause the fertile prairie lands to become the grain garden of the world. 
The First Grant and the First Railroad. — The first grant made to 
the state of Iowa to aid in the construction of railroads was approved 
May 15, 1856. One of the lines designated was to run from the city of 
Dubuque, across the entire state, to a point near Sioux City, Iowa. 
The lands thus granted were conferred on the Dubuque & Pacific 
railroad company, but finally fell to the corporation known as the 
Dubuque & Sioux City company. So much of this land as was 
included in the grant on account of the construction of the line from 
Iowa Falls west to Sioux City, was transferred to the Iowa Falls & Sioux 
City company, by contract executed by and between that company and 
the Dubuque & Sioux City company, January 7, 1868, and legalized 
and confirmed by the Iowa legislature April 7, the same year. 

To the people of Plymouth county, what few settlers there were, 
a railroad seemed a needed blessing. 

The original survey planned to continue on a line running through 
Correctionville, thence into Sioux City, but the survey of the Sioux 
City & St. Paul (present "Minneapolis & Omaha" line) brought a 
change in matters. The Iowa Falls & Sioux City saw that they could 
run a line from near Fort Dodge to where Le Mars is now located, and 
at said point form a junction with the road surveyed from Sioux 
City to St. Paul, and thus save building a line from Le Mars to Sioux 
City. Again, the Iowa Falls company saw the great prospective field 
for a paying line from Le Mars on west across the Big Sioux river 
at Akron — then " Portlandville '•' — to Yankton, Dak., which, in 1864, 
came into great prominence through what was known as the Yankton 
colony from western New York. Hence they determined to connect 
at Le Mars and use a road-bed on into Sioux City, in common with the 
Sioux City & St. Paul. As it terminated, however, the Illinois Cen- 
tral got control of that part of the line, and now lease to the Minne- 
apolis & Omaha. 



464 HISTORY OP WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

But the pioneer must needs wait still another period, and depend 
upon Sioux City for markets and mail outlets. The railroad, so much 
spoken of in the late fifties, on account of the dark Civil war cloud which 
hovered over the nation from 1861 to 1865, silenced every farmer's 
hope, and finally the whole railroad promise was looked upon by 
pioneers as a gigantic farce, and the people calmly submitted to being 
shut up in a little isolated republic by themselves. 

Emigrants and land seekers seldom thought of and never visited 
the domain, so fair and beautiful, now known as Plymouth county, 
as it was north from the old direct state road and mail route to the 
Missouri river. 

In 1863 the passage of the homestead act once more shot a new 
ray of light and hope into the pioneers' hearts, but then came the 
fearful Indian massacre at New Ulm,Minn., near the Iowa line. This 
sent a thrill of horror to every heart, and seemed to fix the final destiny 
of the little band of settlers in Plymouth county. The blood-stained 
visions of Spirit Lake haunted the old settlers, and a fear that the inde- 
scribable horrors of an Indian war were about to break upon them, 
paralyzed the shattered remnants of a once hopeful settlement, nestled 
along the Big Sioux and Floyd valleys. 

However, the Indian trouble culminated in the rightful hanging of 
thirty-eight Sioux Indians at Mankato, Minn., in the fall of 1863. 
The Civil war closed in 1865, leaving a free and united country. 
Business again looked up, money sought new channels for investment 
in railroads as well as general improvements throughout the great 
northwest. From that date on the railroad problem was only a matter 
of time in which to build the long-looked-for railroad from Iowa 
Falls to Sioux City. During the year 1869 the work of building was 
pushed with a vigor, making busy times all along the line. The 
withdrawal of lands from cash-entry fee checked speculation, while 
the homestead act gave the country a goodly number of men who 
came to remain and make for themselves homes. 

In October, 1869, the road was finished from Sioux City as far 
east as Meriden, Cherokee county, while the line from Iowa Falls had 
pushed through to Webster City. The spring of 1870 was one of 
unusual activity; immigration set in, and July 27, 1870, the eastern 
and western sections of the present Illinois Central road met near 
Storm Lake, which gave Sioux City a connection with the great 




^.^A?!^^ 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 467 

eastern market world by rail, thus ushering in a new and golden era 
to all western Iowa. Soon after completion the road was leased for a 
term of ninety-nine years (conditional at the end of twenty years), to 
the Illinois Central company. As soon as it could be brought about, 
stations were made iu Plymouth county at Plemsen, Oyens, Le Mars, 
Merrill, Hinton and James, thus giving settlers a chance to ship what 
they raised and receive in exchange lumber and building materials. 

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha R. R. was com- 
pleted from Worthington to Le Mars in the autumn of 1872, with 
stations located at Seney, in Elgin township, and at Le Mars, at 
which point it made junction with the Illinois Central road, using the 
same line into Sioux City, by right of a lease. This has come to be 
the best paying road of any in Plymouth county. Solid trains run 
over this " royal route " from Omaha to St. Paul and Chicago, and 
a vast tonnage of freight goes and comes annually. More pounds of 
freight were shipped from Le Mars by this road, in 1889, than over 
the Illinois Central. It is a popular road, well managed, and is a part 
of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway system. Its grain and lum- 
ber shipments are immense. At the present time, July, 1890, there 
are fourteen passenger trains passing through Le Mars daily over 
this line and the Illinois Central. 

Sioux City Branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road. — This line, over which there has been no little litigation from 
time to time, owing to the land grants and non-compliance of contracts 
in regard to the same, was completed through the northwest corner 
of Plymouth county, in 1874 and 1875, with station points at Akron, 
in Portland township, and Westfield, in Westfield township. This road's 
completion, however, did not increase actual settlement much, for the 
lands were claimed by the government, and also by the railroad com- 
pany, and, being in litigation until about 1882, but few settlers came 
in. So it is that this portion of the county is now comparatively 
thinly settled. Yet the road has been a valuable adjunct in settle- 
ment, and has come to be a highly-prized highway to the northwest. 

Kingsley Branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. — This 
road, a part of the great Northwestern system, enters this county 
on the east line of Garfield township, traverses that township 
from east to west, and runs through a part of Elkhorn township, 
thence on into Woodbury county, its terminal now being at Moville. 



468 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Its objective point is Sioux City, however. This railroad was com- 
pleted in 1883, in time for the fall business, and has been of great 
help to the speedy settlement of the southeastern part of Plymouth 
county, providing an outlet for stock and grain to the Chicago and 
St. Louis markets. This road crosses the Sioux Falls branch of the 
Illinois Central road at Correctionville. The town of Kingsley is the 
only station within the limits of Plymouth county. 

The Sioux City & Northern Railway. — This is the last iron high- 
way built in Plymouth county, and but few roads in America have 
been planned, surveyed, graded, ironed and equipped with rolling 
stock in so short a space of time. The road was conceived of in the 
fertile minds of a few enterprising business men of Sioux City, who 
believed that their own city might gain a better, cheaper freight rate 
to the far-off seaboard, by having an independent line of their own, run- 
ning to the northward, connecting with the Great Northern (Manitoba) 
system, touching the vast Red River valley of the north, and connect- 
ing with water transportation at Duluth. Hence it was that in the 
autumn of 1889, a home company was formed and the line projected 
and built a hundred miles to the north, now terminating at Garretson, 
S. Dak. The line parallels the Illinois Central road from Sioux City 
through Woodbury and Plymouth counties as far as Merrill. From 
that point it diverges to the north, missing Le Mars — some say 
intentionally — only about three miles, establishing a station called 
Dalton, just west of Le Mars. The company maintains stations at 
James, Merrill, Dalton and Struble in Plymouth county. The entire 
work was executed, and the road open for business, early in the spring 
of 1890, and to-day it is one of the best-paying roads entering Sioux 
City. It is operated in connection with the Great Northern route, and 
while only a few months have elapsed since its last rail was spiked 
down, yet it has caused a cut in freight rates, north and east, never 
heard of before. 

The following gives the mileage of railroads in Plymouth county, 
June 1, 1890: Chicago & Northwestern (Kingsley division), thirteen 
miles; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (Sioux City division), fifteen 
miles; Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, ten miles; Illinois 
Central (D. & S. C. line), thirty-five miles; Sioux City & Northern, 
twenty-eight miles; total mileage, 101. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

AGEICULTUKE AND STOCK RAISING. 

Richness of the Soil—" King " Corn—" King " Wheat— Commencement of 
Stock Growing— The Annual Crop Product — Figures From the Cen- 
sus Report— The County Fair— Its Society and Officers— Extract 
From Report to Secretary' of State Agricultural Society — Etc. 

THE wealth of Plymouth county, in common with nearly all western 
Iowa, is found in the extreme richness of the soil, and needs only 
frugal and painstaking management upon the part of the farmer to 
bring it forth in great abundance. To him who has been reared midst 
the rocky sections of one of the New England or even middle states, 
this county is indeed a real wonderland. The summer season, though 
very short, gives ample time for the planting, cultivation and final 
reaping of a bountiful harvest of everything that tends to support a 
prosperous people. 

Wheat and Com. — Here one finds corn and wheat, crowned 
kings. A single six-mile-square township (of which Plymouth boasts 
of twenty four) is capable of producing more bushels of grain, more 
bushels of corn, more pounds of pork and beef and more wagon loads 
of vegetables than half of all the counties east of the Alleghany mount- 
ains will average. 

Nor is the end yet reached, for this county still has a mine of 
agricultural wealth, not one-half developed, but which, with the march 
of time, must inevitably become more and moi'e valuable. Early in 
the history of Plymouth county, wheat was the main crop grown, but 
now corn surpasses all other products grown, both as regards acreage 
and value. And along with the conquest made by corn over wheat, in 
this locality, has sprung up another industry, that of successful stock- 
raising, in which the most money is made to-day. 

Other Products. — To give the reader a clearer understanding of 
the county's agricultural growth, it is deemed best, in this connec- 
tion, to introduce some of the officially compiled comparative statis- 



470 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

tics of the county. In 1840 the United States census gave the follow- 
ing crop product for the entire state of Iowa: 

Bushels of Indian corn raised, 1,406,241; wheat, 154,693; oats, 
216,384; rye, 3,792; barley, 728; buckwheat, 6,212. In Plym- 
outh county alone, in the year 1884, the following was produced: 
Indian corn, 105,722 acres, (producing 2,455,401 bushels; wheat, 45,599 
acres, producing 670,706 bushels; oats, 35,941 acres, producing 996,- 
641 bushels; rye, 733 acres, producing 11,714 bushels; barley, 2,860 
acres, producing 48,236 bushels; buckwheat, 47 acres, producing 693 
bushels; sorghum, 55 acres, producing 755 gallons; acres of native 
timber, 920; acres of planted timber, 3,820; bearing apple trees, 
3,471; acres of timothy, 2,803; acres of flax, 5,997; number of cattle 
sold to slaughter, 4,743; number of hogs sold to slaughter, 24,033; 
number of sheep on hand, 1,987; average size of farms, 188 acres; 
improved land, 195,204 acres; unimproved land, 111,641 acres; culti- 
vated land, 145,460 acres; pasture land, 24,430 acres; farms rented, 
512; farms operated by owners, 1,276. 

It will be observed that Plymouth county produced as much, and 
of some products more, than did the whole state of Iowa, in 1840 — 
fifty years ago! 

The County Fair. — Seeing the advantages to be gained by an 
annual exhibit of farm products of Plymouth county, her citizens 
organized what was known as the " Plymouth County Agricultural 
Society," in June, 1873. A meeting was held at the court-house, and 
the following officers were elected: A. E. Rea, president; E. H. 
Shaw, vice-president, and Dr. Hilbert, secretary. The board of direct- 
ors were: Robert Steele, N. Redmon, Robert Ramsey, George 
Reeves, T. D. Romans, George Small, L. Koenig, E. J. Porter, J. J. 
Madden, W. Wingett, George W. Chamberlain, Andrew Wilson, and 
William Asbury. At a meeting in July, the same year, articles of 
incorporation were adopted. 

The subjoined gives the president and secretary for each year 
until the society was abandoned — merging into the present Trotting 
Park Association: 

1874— President, H. S. Payn; secretary, Dr. Hilbert. 1875— 
President, H. S. Payn; secretary, Dr. Hilbert. 1876 — President, H. 
S. Payn; secretary, Dr. Hilbert. 1877— President, G. W. Chamber- 
lain; secretary, H. C. Parsons. 1878 — President, G. W. Chamber- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 471 

lain; secretary, Dr. Hilbert. 1879 — President, I. D. Smith; secre- 
tary, 0. W. Bennett. 1880 — President, B. F. Betsworth; secretary, 
Dr. Hilbert. 1881— President, C. P. Woodard; secretary, Dr. 
Hilbert. 1882— President, C. P. Woodard; secretary, Dr. Hilbert. 

In 1881 the society erected an amphitheatre costing $750, built 
Floral hall, Vegetable hall, suitable stock sheds, etc., upon their 
grounds, southwest from the city of Le Mars, on the southeast quarter 
of the southeast quarter of section seventeen, township ninety-two, 
range forty-five, comprising forty acres. They provided a half-mile 
race track, and had the grounds inclosed. During the whirlwind of 
1882 their buildings were totally destroyed. The amphitheatre, how- 
ever, was rebuilt, but the other structures were not. The society 
became indebted to W. H. Dent, who finally, to make good the 
amount, had to take the property, which was soon conveyed to the 
Trotting Park Association, now a part of the Northwest Iowa Circuit. 
It is now used for racing, base-ball games, polo, etc. The present 
president of the Park Association is W. H. Dent, and the secretary is 
George E. Loring. The Agricultural Society held several most excel- 
lent and profitable annual fairs, but the same old story, found in many 
parts of Iowa, existed here. There seemed to be one faction of stock- 
holders who opposed such premiums as were paid to the fast horse- 
men, while the sporting and stock men refused to co-operate with the 
farmer element. Hence the failure of the once flourishing society, 
which should by all odds, be again reorganized, as Plymouth can not 
afford to be without a county fair. The first annual fair was held in 
the autumn of 1873, at Young & Corkery's stock yards, about two 
miles from Le Mars. A large new barn served as a floral hall. Much 
enthusiasm was the result of a premium offered to the best looking 
baby born in the county, not over two years or under six months of 
age. Dr. M. Hilbert, who was secretary of the Agricultural Society 
at that time, included the following in his report to the secretary of 
State Agricultural Society: 

" Three hundred condemned horses from Chicago were sold on 
time, to our homestead farmers, at an average price of $75. 

" The loss by grasshoppers in this county the past season, was, on 
wheat, fifty-five per cent; on oats, seventy-five per cent; on corn eighty- 
five per cent ; on barley, sixty-six per cent ; on potatoes, fifty per cent. 

" There are no bearing apple trees here, except a few crab apple. 



472 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

* * No fences, save a small amount of wire and board pasture 
lot fence. 

" One township of Plymouth county contains forty acres of cotton- 
wood, box elder and poplar timber. In the entire county 206 acres of 
timber came under the exemption act. 

" We have three mills and have received and shipped the following 
during the past yeai\ 1873: From Merrill station, shipped out 16,400 
bushels of wheat; 1,600 bushels of barley; 4,800 bushels of oats and 
120,000 pounds of home-made flour; received, sixty cars of lumber; 
twelve cars of coal. At Le Mars, shipped out, two cars of cattle 
and two cars of hogs; wheat, 690 cars; received at Le Mars, 
eighteen cars of grain; 505 cars of lumber; 1,204 cars of coal; sixty- 
four cars of farm implements; ninety-two cars of live stock, and 
4,886,408 pounds of merchandise." 

The above shows Plymouth county was indeed yet a new country 
in 1873. 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE BENCH AND BAR. 



The Profession of the Law— The Judiciary — The Bar— Different 
Law Firms. 

IN reviewing the history of the bench and bar — the judges and at- 
torneys — it must be borne in mind that as the prosperity and well- 
being of every community depends upon the clear and well-inter- 
preted meaning of the law, it follows that a record of the members of 
the bar forms no unimportant part in the history of a county. Upon 
a few principles of natural justice is erected the whole superstructure 
of civil law tending to meet the desires and requirements of the 
masses. The business of the lawyer is not to make laws, but, rather, to 
apply them to the every-day affairs of common life. The laws of yester- 
day do not meet the requirements of to-day, for the former relations do 
not now exist. New and satisfactory laws must needs be enacted and 
established. Hence, a lawyer is a man of to-day, and his capital is his 
ability and pure individuality. Every lawyer is in a sense debtor to 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 473 

his profession. If Avorthy, it gives him an honorable calling. The 
good lawyer loves and prizes his chosen sphere. 

The "bench and bar" of Plymouth county have many things 
connected with their history, since the organization of the county, to 
the present time, of interest. It is not claimed for her that she has 
had abler judges or a more brilliant constellation of lawyers than 
many other counties of the state. Yet one thing may be said of her 
judges and lawyers which can not be said of some parts of the state — 
a splendid good-natured, harmonious feeling has always existed be- 
tween both. 

The Judiciary. — Judge Isaac Pendleton, who was its first judge, 
was at that time a young lawyer, beginning his legal career at Sioux 
City, Iowa. He was an able lawyer and kind to all, good-natured and 
universally loved by all who came in contact with him. He was judge 
of the district court at a time, when in the early days, Plymouth county 
was attached to Woodbury county for judicial and political purposes. 

The first election for judge of the district and circuit court of the 
Fourth judicial district of Iowa occurred in 1874, at which election 
Hon. Henry Ford of Harrison county was elected district judge and 
Hon. Addison Oliver was elected judge of the circuit court, Fourth 
judicial district, and Hon. C. H. Lewis, of Cherokee county, was the 
first district attorney for the Fourth judicial district. 

At an early day and about 1870 the Fourth judicial district com- 
posed more than twenty-six counties of the northwest part of the 
state, extending as far south as the south line of Harrison county, and 
as far east as the east line of Buena Vista county. So far as the his- 
tory of Plymouth county is concerned, touching the bench and bar, 
its judges and district attorneys were similar to those of Woodbury 
county and many other counties of the state, all being in the then 
Fourth judicial district. 

Hon. Henry Ford, who was presiding judge of the district court 
when the writer came to Plymouth county, was a man of fine bearing, 
polished, cultured and possessing a peculiarly fine and well-balanced 
legal mind. He had a rare capacity for grasping the most intricate 
legal questions, and his decisions were rarely reversed by the supreme 
court of the state. 

Hon. Addison Oliver, of Monona county, was the first circuit 
judge of Plymouth county. To see him as he went about quietly by 



474 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

himself, one would at once say that he possessed no rare qualities of 
any kind, and a mental capacity only the most ordinary. He has> 
many times, while on the bench, and while member of congress, been 
taken for the plainest sort of a western farmer. But when you came 
to look him square in the face to converse with him, he would brighten 
up, and intelligence beam from every feature. As a jurist he was able ; 
as a man he was scrupulously honest and true. No more honest and 
truthful man ever lived, nor one who was truer to his friends. On the 
bench his decisions were quick, accurate and sound. He was a great 
favorite of the young members of the bar, was always ready to give 
them advice, or help them out of an embarrassing position in the trial 
of a case. He commanded the respect and confidence of all who 
knew him. He was called the "Granger judge." He was unpretentious, 
yet deep, able and possessed a wonderfully active brain, and a mind 
capable of dealing with the most knotty legal question. As a politi- 
cian he was a prodigy. Somehow when a man pledged him his sup- 
port he was sure to get it at the polls, in caucus or convention. 

Judge Henry Ford was succeeded on the bench as district judge by 
Hon. C. H Lewis, of Cherokee, who had been for a number of years 
district attorney under Henry Ford. Hon. C H. Lewis has now been 
on the bench as district judge for fourteen years, and since Judge 
Ford retired in 1874. 

Judge Addison Oliver resigned his position as circuit judge to go 
to congress, to which position he was elected in 1874. He was suc- 
ceeded on the bench as judge of the circuit court by Hon. J. R. Zuver, 
of Harrison county. Judge C. H. Lewis was born a natural judge, 
and for his usefulness and efficiency as district judge he has been kept 
on the bench to the present time, with a good prospect of continuing 
in the same position for years to come. He has a number of times 
been presented to the republican state convention for nomination as 
supreme court judge. 

Hon. J. E. Zuver continued judge of the circuit court of the Fourth 
judicial circuit from 1874 till about 1881 or 1882, when failing health 
compelled him to resign. 

Judge Zuver was a man of strong conviction, and would not swerve 
an inch from what he thought was right as he saw it. He was able 
and possessed a good legal mind — was really calculated for a trial 
lawyer, and before going on to the bench was a grand success as a 
trial and jury lawyer. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 475 

Judge Zuver was succeeded on the bench by Hon. D. D. McCol- 
lum, of Osceola county, who held such position until the legislature 
of the state abolished the circuit court. At the general election of 
1886, Hon. C. H. Lewis, Hon. George W. Wakefield and Hon. S. M. 
Lack! were elected judges of the district court for the Fourth judicial 
district, and at the present time continue to hold such positions. Hon. 
S. M. Ladd presiding, by assignment of the three judges, over this, 
Plymouth county. 

The Bar of Plymouth County. — The first attorney, so far as we 
know, who lived and practiced his profession in Plymouth county, was 
A. V. P. Day, who came to the county from the state of Ohio in 
about 1869. His office was on the streets, on the prairies, and in the 
saddle. While "Andy," as he was familiarly called, did not claim to make 
a specialty of the law, nor claim to be very profound, by reason of not 
giving his entire time to the profession, yet we may now say, Day was 
a born lawyer, possessed a keen intellect, and was much safer to 
obtain counsel from, than many who professed much more. He was 
whole-souled, generous and kind-hearted, and had many splendid 
impulses. He removed from Plymouth county in the year 1878, going 
to Wyoming. 

H. C. Curtis, F. H. Clarke, G. W. Argo, James H. Struble, I. S. 
Struble and A. H. Lawrence, all members of the bar, came to Plym- 
outh county at about the same time. The first two arrived from 
Independence, Iowa, in October, 1871, and formed the firm of Clarke 
■& Curtis. They continued in the practice from 1871 to 1879. Mr. 
Clarke having been fatally attacked [by consumption, Mr. Curtis con- 
ducted the business of the firm for one year, when he bought out Mr. 
Clarke just prior to the latter 1 s death, and in 1880 sold a half interest 
to A. W. Durley, who had, four years before, settled in Le Mars, com- 
ing from Hennepin, 111. Curtis and Durley were partners from 1880 
to 1888, when Mr. Curtis sold his one-half interest in the business 
to A. W. Durley, who is still in the practice. 

* The firms of Clarke & Curtis and Curtis & Durley were good, 
solid, fighting firms of attorneys, were fairly successful, and had a 
good paying practice. No one ever questioned the integrity of 
either firm. Mr. F. H. Clarke possessed one of the finest legal minds 

* [Note— Owing to the fact that Mr. Curtis kindly furnished this chapter— a valuable part of this 
volume— the publishers relieved him of making personal mention of himself; this part of the chap- 
ter is accordingly gleaned from other members of the bar.] 



476 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of the bar of the state — was polished and scholarly, broad and deep. 
Mr. Curtis was a hard student; would work all night, if necessary, to 
win a case, and if he did not win the case for his client it was not his 
fault. Mr. Curtis probably made and saved more money than any 
other member of the bar of the county. While in the practice he had 
a rare tact for collecting what money he earned. 

G. W. Argo may be said to be a self-made man and lawyer. He 
usually has been successful, and has a large practice, both civil and 
criminal. He makes a specialty of criminal law, and when a case is put 
in his hands he goes to the bottom of it and fights tremendously to win. 
He is remarkably successful as a trial lawyer. He has continued in 
the practice from 1871 to the present time. Mr. Argo is not a great, 
scholar, nor polished, but he is a keen judge of human nature, and 
really ingenious in the trial of a case, and always makes an able and 
convincing argument to a jury. 

A. H. Lawrence began practice here in 1871-72, but soon branched 
off into the land and collection business and loaning money, and has 
continued in such business to the present time. He has been senator, 
and is a man well educated and competent to transact most any 
kind of legal business, his counsel is safe and his integrity unques- 
tioned. 

Hon. I. S. Struble, now representing the Eleventh congressional 
district in congress, and his brother, James H. Struble, came to Plym- 
outh county and began the practice of the law early in the spring of 
1872. The former came from Illinois; the latter from Tama county, 
in this state. Hon. I. S. Struble continued in the practice until 
1882, when he was elected to congress. He has been elected four 
successive times, and it is understood is now a candidate for the fifth 
term, with good prospects of renomination. Until about 1878, I. S. 
and J. H. Struble were in partnership in the law and collection busi- 
ness, and during the time from 1872 to 1878 made a strong and relia- 
ble law firm. Both are men of honor and of good ability and perfect 
integrity. J. H. Struble is still in the practice and doing a good 
business. 

A. W. Durley has been in the practice of the law here since 1876. 
Mr. Durley is not an active practicioner at the bar in the trial of jui-y 
cases, but is more nearly an equity lawyer. While a partner of Hon. 
H. C. Curtis, he was in the strictest sense an office lawyer, doing the 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 477 

equity practice of the firm and office work. He is clear-headed, 
accurate, and a splendid judge of law, and probably no better counsel 
can be found in northwest Iowa. As an office lawyer he ranks high, 
and it may be said there is no better in the state, so that he was 
invaluable as a co-worker for eight years with H. C. Curtis, who tried 
nearly all jury cases. Mr. Durley is in every sense a gentleman and 
a polished scholar, being a graduate of Amherst College. 

Col. Frank Amos came to Plymouth county in 1875, from Jackson 
county, Iowa. He carries a withered arm from the effects of a gun- 
shot received while leading his men to battle before Atlanta, Ga., 
July, 1864. He was a brave soldier, and though getting gray and 
old, and partly helpless from the wound received, his mind is clear; 
and although he has not had a large practice since coming here, he is a 
man of good ability, possessing good reasoning powers. He is socia- 
ble with every one, and if he has an enemy in the county no one 
knows it. 

E. W. Meeks, a prominent and brilliant attorney, came here in 
1876, from Indiana, and was for a time associated with G. W. Argo 
in the practice. Mr. Meeks, while in Plymouth county only a short 
time, made many friends and was a clean-cut gentleman of intelligence 
and honor. Por some reason he returned to his native state, after 
remaining here about two years. 

Joseph C. Kelly came to Plymouth county with T. L. Bowman 
and C. Haldine in 1877, from Carroll, Iowa. Joseph C. Kelly was 
a splendid type of our brave soldier boys, losing an arm in the famous 
battle of Shiloh. Soon after coming to the county he associated him- 
self with G. W. Argo, and was his partner in the law business until 
1886 and up to tbe time of his death. He was able, possessed high 
ability as a lawyer, and was a man of integrity and honor. 

I. J. McDuffie came to Plymouth county from Green county, Iowa, 
and took the place of J. C. Kelly in the law firm of Argo & Kelly, 
about four years ago. Argo & McDuffie make an able law firm and do 
a good business. Mr. McDuffie is a genial gentleman, a good scholar 
and lawyer, a splendid judge of law, and a good practitioner. 

P. S. Rishel, of the law firm of Struble, Rishel & Hart, came to 
the county in 1883 from Cambridge, 111. He at once became tbe part- 
ner of I. S. Struble and has since continued as a member of such firm. 
Mr. Rishel is a live and able practitioner, a good trial lawyer, and 



478 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

thoroughly skilled in his profession. No member of the bar possesses 
more personal honor or greater integrity than he. 

C. H. Hart, the junior member of the firm above named, came to 
Le Mars from Wisconsin in 1884, and for a short time was the junior 
member of the law firm of Curtis, Durley & Hart. Soon after he 
withdrew from such firm and became a member of the law firm of 
Struble, Eishel & Hart. Mr. Hart is a young man of good ability, and 
is strictly honest and reliable. He is at present manager of the AVest- 
ern Investment company of Le Mars, Iowa. 

I. T. Martin, Frank Gainor, F. M. Eoseberry, J. W. Sammis, John 
Adams, Charles Schmidt, G. C. Scott, T. M. Zink, Sam Hussey and 
G. W. Harper have come to Le Mars or been admitted here since about 
1886. They are all honorable men, and doing fairly well in the pro- 
fession. Martin and Gainor are old practitioners and constitute a 
strong firm. J. W. Sammis and John Adams read law, and were ad- 
mitted to the bar, under the instruction of Curtis & Durley, and seem 
to be pushing to the front rapidly as lawyers, both doing a fine busi- 
ness. Many others have come and gone since the organization of Plym- 
outh county. Among them E. E. W. Spargur, A. K. Webb, C. Gotts- 
chalk and many others. 

D. AY. AVood and T. B. S. O'Day and a number of others have 
been in the practice at Kingsley since the organization of that town, 
which is in the southeast part of the county. Mr. O'Day is at present 
a member of the bar of Woodbury county, and is a man of good 
ability. Mr. AVood still remains at Kingsley, is enjoying a very good 
practice, and is a man of more than ordinary ability. 

Mr. Farrell is the present county attorney of Plymouth county, 
and makes an able prosecutor; he is honest and devoted to his clients; 
is affable and genial, and will in time make a strong lawyer. 

F. M. Eoseberry was, until recently, in the practice at Eemsen, 
Iowa, is now a fixture at Le Mars. Mr. Eoseberry came here from 
New Jersey, and while he is young in the profession, he is working 
up a good practice, and is in every way honorable and trusty, and 
devoted to his clients. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 479 



CHAPTER X. 
THE MEDICAL PBOFESSION. 

Usefulness of Physicians— Honor of the Fraternity' in Plymouth 
County— Hardships Endured— Physicians of Le Mars— Present Doc- 
tors— Rejisen Physicians — Akron Physicians — Kingsley Phy'sicians— 
Other Doctors. 

IN health we care but little for doctors and their formulas or pre- 
scriptions, but there is sure to come a time when the brow becomes 
feverish and when our vital organs refuse to perform their regular 
functions, a time when life's thread seems abraded and almost 
snapped asunder. At such a time we seek after the best medical man 
— the successful physician. We are anxious that the "good doctor" 
watch by our bedside, lest the grim messenger, Death, make his 
appearance and call us hence. In all ages of the world's history, 
among civilized as well as uncivilized nations, the art of healing has 
been held in high esteem. Whether it be the learned professor, who, 
perchance, has studied all branches of the science of medicine, or the 
"great medicine man" of the untutored savages, who, from actual 
experience, has made discoveries of the healing powers of herbs and 
roots, honor awaits him upon every hand. The weary patient, lying 
upon a bed of pain, and the no less anxious watchers by his side, 
wait for the coming of the doctor, and on his arrival, his every move- 
ment and expression of countenance is watched for a single ray of 
hope. 

The medical fraternity of Plymouth county has been an honor to 
the profession it claims to be master of, and has ever been ready to 
respond to the call of duty, amid summer heat or the chilling frosts 
and severe winds of winter. Its members have been compelled to 
cross the trackless prairies, to face " blizzards " from the icy north- 
west, often, too, with no hope of reward, but only to relieve, if possible, 
those who pleaded for their coming and their counsel. All these 
things have been encountered by the physicians of this county, and 
that without a complaint. When the names of the pioneer physicians, 



480 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

with those of a more modern day, are mentioned in this connection, it 
is hoped and believed that the hearts which perhaps now beat in 
robust health will be touched, and at least all of the early settler 
readers, who, with their doctors forded the same unbridged streams in 
summer and plowed through the same snow-drifts in winter, will 
heartily respond "May God bless them!" 

Physicians of Le Mars. — The first to practice in a regular way in 
Le Mars was Dr. Earl, who was not a regular graduate, but seemed 
fairly successful for the time he remained here. The town was very 
small, the county thinly settled and not much was required except the 
administering of simple remedies, such as that class of doctors were 
conversant with. 

The following came to Le Mars in the order in which they are here 
given, or nearly so: Dr. Stanley, Dr. Wiggins, Dr. Jenkens, Dr. Hil- 
bert; last named soon left off the practice of medicine and engaged in 
other business. He has held county and city official positions, and is 
noAv an honored citizen, engaged in the real estate and abstracting 
business. The next to practice medicine here was Dr. Xanten, a regu- 
lar school graduate of the State University at Iowa City. Then came 
George W. Foster, M. D. (regular.) 

Dr. W. H. Ensminger located at Le Mars in February, 1877. He 
came from Ottawa, 111., where he had practiced for several years. 
Prior to that he had practiced in Putnam county, 111. He is a gradu- 
ate of Jefferson College, Philadelphia, and is now the oldest practitioner 
in Le Mars, having been here thirteen years, during which time the 
profession has undergone many changes. 

Dr. W. B. Porter, a graduate of Push Medical College, Chicago, 
came in about this time. He was associated for a time with Dr. Lind- 
ley. Porter got into personal difficulty here, was shot in the neck by 
one of the citizens, and was finally convicted of a dastardly crime and 
served several years in state prison. He subsequently removed to 
Sioux City, where he died some years ago. 

Dr. C. J. Hackett came here from Sioux City in 1878. He is a 
" regular" and graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1860, 
and from the University of the City of New York in 1861. He is one 
of the present successful physicians and surgeons of Le Mars, and one 
who stands high in his chosen profession and is a constant student in 
all that pertains to medicine. Through his influence and rapidly 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 481 

growing practice, Dr. J. W. Hines, a graduate of 1861 from the Uni- 
versity of Virginia (regular), came to Le Mars and became his part- 
ner — the same relation still existing. He had practiced in Virginia 
and West Virginia until he came here about 1880. He, too, is a credit 
and honor to his fraternity, being a thoroughly posted physician and 
surgeon. 

The next to open an office and offer his services to the people in 
this section of the county, was Dr. Paul Brick, a graduate from the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. He had practiced 
here some time prior to his obtaining his diploma, in 1890. Next was 
Dr. A. W. La Eue, a graduate of Starling College, Ohio. He is now 
deceased. Dr. Lee was the next physician to locate at Le Mars. 
Dr. W. O. Prosser, a graduate of McGill University, Canada, and 
one of the successful practitioners of to-day at Le Mars, was the next 
to enter the field. He is from a thorough college, which has fitted 
many hundreds of able physicians and surgeons, not a few of whom 
are now practicing in Iowa. Dr. Bennett and wife, both of the homoe- 
opathic school, practiced at Le Mars about two years. Another physi- 
cian, who remained only a short time, was an old gentleman named 
Warren. He was a " regular," and had practiced for a time at Sheldon, 
Iowa. Dr. Richey was the next to locate here. He is a graduate of two 
most excellent medical colleges in Kentucky. He is still in practice 
at Le Mars, where he gets a good patronage, and is successful in the 
same. 

A homoeopathic physician, named Dr. H. P. Bowman, came in next, 
and is one of the honored members of the Plymouth county medical 
fraternity. Following him came Dr. Garisch, who was county physi- 
cian several years. He was from an eastern college of the regular 
school. Dr. Clark, of Rush Medical College, Chicago, came in next. He 
afterward removed to Colorado. Dr. Peter Schwind, of the State Uni- 
versity at Iowa City, was next to locate here ; he is still practicing at Le 
Mars. Dr. J. C. McMahan, a graduate of the St. Paul Medical College, 
of the class of 1885, first practiced in Michigan, where he made rapid 
progress and was eminently successful for a young practitioner. He 
■came to Le Mars and located in the spring of 1887, and is now num- 
bered among the good physicians and surgeons of his town and county. 
He is at present county coroner - , and county and city physician. His is 
a genial, whole-souled nature, and his manner, as well as his knowledge 



482 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of medicine, is always certain to achieve for him success in any com- 
munity. Dr. C. M. Hillebrand, a native of Germany, came to America 
when a mere lad, in 1855, and grew to manhood in Freeport, 111., where 
he received a good education. He then went to Prussia and studied 
medicine, finally graduating from the University of Berlin in 1868. 
He then entered the practice of his profession at Freeport, 111., where 
he was very successful for many years. He was injured in a railway 
wreck near that city, and was obliged to give up his practice for sev- 
eral years, but finally regained his health sufficiently to commence again. 
He removed to Le Mars in January, 1890, having been impressed with 
the place and surrounding country some time before. He is now fast, 
gaining a large practice. The next to enter practice at Le Mars was 
Dr. Mary Breen, who located here in the spring of 1890. Her practice 
but proves that woman has a useful sphere among the highest of pro- 
fessions, and that proper training makes a lady master of science, as well 
as her brothers, who, not many years ago, were supposed to have a sort 
of God-given monopoly of the science of medicine. 

Physicians of Remsen. — The first physician to practice at the 
village of Kemsen was Dr. Arbuthnot. He was a graduate from the 
Keokuk (Iowa) Medical College. He came to Remsen in the early 
spring of 1883, practiced a few months, and then removed to Nebraska. 
Dr. Henry Jay Brink, a graduate from the University of the 
City of New York, commenced practice at Remsen May 27, 1883, 
having practiced a short time at Warren, 111. He is a skillful doctor, 
and has already won a large and lucrative practice in the entire 
northern and eastern portion of Plymouth county. Dr. James T. Mars- 
den, of Utica, N. Y., located at Remsen about January 1, 1884, where 
he continued to practice about eleven months, after which time he 
removed to Denver, Colo. He was a graduate from the medical depart- 
ment of the University of the City of New York, in the class of 1882. 
Dr. Seigel came to Remsen from Des Moines, Iowa, May 25, 1888, 
and practiced four months. He was a graduate from the Eclectic 
College, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Not liking the town he located at 
another point. Dr. Jenkens, a graduate of the Omaha Medical College, 
came to Remsen about June 1, 1888, and remained for five months. 
Dr. George Ropke and Dr. H. J. Brink are the only physicians now 
practicing at Remsen. 

Physicians of Akron. — The physicians who have practiced in and 




yfz±^& &«~* 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 485 

about Akron are as follows: E. B. Clark, M. D., from Bush. Medical 
College, Chicago, 111. (regular), practiced for a time in AVisconsin, 
and during the month of May, 1876, located at Akron. He is a man 
possessed of a broad mind, is skillful in his profession and an hon- 
ored member of society throughout the Big Sioux valley, in which 
section, for the past fourteen years, he has been steadily building up 
a large and successful medical practice. G. V. Ellis, M. D., is a part- 
ner of Br. Clark. He graduated from the Omaha Medical College, 
first practiced at Calliope and Hawarden, Iowa; he located at Akron, 
April 22, 1888. Jolin Tremaine, M. B. (eclectic), came from Bakota 
in 1886, and practiced for a short time. Br. A. M. Cross (homoeo- 
pathic), a graduate of the medical department of the Iowa State Uni- 
versity, at Iowa City, practiced at Missouri Valley, Iowa, a while, then 
a short time at Akron. The writer has been unable to get further par- 
ticulars regarding these physicians. 

Physicians of Kingsley. — The first to practice medicine at Kings- 
ley was Br. J. W. Walcutt, a graduate from Louisville (Kentucky) 
Medical College. He located at Quorn, and when the business was 
moved to Kingsley he became the pioneer at that point. He still prac- 
tices. Br. R. B. Mason, a most estimable gentleman and skillful practi- 
tioner of the regular school, is one of Kingsley's most trustworthy 
and successful physicians and surgeons. He came to the place in the 
autumn of 1888, from Belaware county, Iowa, where he had practiced. 
He is a graduate of the class of 1887 at the State University at Iowa 
City, Iowa. Br. J. J. Wilder, a graduate of the Keokuk (Iowa) Med- 
ical College, located at Kingsley a little prior to 1888, and is still one 
of the successful practitioners of to-day in this locality. Br. E. H. 
Banks, a graduate of one of the Ohio medical colleges, also practices 
here, and is proprietor of a drug store at Kingsley. At Merrill, a 
Br. Jenkins, a new comer, is the only physician at present. At Hin- 
ton, Br. Henry Nigg, who graduated at Iowa City in 1888, practiced 
for a time, but is now engaged in the drug business at Merrill. 



486 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XI. 
PLYMOUTH COUNTY NEWSPAPERS. 

The Power of the Press in Developing the County— Liberal Patronage 
—Historical Value of Newspapers— The Sentinel the First Paper 
—Buchanan a Fearless Writer— Iowa Liberal— The Democrat — The 
Globe— The Herold— People's Friend— The Mirror — The Leader — 
The Sun— Despatch — Record — Portlandville Blade — Plymouth 
County Record— The Delta— Kingsley Times — Remsen Bell — Daily 
Globe, etc. 

PLYMOUTH COUNTY has had an abundant opportunity of test- 
ing the value or the newspaper press as an aid in building up 
and making better known the county's resources to the great world 
at large. Its civilizing influence has been almost unlimited, and, 
usually speaking, the people of this county have been liberal in their 
support of all respectable newspaper enterprises that have, from time 
to time, been inaugurated in their midst. It must truthfully be said 
that in dispensing their patronage to the local press, they have, indeed, 
been tolerant and magnanimous, as they have been reasonably gen- 
erous to journals of all parties and various political principles. 
Especially is this true of all that honorable class of men who have 
worked for the common good and the general upbuilding of the 
county, with its numerous towns and hamlets. In every community 
there are shriveled souls whose participation in the benefits of enter- 
prises is greater than their own efforts to promote public welfare. 
There are the men who will never subscribe for a newspaper, but will 
ever be on the alert to receive gratuitously the first perusal of their 
nest-door neighbor's paper. These persons are the chronic croakers, 
who predict evil and see disaster in every public undertaking. With 
but few exceptions Plymouth county has never been over-cursed with 
such drones and dead-heads. As records of current history, the local 
newspaper should be highly prized and carefully preserved. These 
papers are a repository wherein are stored away the facts and the 
events, the deeds and sayings, the undertakings and final accomplish- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 487 

ments, that eventually go to make up history. One by one these 
things are published in the paper and bound (or should be) into 
volumes of local, general and individual history, to be laid away 
imperishable. The volumes, thus collected, are rifled by future his- 
torians, and the result is a forthcoming and almost invaluable record 
ready for the library. 

As a general rule not enough attention is paid to keeping files of 
local papers, even at the publisher's office; still by diligent research 
and much inquiry, enough data have been gleaned to supply a tolerably 
accurate record of the press in this county; but should any inaccuracies, 
or possibly, omissions, occur in this chapter, they must be charged to 
the lack of complete files of the various journals issued from the first 
to the present time. The first attempt at journalism in Plymouth 
county was the founding of the Le Mars " Sentinel," February 3, 1871, 
by J. C. Buchanan. Its first form was an eight-column folio, half 
home print, and was run on a hand press until 1878, when the office 
demanded a change, and placed in operation a Campbell power press. 

The "Sentinel" was then one of Iowa's most truly radical repub- 
lican journals. Mr. Buchanan was not only an excellent but most 
fearless writer. He was not at' all times just correct, but in the main 
was a grand party exponent, and he became widely known. He ever 
worked, voted and wrote for the solid upbuilding of Plymouth county. 
He had a novel and sensational way of attracting his readers' atten- 
tion by striking headlines. At the time of the Black Hills (Dakota) 
excitement he came out with a vindication of his own county, as 
against that mountain wilderness, which he had headed in big black 
type as follows : 

"GOLD! GOLD!! GOLD!!! 

" The Black Hills for Catamounts and Red Skins — FOE US, Gold 
Edged Furrows of Plymouth County Soil — Immense Excitement at 
the ' Gateway City,' 1 Where Half a Million Dollars has just been In- 
vested in the Development of the Gold Placers Between Cherokee 
County and Dakota — Room for 10,000 more men, and the one altogether 
lovely — Save Your Scalp by Staying Here." 

Every issue of his paper had some similar, flaming captions — a real 
typographical curiosity and wonderful word-picture of sentiment. 

"Buck" (as every one called him) was always trying to break the 



4<58 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

county "ring." In this he made himself popular to one class, and to an- 
other class very unpopular. In his style of putting things, he was not any 
too choice in his language, and often resorted to vulgarisms, not quite 
in keeping with true, dignified journalism. The editorial controversy 
which was for many months carried on between the " Sentinel " and the 
Okolona "States," a radical southern paper, edited by Will Kernan, 
gave great demand for both papers — north and south. The articles 
were rampant, fire-eating editorials, full of sense (and also nonsense). 
They finally became personal and extremely abusive. "Wishing to be 
nearer his antagonist, Mr. Kernan removed to Le Mars, and associated 
himself with the "Democrat" for a time. Perhaps no one newspaper 
war was ever carried to such extremes in all the country, and the files 
of the " Sentinel " show comments from hundreds, if not thousands, 
of papers, some applauding, others crying, "Give us a rest!" 
The great issues of the Civil war, long since passed, as well as recon- 
struction acts, were by these articles rehashed, and thoroughly con- 
tested again. The "bloody shirt" was the sign bj' which both sought 
to conquer. 

In May, 1883, Mr. Buchanan sold the "Sentinel" to G. H. Bags- 
dale, who again revived the daily, which Buchanan had started and 
run for a short time. In January, 1884, it was cut down to a semi- 
weekly, which is its present issue. Its former proprietor, Buchanan, 
drifted into Springfield, 111., where he purchased a third interest in the 
" Illinois State Bepublican," but the stockholders soon " froze him 
out," and he finally started a small weekly journal in Kansas. 

In 1888 Mr. Bagsdale was made state printer, and, being compelled 
to be away, he took as his partner E. D. Chassell, formerly of the " Osage 
News," who now has full control of the paper, and is counted one of 
northwestern Iowa's best newspaper Avriters. He is a young man, 
full of energy, possessed of good morals and a thorough republican. 
His friends are indeed " legion." 

Mr. Chassell was made secretary of the republican state commit- 
tee, in 1890, an important position which he well fills. From the time 
Mr. Bagsdale bought this paper and commenced to edit its columns, 
it assumed a higher moral standing than it ever had achieved before. 
It worked for the best interests of the county, was strongly a party 
organ, yet handled politics in a political way, never stooping to many 
of the low personalities so frequently indulged in by party organs. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 48y 

Perhaps no Iowa weekly paper ever became so widely known among 
the masses as the " Sentinel." 

In the spring of 1887 Mr. Ragsdale added a large book-binding 
establishment to his printing plant. He secured the services of J. 
M. Ainslie, of Ft. Dodge, together with part of a job office and 
bindery, which he (Ainslie) had been connected with at that point. 
Under Mr. Ainslie's foremanship the "Sentinel" bindery and job de- 
partments have ranked high among the offices of the northwest. 

The " Iowa Liberal," an independent, weekly republican journal, 
was established in 1871, by John Curry, at Le Mars. It was a six- 
column paper printed on a Washington hand press. In 1875 it be- 
came the property of Col. J. M. Emery, who conducted it for two 
years, then leased it to C. F. Leidy. Not long thereafter it was sold 
to Leidy & Phippen, who conducted it until Mr. Ragsdale bought the 
plant and consolidated it with the Le Mars " Sentinel." 

The " Liberal " was a popular journal, well edited and cut a wide 
swath in the Iowa journalistic field, and was quoted by a large ex- 
change list throughout the west, generally. 

The " Democrat " was founded in 1882 by Kelley & Hopkins and 
edited for a time by the noted "Will Kernan, of the Okolona " States." 
The " Democrat " was finally sold to G . W. Hunt, who came here from 
Fonda, Iowa; he conducted it until about 1884, when it suspended — ■ 
the material going into the Globe Printing company's outfit. G. W. 
Hunt removed to Sioux City, and his son and daughter are now con- 
ducting a society paper at that place. 

The "Globe" (daily and weekly) was established by the Globe 
Printing company, Vol. I, No. 1, being dated October 2, 1884. It was 
a democratic paper — a six-column quarto in size and form, and printed 
on a Prouty power press. W. H. Clark edited it for a time. On the 
second year of its publication it was sold to Mat. Wurth, who still 
owns and operates the paper. In February, 1886, the daily edition 
was dropped, and since that time a semi-weekly has been printed. It 
is now printed on a Campbell power press propelled by a gas engine. 
W. A. Simpkins, who has been connected as foreman and otherwise, 
since the founding of the paper, was made its editor and manager, 
in January, 1890. The subscription is $2 per annum and its days 
of issue, Tuesdays and Fridays. It is all home print. 

The " Herold," a seven-column quarto paper, printed in the Ger- 



490 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

man language, and democratic in politics, was founded at the same 
time as the " Globe " and is now owned by Mr. Wurth. It is published 
Thursdays at a subscription price of $2. About 200 copies go to 
Europe to German friends. The plant was moved to its present 
quarters — the city hall building, in 1887. This paper is generally 
taken by the large body of intelligent German citizens of Plymouth 
county. 

The " Volksf reula " (People's Priend), a German publication, was 
established by Prof. Alexander, in 1883. It was suspended after 
about one year's trial, and the material it used was transferred to the 
" Globe " office. Prof. Alexander, subsequently died at Sioux City. 
The paper was a six-column folio, printed entirely in German. A 
part of the time, the presswork was executed at Sioux City, but later 
at the "Democrat" office at Le Mars. 

The " Mirror " was a paper launched by Charles E. Hunt, at Le 
Mars, in the "eighties." It lived for only about six months. 

The " Leader " was established in 1887 by George Brockway, who 
stood the storm about a year and discontinued it. He ran a daily a 
few months, but found he had over-estimated the capacity of Le Mars' 
people to devour so many local papers each week, so he left the field. 
His material finally went toward making up the outfit employed in 
the publication of the " Sunday Sun." 

The " Sun" is a weekly paper, published every Thursday by Rich- 
ard Goldie, the first numbers of which appeared as a Sunday paper, 
December 30, 1888, with McCurdy & Kroesen as proprietors, and so 
continued until the latter retired from its publication in April, and 
the former in July, 1889, since which date it has been conducted 
under a lease by Mr. Goldie. It is a six-column quarto, independent 
in politics. 

The " Despatch" was founded (on the sands) by J. C. Buchanan, 
who had for years run the " Sentinel," but sold the same to Mr. Rags- 
dale, with the express understanding that he would not engage in the 
newspajner business in the county again. To avoid this contract, the 
paper was run under the name of J. W. Buchanan, son of J. C. 
However valid in law the scheme was, the business men of Le Mars 
would not give it their support, hence " it went the way of all the 
earth." 

The Merrill " Record" was founded in August, 1890, by the Mer- 
rill Publishing Company. It is a five-column quarto. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 491 

The Portlandville "Blade" was established at Portlandville (now 
Akron) in 1878 by J. W. Skeppard. It was a five-column folio paper, 
independent in its politics. It continued its issue only about one year, 
when the plant was removed to St. Helena, Neb. 

The Plymouth county "Record," which followed the " Blade" at 
Akron, was established in 1881 by F. T. Sheppard, a brother of the 
other editor. It was a sis-column folio sheet, printed on a Washing- 
ton hand press. It was republican in politics. Mr. Sheppard con- 
ducted the paper a year, then sold it to W. H. Clark, who operated it 
a short time and then moved it to Le Mars. In a few weeks Mr. Shep- 
pard founded the " Western Delta " at Akron. This was in June, 
1882. At present it is in its eighth volume. Mr. Sheppard owned 
and edited this paper a year, then sold it to G. W. Peck. He sold 
out to J. C. Button, after whom came J. J. Clifton, who changed the 
name to the " Sioux Valley Journal." From his management the 
plant drifted into the hands of W. F. Wade, then on to Smith & Rob- 
ertson, and finally, March 1, 1890, back into the hands of its original 
founder, F. T. Sheppard. He changed the name back to the " West- 
ern Delta." It has always been a republican sheet, with the excep- 
tion of the three weeks, when conducted by Mr. Clark. The paper is 
now well edited, contains much live local matter each week, and en- 
joys a fair advertising patronage. Its publication day is Thursday, 
and its subscription price is $1.50. 

The Kingsley " Times " was established in 1883 at Quorn — the 
rival old village of Kingsley. It was at that time known as the Quorn 
"Lynx." It was a six-column folio, independent republican in politics, 
and was edited by Frank Calhoun. In a few months the plant moved 
over to Kingsley. F. L. Gregg managed it four months and then 
Charles Brandon until December, 1889. It was then leased to Howard 
C. Tripp, who, March 11. 1890, purchased the office and is still con- 
ducting it. It is now an eight-column folio, published every Thurs- 
day, and the subscription rate is fixed at $1.50. It is read by all in- 
terested in the growth of Kingsley and vicinity. Its present editor is 
peculiarly well adapted for editing a live, racy, first-class local jour- 
nal, free from all slang and bitter, personal grievances. It is a clean, 
pure sheet. 

The Remsen " Bell " is the name of a good local journal, represent- 
ing the sentiments of the people around Remsen. It was established 



492 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

in December, 1887, by J. P. Kieffer, as a seven-column folio with an 
eight-page supplement. It is democratic in political faith and teach- 
ings. It is published each Friday at the subscription price of $1.50 
per year. It may be said it is a paper within a paper, as the " Bell " 
is printed in English, while the same subject matter is also set up and 
printed in German and styled the Remsen " Glocke." This issue 
comes forth for the large German population of Plymouth county, as 
well as a large circulation sent to friends in the Fatherland. It now has 
1,100 subscribers. Its editor founded the "Herold" at Le Mars in 
the fall of 1884, and was also stockholder and former editor of the 
" Daily Globe " at Le Mars. He is a forcible, ready writer on all 
topics, and stands high in the esteem of his patrons. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ELGIN TOWNSHIP. 

Description— Organization— Railroads-First Settlement-First Events 
— Village of Seney — Post-office— Churches— Schools — Struble Sta- 
tion. 

THE part of Plymouth county now known as Elgin civil township 
was taken from territory once included in America township- 
It is described as congressional township ninety-three, range forty- 
five, west. Being six miles square, it contains 23,040 acres of land, 
than which there is no finer tract in the limits of any county in Iowa. 
It was detached and organized through an act of the board of 
supervisors, June 8, 1870. Its boundaries are Sioux county on the 
north, Fredonia township on the east, America on the south, and 
Grant, on the west. The Floyd river meanders through several sections 
of the southeast corner of the territory; the West Fork of Floyd 
river courses its way continuously through the western portion. Wil- 
low creek also is another stream found in the south and eastern parts. 
These streams and their many small feeders provide the township with 
an ample supply of water for stock purposes, and, also, give a thor- 
ough and natural drainage system, which pre-eminently fits the soil 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 493 

for the bountiful crops so frequently harvested in this part of Plym- 
outh county. 

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railway crosses this 
township diagonally from northeast to southwest, while the Sioux City 
& Northern railroad crosses the north and west portions of the town- 
ship. The villages of this township are Seney, on the former named 
railroad, and Struble, a station on section five, along the line of the 
recently constructed Sioux City & Northern railroad. 

In 1885 Elgin township had a population of 600, which was made 
up of 400 American born and 200 foreign born, the greater per cent 
of whom were either German or English. The present census returns 
will certainly show a marked increase in population, as well as in 
valuation of property. 

The First Settlers. — Around the first cluster of pioneer settlers 
who venture out in advance as vanguards to civilization, there is 
always connected more of interest and curiosity than about those of a 
subsequent coming. The first to invade the wild prairie lands of 
Elgin township was Jacob Eubel who came from Philadelphia, Penn., 
and went to Omaha, Neb., in 1867. At that time he could have pur- 
chased almost any lot in what has now come to be the great central city 
and railroad hub of the Missouri valley, for $300 or $400. He went 
north to Sioux City, then a small town, and from there he walked to 
where Le Mars now stands, and stopped over night with Capt. Bets- 
worth, who lived, " monarch of all he surveyed," in a log cabin on the 
east bank of the river. Mr. Eubel finally claimed, as his homestead, 
the west half of the southwest quarter of section thirty-four. This 
was October 3, 1867, and he at once moved to his place, and is still an 
honored and well-to-do farmer, now possessing 240 acres of as fine 
land as the county, or even the state of Iowa, affords. The greater 
portion of his excellent farm is located in America township, but joins 
his homestead, which is across the line in Elgin. This first settler, 
a German — relates much of interest, showing the hardships and priva- 
tions of a prairie frontiersman. To show that all was then wild and like 
a wilderness, it needs only to be stated that even two years after his 
coming he found many droves of elk and deer. In the winter of 
^1868-69 he found a drove of over 100, which had been run down, and 
were so wearied by their chase for life, that they could easily be 
approached, and Mr. Eubel was able to get within a few feet of them, 



494 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and after looking them all over finally drew his old-style musket and 
killed a fine one. He quartered it and surprised the family upon his 
return, with plenty of fresh meat. After having killed the animal, 
however,' he had great difficulty in finding his way home over the 
trackless prairie, which was then mantled in deep snow. 

The next settler to take a homestead in Elgin township was Robert 
Taylor, who settled on section thirty-four, in the month of December, 

1867, finished his claim shanty on Christmas day, but moved from 
the township in 1871. Cassa Boyes was next to claim a homestead 
upon Elgin's fertile soil. He came in 1868 and settled on the north- 
east quarter of section thirty-six, where he is still a prosperous farmer. 

Stephen Reeves settled on the southwest quarter of section thirty- 
six, in 1868. He was one of a large number of persons who came 
from near Elgin, 111., and in honor of their old home this township 
was named, in place of the time-honored custom, in many localities, 
of naming after the first settler, which, in this case, would have been 
Rubel. Mr. Reeves is still a resident of Elgin township and one of 
its most highly esteemed citizens. In company with him, came his 
son, Samuel Reeves, who claimed the north half of the northeast 
quarter of section twenty-six. About 1880 he removed to Nebraska. 
George and John Reeves, brothers of Stephen, came about the same 
time, from the same part of Illinois. John died early in the eighties. 
John Trigg, who is still a resident of the township, came in and 
claimed land, in 1868, on the south half of the northwest quarter of 
section twenty-four. Henry Dougherty, who came from Illinois in 

1868. settled on a homestead, taking a part of section twenty-six, 
which he still owns. A Swede named Charlie Johnson came in 1868, 
to section thirty, where he still resides. He was also from Illinois. 
Two brothers, named Wood, emigrated with the Illinois company, in 
1868-69, and settled on section twenty-eight. K. O. Wood settled on 
the northeast quarter of the section and remained until 1885, when 
he removed to Sioux county, Iowa. His brother, Saviliau, generally 
known as "Jack," went to the Black Hills at the time of the first 
great gold excitement, and was killed by the Indians. James 
Haviland and sons came from Illinois in 1868 or 1869, and home- 
steaded on section twenty-eight. The entire family removed to 
Washington territory early in the eighties. The north half of the 
southwest quarter of section twenty-six was homesteaded by Harry 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 495 

Hammond in 1869. He proved up after the five-year limit, and then 
sold out. He now lives on the farm of Capt. Betsworth, his father-in- 
law, in America township. 

George Darvill came from Illinois in 1868 and homesteaded the 
northeast quarter of section twenty-six, where he still resides. James 
Aldison, who was a New Zealander by birth, had seen much of the 
globe, but finally concluded this the place he wanted to make a home 
in, and consequently claimed land on section twenty-six in 1868. 
He remained until 1885 and then removed to California. He is a 
single man, living on the money he has made. 

U. B. Keniston was another settler of 1868. He homesteaded 
the west half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-four. In a few 
months be became homesick, and sold his claim to Mr. Beeves. He 
finally relocated elsewhere in the township, but is now living in Akron 
village. A man by the name of Elder Dacons settled, in 1868, on the 
above-named Keniston farm. C. B. Hobart was an early settler of 
1869. He came from Illinois and purchased land on section twenty- 
four and also homesteaded some. He removed several years later to 
Kansas, but still retains his lands in Elgin township. John Detloff, 
another settler from Illinois, settled about 1869, on section seventeen. 
Joseph Obermaier came early in the seventies and claimed land on 
section seventeen, where he still resides. G. J. Balsinger came to 
this township from Illinois in 1870, and took land on section thirty- 
four. He is a native of Switzerland and is among the highly honored 
men of Elgin township. Another settler of 1870 was F. A. Wood, 
who also came from Illinois, and located on section thirty-three, where 
he still resides. George Wright came in 1870 and claimed land on 
section twenty-eight as his homestead right. He moved away many 
years ago. 

First Events. — The first house was built by Jacob Bubel of cotton- 
wood lumber, which cost him $28 per 1,000 feet in Sioux City, and 
he remarks that it cost nearly as much more to get nails with which to 
hold the boards from warping off the farm. This building stands as a 
curious wooden monument of what homestead life was at an early day 
in Plymouth county. 

The first child born in Elgin township was Joseph S. Rubel, son 
of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Bubel. He was born July 21, 1868, and is 
now living in Chicago, an enterpi-ising young man, who is an honor to 
his parents and his native township. 



496 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The first death in the township was that of Mrs. Taylor, wife of 
William Taylor, a pioneer homesteader. She died in 1870. 

The first marriage within the township was that of Mr. W. S. 
Clark and Miss Anna McGulpin, about 1870. It proved an unhappy 
marriage on account of rum, which has ruined and blasted so many an 
otherwise fair home. 

The first school-house was erected in 1871 on section twenty-four. 
The first term of school taught was private, and kept by the seventeen- 
year-old daughter of Pioneer Stephen Beeves, Miss Elsie, now the es- 
timable wife of George Darvill. This term was taught in 1870, with 
only a few children, but the teacher was good and faithful — even as 
she is to-day — a model woman, who has since that time seen many 
hardships. 

Village of Seney. — Seney is a station on the Omaha railway line, 
platted December 7, 1872, on section twenty-three, of Elgin township. 
While it is but a mere hamlet, yet it serves well its purpose, as here 
are general stores and grain markets sufficient for the convenience of 
the surrounding farmers, who find it too far to go to Le Mars, eight 
miles to the southwest. 

The first to engage in any sort of trade at this point, were Reeves 
Bros., who dealt in grain and lumber, in the autumn of 1873. In 1874 
I. S. Small opened up a general store, principally groceries. He sold 
out to George Beeves, and soon the firm was Beeves & March ; next, 
March Bros. ; then, Y. B. March ; then, E. March. The store property 
burned while in the last-named person's hands — in 1886. 

A general store was also opened in 1 878 by J. T. Beeves & Co., which 
later ran as J. T. Beeves alone. He sold in 1887 to I. E. Eldredge, 
Avho still conducts the business in a successful manner. 

In addition to the above general store, there is a grocery and hard- 
ware combined, operated by E. March, which was opened in Septem- 
ber, 1889. 

The present blacksmith of the place is S. A. Aukerman, who also 
does wagon repairing. 

The grain business, in 1890, is in the hands of F. H. Peavy & Co. 
and A. W. Gilbert. The live-stock interests are represented by I. E. 
Eldredge, who buys and ships large numbers of hogs and cattle. 

A post-office was first established at Seney in 1873, with S. J. 
Howe as postmaster. In 1874 he was succeeded by I. S. Small; then 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 497 

followed George Reeves, and next, Mr. March. From him the com- 
mission fell upon J. T. Reeves, and in 1887, after eight years, it 
passed from him to his successor in trade, I. E. Eklredge, who took 
the office June 1, 1887. It became a money-order office July 1, 1884. 
The first order was issued to J. T. Eeeves, for the amount of f 1, pay- 
able to W. N. Davidson, Luverne, Minn. The business is increasing. 
The last serial number of money order, granted June 4, 1890, was 
646, while there have been issued 941 "postal notes." 

The Methodist Episcopal church of Seney had its commencement 
by the formation of a class in 1870, which numbered about thirty 
souls, all faithful, self-sacrificing men and women, with Stephen 
Eeeves as their leader. They assembled at Mr. Beeves' house, where 
many precious meetings were held for worship. Upon the comple- 
tion of the school-house on section twenty-four, in 1871, they met 
there until the school-house was built at Seney, in 1876, Here they 
met until they erected a church edifice at a cost of $1,600, in 1880. It is 
a frame building, twenty-eight by forty feet, will seat 175 people, and 
is provided with a 760-pound bell. The work was done by Mr. Mar- 
sters, and the lots, two in number, were donated by the railroad com- 
pany. A parsonage, which cost $450, was built prior to the church 
edifice. The present membership of the church is forty-five. A good 
Sabbath-school, which averages fifty-five pupils, is a great aid to the 
church proper, W. C. Lancaster is the superintendent. The follow- 
ing have served as pastors at this point: Rev. J. T. Walker, Rev. H. 
D. Brown, Rev. Thornberg, Rev. Bachelor, Rev. (" Prof.") Binks, 
Rev. Edgar, Rev. Pendel, Rev. Edgar, Rev. Parfitt, Rev. Rigby, Rev. 
Allnutt, Rev. Benedict, Rev. Delano and the present pastor, Rev. 
King. 

The society wish to have it made a matter of record in history 
that they have not always been favored with the most spiritual or 
talented clergymen, and in consequence of this, as much as any one 
thing, the society to-day is not in a prosperous condition. One of the 
earliest pastors, it is related, was actually so lazy that he used to sit 
in his chair, with his coat off, in the warm summer days of the early 
seventies, and preach to his people, instead of mustering enough ambi- 
tion to stand for thirty minutes, while the congregation suffered 
what he had to give them. One old pioneer tells us that this preacher 
missed his calling, because he was too lazy to hear the call, while 



498 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

another says he had understood the Scriptures' to mean "laziness 
(instead of cleanliness) is next to Godliness." The officers of this 
society in 1890 (present year), are; Pastor, Bev. King; stewards 
F. A. Wood, Walter Darvill, John Lancaster, Thomas Smith, Wat 
Freeman, Henry Darvill; recording steward, John Lancaster. 

Siruble Station. — This is one of the last villages platted in the 
county, and dates from the fall of 1889. When the Sioux City & 
Northern railroad was built, this became a station on section five. It 
was also made a post-office about March 1, 1890, with O. D. Laird as 
postmaster. The only business found here now is a general stock, 
kept by Eldredge & Laird, who embarked in merchandising and grain 
shipping in February, 1890; a hardware and implement store, by 
Bitter Bros. ; live stock shippers, Isaac Speer and Peacock & Sons. A 
blacksmith shop completes the list to June, 1890. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
ELKHOBN TOWNSHIP. 



Descriptive— Organization— First Settlement— Schools— First Events 
—A Big Wheat Farm— Village of Quorn— First Railroad— Pioneer 
Newspaper — Homesteaders. 

ELEHOBN TOWNSHIP is that portion of Plymouth county 
described by congressional township ninety and range forty -four 
west. It is on the south line of the county, with Garfield township to 
its east, Union on the north and Lincoln on the west. Not unlike 
the remainder of Plymouth county, this township is noted for its 
excellent land and fine natural drainage system, formed by numerous 
creeks and rivers, amongrwhich may be mentioned the West Fork of 
the Little Sioux river, in the south and western portion; also Muddy 
creek, in the western part, leaving the territory from section four; 
John's creek is another small prairie stream. These principal water 
courses are each supplied with many lesser feeders. 

Elkhorn township was constituted a separate civil organization, 
by an act of the board of county supervisors, dated September 3, 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 499 

1877. Prior to that time it was included in what was styled Lincoln 
township. The population, which now numbers about 500, in 1885 
was only 300, 240 of which were American born. 

The village plat of Quorn, on section twenty-five, was platted in 
September, 1880, but owing to the building up of the railroad town 
of Kingsley, a mile to the east, it is now defunct, virtually. 

First Settlement. — In going about, along well-improved highways, 
with excellent farms on either hand attracting the attention of the 
passer by, the question naturally arises, to-day, "Who was the first 
to claim laud and build for himself a home in this goodly territory?" 
By careful research among the pioneers, it is learned that in 1876 
Charles Bullis came from Franklin county, Iowa, and purchased land 
in the autumn of that year, on section twenty-six, township ninety 
and range forty-four, which now constitutes Elkhorn civil township. 
At that date there was not a house of any description to be seen in 
Elkhorn's eastern neighboring township of Garfield. 

Mr. Bullis said, in an interview with the collector of this his- 
torical matter, that the settlement, in general was made as follows: 

Four members of a family named Higday settled in the northwest 
corner of the township. One moved away; two are deceased; and 
one, named Joseph, is still a resident. 

Nearly all the pioneers of this township made homestead entries, 
George Evans locating on the southwest quarter of section seventeen. 
John and "Mike" Trow claimed land on the southeast of section 
seventeen. The former is still living there; his brother, Gresh, who 
located on section nine, is now dead. A Mr. Mann settled along the 
west line of the township, and remained until about 1886. Hugh 
Mason, who is still an honored resident, effected a settlement on sec- 
tions thirty-one and thirty-two. J. J. Edwards settled on section 
twenty-nine, but subsequently removed to another county. P. J. Ward 
was one of the very earliest settlers, and is still a resident of this 
township. He settled on section twenty-four, where he now enjoys 
the fruit of his labors, in the possession of a most valuable farm, up- 
on which is situated a magnificent grove, planted and cultivated by 
his own hands. S. North settled on the north half of the southwest 
quarter of section fourteen. He is now deceased. Henry Addington 
located on a part of section twenty-four, but soon removed. A man 
named Cain settled on the northwest of section thirty-two ; and one 



500 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

named Bruseau on section twenty. They subsequently removed to 
California. 

From about 1877 settlement was made more rapidly. In 1876 the 
township had about twenty voters within her borders. 

Schools. — The first term of school was taught in 1868, at the Hig- 
day school-house by Al. Higday. The first school-houses were 
erected on section thirty-two and section six — both built the same year. 
As the settlers increased, new sub-districts were made, and provided 
with good frame buildings, until to-day the township has six sub- 
districts, each having a good school edifice. The total enrollment of 
pupils in 1889 was 142. The schools are in an excellent condition, 
and keep pace with new educational methods in all respects. 

First Events. — The first marriage in what now comprises Elkhorn, 
was that of Arthur Dufty, in 1872. 

The first religious services were held at the Higday school-house, 
by Eev. C. W. Batchelor (Methodist), in 1868. 

The first death was that of Sarah North, in 1877, aged sixty-seven 
years. The first child born was Emma Kane, in 1872. 

A Big Wheat Farm. — In August, 1881, the subjoined item was 
published in the "Sentinel:" "The Paullin Brothers' great wheat 
farm of Elkhorn township contains 4,000 acres, one-half of which is 
now under cultivation. The farm is managed by Hudson Mickley. 
Last spring 785 acres were put into wheat and the last of it was cut 
last Monday. Four celebrated Walter A. Woods' twine-binders were 
employed, which, aided by a few men, placed an average of forty-five 
acres per day into the shock. They begin threshing next week. The 
Nichols & Shepard steam thresher will have to hum lively for fully 
three weeks, as there are about 7,000 bushels of last year's crop to 
thresh, besides this year's. The same men also have a 400-acre field 
in O'Brien county, besides 1,200 acres of flax in one body." 

Village of Quom. — October 2, 1880, there was platted by the 
Close Brothers, a village named Quorn, located on section twenty-five 
of Elkhorn township. It was expected that the Chicago & Northwest- 
ern railway line would eventually be constructed through its limits, 
but the company, not liking the Johnny Bull methods of inducing 
railways to their embryo towns, finally platted Kingsley, one mile to- 
the east, which fact forever blighted the fair hopes of Quorn and its- 
projectors. However, before this much had transpired, the village had 






w- 





PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 503 

commenced to thrive and put on western city airs. Several general 
stores were being operated ; a post-office was petitioned for and granted, 
and John Gaspar was the first to hold the office of postmaster. A roll- 
er-mill was built and operated by Heacock Brothers, and still does a 
paying business. Gaspar Brothers, Rathbun & Ireland and Mr. Var- 
ner all conducted good stores, from which general goods and hardware 
were sold. A newspaper, known as the Quorn "Lynx," was estab- 
lished at this point in 1883 by Frank Calhoun, who subsequently re. 
moved it to Kingsley, and gave it the title of " Kingsley Times." 

With the oncoming of immigration, and the push which always cen- 
ters around a new railroad town, the village of Quorn was left out in the 
cold, and now may justly be classed among the defunct places of the 
county. But while there remains nothing save the old mill and a 
few foundation stones, together with a few residences, to remind the 
passer-by of a town -site, yet, so long as memory is theirs, the old settler 
— the early pioneer of long-ago days — will often refer to Quorn and 
think of the good time fully come, when they could get flour to eat and 
mail matter, including a home paper to read, within that half-deserted 
plat — the village of Quorn. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
FBEDONIA TOWNSHIP. 

Location— Organization— Topography— Early Settlement — The Home- 
steaders—The Change Wrought in Twenty Years — High Water- 
Hard Winter— First Events— Schools — Accidents— First Religious 
Services. 

FREDONIA is the second civil subdivision from the eastern line of 
the county, and lies on the county's north line. It comprises 
congressional township ninety-three, range forty-four west, thus con- 
taining thirty-six even sections. Sioux county bounds it on the north, 
Meadow township on the east, Marion on the south and Elgin on the 
west. Its territory formerly belonged with that of Elgin township, 
but, by an act of the board of county supervisors, June 5, 1871, it 



504 HISTORY. OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

was made a separate civil township. It is a most excellent agricult- 
ural section, and has come to be well improved throughout. Among 
its citizens may be found many of the well-to-do people of the county. 
The soil is famous for its great productiveness, and all the grains, 
grasses arid fruits common to this latitude are grown in abundance, 
with seldom a failure of a crop. 

The water courses of Fredonia are Willow creek, which flows from 
the northeast to the southwest part of the township, while the Floyd 
river is found in the northwest corner. Both of these streams have 
several lesser tributaries, which afford good drainage as well as water. 

In 1885 the state census gave Fredonia a population of 562 peo- 
ple, 336 being American born, while the greater part of the remainder 
were German and English. The forthcoming census (1890) will 
doubtless show that the township contains several hundred more 
people, as five years have wrought many changes, and it is reasonable 
to conjecture that this goodly section of Plymouth county has received 
her share of increase by immigration. 

Early Settlement. — To give the reader of local history an intelli- 
gent understanding of the section to be written about, much labor and 
painstaking research must be had, in first establishing the fact as to 
who it was that first claimed the location as his home — who was the 
first actual settler. In this township the honor, for such it is, belongs 
to a man named Elder Dacons, who entered a homestead on a part of 
section six, in the autumn of 1868. He removed to Elgin township 
about 1875, and now lives in Cherokee county. Prior to his coming, a 
claim had been taken by a man named Romans, who selected lands in 
the summer of 1868. 

The second settler in Fredonia township, as now constituted, was 
William Jackson, who came from Oconomowoc, Wis., in the fall of 
1868, and took up land on section eighteen. He built a house and 
improved his land, and is still an honored pioneer of the county, now 
living at the village of Seney. 

Next came two cousins, Web and Watt Freeman, who came from 
De Kalb county, 111. ; they landed here March 4, 1869, the day of Gen. 
U. S. Grant's first inaugural, which historic fact impressed the date 
of their coming indelibly upon their minds. They entered home- 
steads on section eight, which they still retain. Web was a single 
man at that time, and in the fall of 1882 he was elected county i'e- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 505 

corder, and served acceptably for four years. He then returned to 
his farm, remained until January, 1890, when he engaged in the drug 
business at Le Mars. 

Other early homesteaders in Fredonia were Wallace Winslow, 
now a resident of Le Mars, who claimed a part of section eight, as did 
George Darville. William and C. K. Sweetzer settled on section four ; 
they later sold and moved to Oregon. Mrs. N. W. Knowlton home- 
steaded on section four. She remained there until her death, in 1884 
or 1885. E. D. Gould settled on section eighteen. 

Milton and Morgan Coolbaugh, two brothers, settled on section 
twenty, where they still reside. E. M. Varnum came from Canada in 
the fall of 1869, and selected lands on section four, where he now re- 
sides, an honored and thrifty farmer. Henry Heide came from Illinois, 
in 1870, and claimed a portion of section four, which he still lives 
upon. Other early comers will be mentioned in the biographical depart- 
ment of this work, as well as much concerning those already mentioned. 

Great has been the change since the first few homesteaders squat- 
ted upon the broad trackless prairies of Fredonia, in 1869, and the 
present time. Then there was no sort of improvement or mark of 
civilized life between this township and the settlement near Mankato, 
Minn. These first few settlers were compelled to draw their supplies 
from Sioux City. The roads were in a bad condition, few bridges 
were in the county, and the whole aspect was anything but cheery to 
the pioneer's heart, which, however, bravely endured all, and many 
have succeeded in " pulling through," and are now in comforta- 
ble circumstances, and surrounded by railroads, schools and churches. 

The people of to-day know but little of the days of hard winters 
and high-water marks in this county. It is a law of nature and 
philosophy that the older and more improved a country becomes, the 
greater the rainfall, but the streams we term rivers and creeks 
become correspondingly diminished, as the upturned soil absorbs the 
moisture instead of serving to convey it to the larger streams, and, 
eventually, to the ocean. 

It is the opinion of Mr. Freeman, one of the first homesteaders of 
Fredonia, that the highest water-mark along the streams of this por- 
tion of Plymouth county, since its settlement at any rate, was in the 
spring of 1870. Many places the water was several miles wide. On 
one occasion Mr. Freeman attached his wagon-cover to his tight-jointed 



506 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

wagon-box, and sailed several miles across the bottom lands along the 
Floyd river. 

The most noted winter for deep and long-continued snow storms 
was that of 1880-81, which was nearly as bad as the famous winter 
of 1856, which settlers in Cherokee and Ida counties tell so much of. 
The pioneers of Fredonia speak of valleys and ravines fifty feet in 
depth being filled to the level, and then crusted so as to enable teams 
to pass over them, while all the tall native trees were beneath them. 
The following spring every bridge across the Floyd river, except the 
big iron bridge at Sioux City, was swept away, at great loss to the 
county. 

First Events. — The first man to claim land in Fredonia township 
was Mr. Romans, who came in 1868. The first actual settler was 
Elder Dacons, who came in the fall of 1868 and built the first house, 
the lumber for which was brought from Sioux City. 

In all probability the first person born in this township was George 
Varnum, son of Mi\ and Mrs. R. M. Varnum. The first death was 
that of Herbie Sweetzer, in 1872. The first three marriages were 
those of William Elsworth, James Haviland and Charles Sweetzer. 
The first voting done by citizens from this township (when it was 
yet included in America), was at the special election in February, 
1870. It was held at the log school-house, known as the Redmon 
school-house, located two miles south of Le Mars. 

The first term of school was taught in a granary building belong- 
ing to Watt Freeman, on section eight. It was in 1870. In 1872 the 
frame school-buildings in districts Nos. 1 and 2 were erected. 

The first religious services in the township were also held in the 
granary of Mr. Freeman in the spring of 1870. It was conducted by 
the Methodist people. After the school-houses were erected services 
were held in them. There are no church buildings in the township. 

Among the accidents which proved fatal in this township may be 
mentioned that which befell a young German, who was instantly killed 
by lightning while in a cellar, to which he had gone for refuge froru 
a terrible thunderstorm, some time in the seventies. About the same 
time Frank Kass had two sons — young men — killed in a barn during 
a cyclone. 

Schools. — At this date, 1890, the schools of Fredonia township are 
in a flourishing condition. There are now seven sub- districts, each 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 507 

having a good frame school building. The total enrollment of pupils, 
according to the county superintendent's last annual report, was 204. 
The best of teachers, mostly female, are engaged to teach after 
improved and advanced 'methods. 



CHAPTER XV. 

GAEFIELD TOWNSHIP. 

Origin of Name— How Located — When Organized— First Settlement — 
Early Events— Village of Kingsley— Its Incorporation, Business 
and Social Interests— Post-office History. 

GAEFIELD, a fine township in Plymouth county, which was 
named in honor of one of the presidents of the United States, 
is the southeast corner township, and comprises congressional town- 
ship ninety, range forty-three west. At one time this subdivision 
was embraced in what was known as Elkhoru civil township, but 
since September 6, 1882, it has had a separate organization. 

It is bounded on the east by Cherokee county, on the south by 
Woodbury county, on the west by Elkhorn township, and on the north 
by Henry township. The enterprising village of Kingsley, located on 
section thirty, is a thriving station on the Kingsley spur of the great 
Chicago & Northwestern railway system. This is a magnificent agri- 
cultural district, and at this time is among the most thoroughly 
prosperous in all Plymouth county. The chief stream meandering 
through the fertile prairie' lands of Garfield is the West Fork of the 
Little Sioux, which runs southwest through the territory. In 1885 
the population numbered about 400, of which 300 were American 
born, and 100 foreign — mostly German and English. 

First Settlers. — To a man named C. Gard, belongs the historic honor 
of being the first to make an actual settlement in what is now known 
as Garfield township. He located on the southwest quarter of section 
thirty-four in 1878. 

Close brothers (Englishmen) took a large body of land next, and 
the same year they came in, they broke a large amount of land, erected 



508 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

thirty-six farm-houses, and rented most of their lands out. The fol- 
lowing constituted the first settlers: C. Gard, Mr. Mickley (section 
thirty-two), J. J. Heacock and the Close brothers in 1878, S. Ham- 
mer, Hiel Heald, F. Amos, Henry Cook, I. A. Fish (1879), L. H 
North (1880). 

Early Events. — The first school was taught in 1881 in a building 
erected on section fourteen. 

The first regular preaching services were conducted in 1883 at 
Kingsley and at the school-house, section fourteen, Rev. G. W. 
Kliner of the Methodist church officiating. The first religious services 
in the township were held by the United Brethren people, S. V. 
King officiating. The first birth was that of Frankie Amos. The 
first birth in the village of Kingsley was Kingsley Bowen, in 1883. 
The first death in the township was that of a child of Mr. and Mrs. 
J. J. Heacock, in 1878. The first marriage was that of Percy Clarke 
to Catharine Cloeman in October, 1880, L. H. North, a justice of 
the peace, officiating. 

Kingsley. — This is an incorporated town, located on section thirty, 
of Garfield township, and was platted June 4, 1883. It is the chief 
town in the south half of Plymouth county, and furnishes a grain and 
stock market for an immense territory, and hence is one of the most 
thoroughly prosperous towns in the county. Its streets are daily filled 
with farm teams, and the merchants are usually busy. It has a popu- 
lation of about 800 people, nearly all of whom are Americans. Kings- 
ley has the merited name, far and near, of possessing the most enter- 
prising and best class of merchants and tradesmen to be found in this 
section of Iowa. 

The town depends upon the Chicago & Northwestern railroad for 
its shipping facilities. At present, 1890, there are over sixty busi- 
ness houses, all doing a flourishing business. There are two good 
banking houses, several churches, a live local paper — the " Kingsley 
Times " — and one of the best public schools, outside of Le Mars, in 
the entire county. The town is beautifully situated on rolling, high 
ground, with broad well-kept streets. The first attempt at business at 
this point was in the summer of 1883, when the railroad was com- 
pleted. The old town, post-office and trading point for this vicinity, 
as has been stated, was Quorn, which was platted in 1880, by Close 
Brothers, with whom the railroad company had some misunderstanding, 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 509 

and as a result they changed their route and located what is now known 
as Kingsley. The few dealers at Quorn at once removed to the newly 
platted town, about a mile to the east. 

The first to engage in trade in Kingsley was Gaspar Bros., with a 
general store. They moved from Quorn in August, 1883. J. F. Var- 
ner, who was also a pioneer at Quorn, moved his stock at about the 
same date. The first house erected was built for saloon purposes. 
The first hotel was the Curtis House, built by John Curtis. The first 
hardware was sold by Bathbun & Ireland, who removed from Quorn. 
The first to deal in agricultural implements were Rathbun & Ireland. 
The first lumber dealers were Lewis & Brockman. The pioneer 
grain dealers were Herron Bros., who still operate in that line. They 
also bought the first live stock shipped from Kingsley. The first to 
deal in furniture was C. H. Loring. The first blacksmith to pound 
and weld by his glowing forge in Kingsley was Charles Bowers. 
The first wagon shop was conducted by M. A. Oberholser. The first 
to engage in the harness trade at this point was M. A. Condon. The 
drug biisiness was first represented by Marshall & Banks. The vil- 
lagers were first supplied with meat by Scott Bros. The pioneer 
liverymen were Hamil Bros. 

Kingsley soon saw the necessity of becoming an incorporated 
town, and so the step was taken in the spring of 1884. The names 
of the mayors and recorders for each year are here subjoined: 

1884— Mayor, J. S. Ellis; recorder, John T. Ireland. 1885— 
Mayor, G. A. Garrard; recorder W. B. Savage. 1886 — Mayor, G. A. 
Garrard; recorder, I. S. Knowles. 1887— Mayor, C. B. Oldfield; 
recorder, I. S. Knowles. 1888 — Mayor, C. B. Oldfield; recorder, I. 
S. Knowles. 1889— Mayor, C. B. Oldfield, recorder, I. S. Knowles. 
1890 — Mayor, F. E. Eobinson; recorder, J. A. Ingalls. 

The incorporation government has always been of the best, most 
enterprising type, and good order has ever prevailed. Much atten- 
tion is paid to public improvements, including the building of side- 
walks, etc., all of which tend to make the town a desirable place in 
which to live. 

The first post-office in this section of Plymouth county was at 
Quorn (but was subsequently transferred to Kingsley), which office 
was established in 1880, with Peter Gaspar as postmaster. He was 
succeeded by C. E. Ireland, and he was followed by M. L. Marshall. 



510 HISTORY OP WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

From his hands the office passed to those of F. A. Winchel, and then 
back to those of Peter Gaspar, who was succeeded by the present 
incumbent, O. D. Heald, April 1, 1890. It was made a money-order 
office in August, 1884. The first money order was issued to John S. 
Ellis, for the sum of $1.80, payable to J. E. Simpson, Dubuque, Iowa. 
There had been issued, up to May 29, 1890, 2,922 money orders, and 
7,426 postal notes. The office has been kept in different store build- 
ings until this season, when the present postmaster erected a neat 
frame building on North Second street, to which he moved May 20, 
1890. No other business is transacted therein, and it gives greater 
satisfaction to the general public. " Star routes " run from Kings- 
ley, to and from Le Mars, via O'Leary and Neptune. The mail from 
points east and west comes over the Northwestern railroad. 

Commercial Interests, 1890. — Kingsley has come to be an excellent 
town, surrounded by an unequaled rural district. While it is in the 
newest portion of the county, it is well developed, and accounted as 
a fine business point for all trades and professions. The men who 
conduct the several commercial and professional callings to-day are as 
follows : 

Attorneys — J. M. Wormley, John A. Dewey, D. W. Wood. 

Agricultural implements — S. A. Tennant, Knowles & Smaltz, Law 
Bros. 

Banks — Bank of Kingsley, Kingsley Bank. 

Blacksmiths — Charles Bowers, Charles Price, C. C. Schneider, F. 
A. Barns. 

Boots and Shoes — John Gasper. 

Coal Dealers — D. Joyce. M. A. Moore. 

Drugs — Martland & Banks, J. J. Wilder, Wilson Bros. 

Furniture — C. H. Loring. 

Grocers — 'Clarence Wood, M. S. Snider, C. Stortz & Co., Gaspar 
Bros., J. F. Varner, J. J. Filson. 

Grain — Cathcart Bros. 

General dealers— William Kieke & Bros., W. F. Howard, M. G 
Evans, Martin Kalbfleisch, W. H. Miller. 

Hardware — S. A. Tennanb, Knowles & Smaltz, Law Bros. 

Harness shops — M. A. Condon, H. Bhode. 

Hotels — Georgies, Stowell Hotel. 

Jeweler — C. E. Smith. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 511 

Lumber — D. Joyce, M. A. Moore. 

Livery — Trotter Bros., James Grieve, D. W. Peer. 

Miller — J. J. Heacock. 

Photograph gallery — George A. Fox. 

Press — The "Kingsley Times." 

Physicians— Drs. J. J. Wilder, E. H. Banks, E. D. Mason, J. E. 
Walcutt 

Eeal estate— J. S. Ellis, J. M. Wormley. 

Stock-dealers — Herron Bros. 

Saloons — Three "Holes in the Wall " (unlicensed saloons). 

Veterinary — Peter Elliott. 

Wagon shop — M. H. Oberholser. 

Churches. — No better index can be given of the morality of a 
town than the church spires pointing heavenward. It leads one to 
believe, though an entire stranger in the land, that he has come among 
a God-fearing people, with whom it is indeed good to dwell. At 
Kingsley the Christian element predominates to a good degree, as 
may be evinced by the fact that here one finds a Methodist, Congre- 
gational, Catholic and Baptist church, one of which, the Methodist 
Episcopal, numbers about 200 members. 

The Methodist Episcopal church of this section of the county was 
at first formed by a class at Quorn, and belonged to the Le Mars cir- 
cuit. In 1883 it was organized at Kingsley, as soon as the plat was 
surveyed, almost. At first they occupied unfinished buildings as 
places for worship, but in 1885 a neat frame building was erected, at 
a cost of $2,500. It is thirty by sixty feet and seats 300 persons, 
comfortably. Opera chairs are provided for a part of the seats. The 
church tower has a bell which cost $115. A neat parsonage was 
erected for the society in the fall of 1887, at an expense of $600. It 
stands alongside the church building. Hugh Mason was class leader 
at Quorn. The following have served as pastors of this church: Eev. 
G. W. Kliver, one year; Eev. C. C. Stire, one year; Kev. J. W. For- 
syth, one year; Eev. A. J. Beebe, one year; Eev. F. E. Drake, Eev. 
D. M. Beams, Eev. G. W. Klepper, six months; Eev. Hugh Hay, the 
present pastor. The present membership of this church is 200. The 
well-managed Sabbath-school averages an attendance of about sixty- 
six. Its superintendent is W. F. Smith. The 1890 church officials 
are: E. H. Lacy, class leader; J. F. Varner, recording steward; J. S. 



512 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Ellis, district steward. In Kingsley, as in most new towns, the Meth- 
odist people have been first on the ground, and have worked with 
heart, Land and money to further the glorious gospel tidings. 

The first Congregational church of Kingsley was formed February 
14, 1886, by the following charter members: W. C. Bundy and wife, 
F. J. Laude and wife, Mrs. C. E. Stowell, George E. Willhoite and 
wife, Mrs. Cassiday, Mrs. Moulton and J. D. Buckingham. At first 
the society assembled in Loring's hall, but in the summer of 1887 
they erected a frame building, thirty-four by forty feet, which cost 
$2,200, and seats about 150 persons, comfortably. It stands on the 
corner of Main and Third streets, and was dedicated December 1 8, 
1887, Bevs. Walter A. Evans and T. O. Douglass officiating. Six 
hundred dollars was raised and pledged on the day of dedication. 

The pastors who have served are as follows: Rev. D. E. Skinner,, 
a short time; Bev. M. T. Bainer, about three years, and Bev. J. W. 
Chaffin, the present pastor. The present membership is about thirty- 
three. At one time the society had a larger membership, but on ac- 
count of removals was lessened to the above. An excellent Sabbath- 
school of thirty-five pupils is of great help to the society. Its super- 
intendent at present is Dr. B. D. Mason. The first church officials 
of this society were: Dr. W. C. Bundy and George B. Willhoite, 
deacons. The last named was church clerk. The present officials 
are: John Norris, A. E. Gosting, deacons; B. D. Mason, clerk; E. 
J. Norris, treasurer; D. A. Oltman, F. J. Laude and R. D. Mason, 
trustees. 

The first Baptist church at Kingsley was organized November 7, 
1886, with ten constituent members, with appropriate ceremonies eon- 
ducted by Bev. C. E. Higgins (now deceased), missionary, Iowa Bap- 
tist State convention. In response to letters, a council composed of 
representatives and delegates from sister churches, of like faith, con- 
vened in Kingsley, September 9, 1887. Deacon J. D. Gates, of Cher- 
okee, Iowa, was chosen moderator, and Deacon S. D. Holden, of 
Correctionville, Iowa, was chosen clerk. The result of that meeting 
was the reorganization of a regular Baptist church. Bev. W. H. 
Breach, of Cherokee, Iowa, preached the sermon and Bev. A. J. Pat- 
terson, of Kingsley, offered the prayer; Bev. Breach gave the charge 
to the new church, and J. B. Henderson, of Cherokee, extended the 
hand of fellowship, on behalf of the council. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 513 

The society is as yet compelled to worship in rented buildings, 
but the matter is being discussed regarding the erection of an edi- 
fice — a fit temple in which to worship. The present membership is 
twenty-four, and upon an average each has contributed $35 during 
the past year, 1889, toward church support. Help has been solicited 
from abroad with which to build, but thus far the fund has not yet been 
paid over to the Kingsley church ; considerable, however is now in the 
hands of the state association. Perhaps no more worthy, devout, 
self-sacrificing Christian men and women can be found in Iowa than 
the members of this church, and may the next county historian be 
able to record the erection of a house of worship at this point. 

The St. Michael's Eoman Catholic church at Kingsley was formed 
in 1889, with eighteen families, by Eev. Father M. M. Tierney. The 
present membership is twenty-eight families. The church building 
was erected in 1889 at a cost of $1,600; its dimensions are twenty-four 
by sixty feet. The parsonage was also built the same year, at an ex- 
pense of $1,000. The society purchased five acres of land, in Kings- 
ley, for church purposes, and the buildings are on the corner of 
Second and Brandon streets. Father Tierney had to begin from the 
foundation at Kingsley, there having been no Catholic work at the 
place prior to his coming. He is entitled to great credit for the 
zeal manifested and the good work performed thus far. Besides his 
work at Kingsley, he has to attend to that of St. Joseph's church in 
Lincoln township, a congregation numbering forty families; also one 
in Woodbury county, numbering twenty families. At the last named 
place he has built a church the present season. 

America boasts of free schools and religious liberty, hence here in 
Plymouth county, with a greatly mixed foreign and American popula- 
tion, one finds many different church spires, representing various 
denominational faiths and creeds, yet all pointing to the same heaven 
above, while their devotees exercise the uatrammeled right to worship 
the true and living God after the dictates of their own consciences and 
in keeping with the religious training of their forefathers. 

Civic Societies. — As a general rule, in almost all American com- 
munities where culture, morality and refinement prevail, one finds 
well-sustained secret societies, which are not, as supposed by some 
narrow-minded people, anti- Christian in their tendency. At Kings- 
ley there are the following orders represented: The Masonic, Knights 



514 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of Pythias, Odd Fellows and a post of the Grand Army of the Re- 
public. 

The A. F. & A. M., known as Cosmos Lodge, No. 470, worked 
under dispensation, in January, 1885. The following were charter 
members: I. B. South wick, W. F. Howard, M. R. Hammer, E. H. 
Banks, Daniel Whitney, Blair Severins, S. A. Laude, W. McElrath, N. 
J. Brockman, L. H. North, A. M. Hutchinson, R. H. Lacy, D. P. 
Mower, Jesse Moulton. The first chief officers elected were: I. B. 
Southwick, W. M. ; W. F. Howard, S. W. ; M. R. Hammer, J. W. 
The present chief elective officials are: I. B. Southwick, W. M. ; L. 
Conklin, S. W. ; N. J. Brockman, J. W. At one enrollment this lodge 
numbered fifty-one, but its present membership is thirty-seven. Their 
first place of meeting was over Wilson's drug store, on Main street. 
At this time they, in company with other civic orders, occupy the hall 
over Howard's store, to which place they moved in 1887. The pres- 
ent condition of the lodge is good. 

Knights of Pythias, Plymouth Lodge, No. 141, was instituted 
June 14, 1884, by the following charter members: J. R. Walcutt, M. 
M. Carraher, L. V. Cassady, S. L. Hammer, D. W. Wood, E. F. Mil- 
ler, W. R. Savage, W. Rieke, C. H. Loring, C. B. Oldfield, J. D. 
Buckingham, M. L. Marshall, W. E. Benson, M. R. Hammer, F. L. 
Martlam, E. H. Banks, J. C. Gearhart, J. F. Varner, J. H. Ander- 
son, F. Robinson, J. P. Gaspar, A. W. Patridge, H. G. Mansel, W. H. 
Miller, W. H. G. Vernon. The first elective officers were: D. W. 
Wood, C. C. ; J. H. Anderson, V. C. ; J. F. Varner, M. at A. ; W. B. 
Ammerman, K. of R. S. ; A. W. Patridge, M. of F. ; M. L. Marshall, 
M. of E. ; M. Marshall, I. G. ; J. D. Buckingham, O. G. The highest 
membership has been an enrollment of thirty-five. The present con- 
dition of the order is good and growing, with a membership of twenty- 
nine. The lodge at first met over Wilson's drug store, but now meets 
in the hall over W. F. Howard's dry -goods store, in the same room 
used by all orders of Kingsley at present. The officers of 1890, the 
present year, are : William Rieke, C. C. ; William Stevens, P. C. ; C. 
Schneider, V. C. ; J. J. Wilder, P. ; C. Schneider, M. of E. ; E. D. 
Trotter, M. of F. ; Sherm Bell, M. at A. ; H. J. Trotter, K. of R. S. ; 
S. C. Myers, I. G. ; J. Mattison, O. G. 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Kingsley Lodge, No. 204, was 
instituted March 12, 1889. The charter members, were as follows: 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 515 

0. G. Arnold, J. L. Conady, D. Henderson, Lee Johnson, J. A. In- 
galls. The first elective officers were: J. A. Ingalls, N. G. ; Lee 
Johnson, V. G. ; H. C. Tripp, secretary; J. L. Conady, treasurer. The 
highest number ever belonging at any one time to this lodge was 
twenty-seven. At present it is composed of twenty-five members. 
They first met at the hall over Howard's store, where they are still 
located, occupying rooms with the Masonic fraternity and Knights of 
Pythias order. The lodge is in a good working condition — a band of 
noble men, with " Friendship, Love and Truth " for their motto and 
their worldly guide. 

General Bell Grand Army Post, No. 332, was organized in the 
spring of 1885, by about fifteen members — soldiers who wore the loyal, 
Union blue from 1861 to 1865. The first commander was D. W. 
Wood. At present this post has a membership of forty-three com- 
rades, who meet at the Skating Rink building. The present com- 
mander is L. Dean; adjutant, H. A. Dawes; quartermaster, R. B. Too- 
good. The post has a number of guns, several swords, flags, a martial 
band outfit, and upon all public days — especially on Decoration day, 
May 30 — they take charge of the ceremonies and help to strew flowers 
over the graves of departed comrades. Commander Woods served but 
a short time, when he was succeeded by Oliver D. Heald, who held 
the position several terms in succession. As the years shall, one by 
one, steal away, the object of this post will be more and more ap- 
preciated, alike by both soldier and citizen, until at last their sons 
shall sing, " Cover them over with flowers — those dead heroes of ours." 



516 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
GRANT TOWNSHIP. 

Location— Fertility of Soil — Early Settlers — Homestead Days— Then 
and Now — An Eccentric Genius— How He Lived and Died— First 
and Early Events— Educational— German Lutheran Church. 

/~^\ RANT is situated in the north tier of townships in Plymouth 
\Za county, and is the third in number from the western border. 
It comprises congressional township ninety-three, range forty-six west. 
It is south of Sioux county, west of Elgin township (Plymouth 
county), north of Washington township, and east of Preston. It was 
formerly included in the territory known as Washington, but by an 
act of the county supervisors, June 5, 1872, it was created into a dis- 
tinct civil township. It is a wonderfully fertile tract of land, with 
but few streams to mar the even prairie surface. The Mink creek is 
the only stream of any note, and courses its way through the domain 
from north to south, leaving a lovely valley on either side, in which 
one finds to-day a rich farming district, which, if not fortunately sur- 
rounded by nearly as good land, in all directions, would claim more 
attention than it does. If situated in rugged old New England, this 
township would be termed a real garden spot, worth visiting. But 
even as it is, it may well be termed a garden within a fertile field, un- 
surpassed in northern Iowa. 

In 1885 the last state census gave Grant township a population of 
608 people, of whom 364 are American born. 

Early Settlement. — Like most other townships of Plymouth county, 
Grant was first settled by homesteaders, who saw the beauty of 
nature untouched, unclaimed. That great privation and real hardship 
was the lot of Grant's early pioneers, scarcely need be here mentioned, 
when one considers that they were away from markets, away from any 
kind of timber, away from school, and away from everything to remind 
one of home. Yet these brave hearts — men and women, too — self-sacri- 
ficing and full of true courage, saw, in their fancy, the beautiful homes 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 517 

which they have finally come to possess. And the fact of their hav- 
ing come up through great tribulation, through the scourges of prairie 
fires and grasshopper raids, besides inany another plague, which is 
only known to an Iowa homesteader, makes these people now appre- 
ciate their present pleasant surroundings; and well they may, for the 
transformation is wonderful. Let the reader wander back in thought 
to 1868 and 1870, when the surface of this section was unbroken by 
the plowshare; at a period when tall prairie grass, perfumed with 
dainty wild flowers, made up the landscape scene. Think of the eye 
of the first settler peering out over this great sea of grass. The birds 
which sang were but the wildest, ugliest species, such as love not 
civilized life. No groves fringed the few scanty water courses, and 
fuel had to be procured from points many miles distant. Indeed, it 
took hearts, stout and brave, to stem that scene, when the wintry 
winds commenced sweeping down from the cold northwest. It was 
then that thoughts of old eastern homes thrilled the heart, and not 
unfrequently bedimmed the eye of a wife and mother. 

But some one must needs venture out and set the first stakes. The 
record should here be made that " Geo" Dailey was the first man to 
sleep within any sort of a habitation in Grant township. Mr. Dailey 
came from eastern Iowa, it is probable from Jones county, and entered 
his claim on the west half of the northeast'quarter of section eighteen. 
He was a "grass-widower," and had lived in Iowa when it was yet a 
territory. A man of marked ability, he was eccentric, but had many 
friends ; because of his education, tact and true gentlemanly manners and 
wonderful kindness, all were " Uncle Geo's " friends. He proved up 
his homestead and remained there until the time of his death, about 
1880. He seldom left the place, and always lived alone. His house, 
the first constructed in the township, was made of prairie sod. It was 
indeed a curiosity shop. There he cooked in a clay oven, slept, and 
perused his reading matter. He quarried two rough bowlders from 
the bed of the Sioux river, which he fashioned into mill-stones, which 
he ground corn on, by means of a home-made wind-mill, the shaft of 
which entered his sod shanty. 

The second settler was a Welshman, named Davis, who, together 
with his family, came from Pennsylvania, but remained only a short 
time. Other Welsh families were "Little" Jeremiah, who came from 
Pennsylvania and settled on section thirty ; Jones, from the same state, 



518 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

came in 1870, and settled on a homestead in the southwest part of the 
township. 

In May, 1870, James and Joel Andrews came in as homesteaders 
on section eight, Joel, having been a soldier, claimed a quarter section, 
while his brother could only hold eighty acres. James proved up 
and sold out, and ran a saloon at Le Mars for a time, and Joel went to 
Sioux City. 

Henry Taylor, to whom the writer is indebted for much concern- 
ing the first settlement of this township, came from Fond du Lac, 
Wis., and formerly from Pennsylvania. The family, consisting of 
Mr. Taylor and his son-in-law, A. H. Millard, and wife, came in 
covered wagons, in which they lived from early in the month of May 
until August, 1870, while they were building a house and improving 
their land. They came via Dubuque and Fort Dodge. They now 
have one of the finest places in the north part of the county. They 
claimed land on section ten. 

In September, the same year, 1870, came William Benton from 
Connecticut. He homesteadecl the south half of the soutfnvest quar- 
ter of section four. He died in 1874, but the family are still resi- 
dents of the place, which is now owned by his son, George S. The 
next to make a settlement was a man named Scholars, who came in 
from eastern Iowa and pre-empted land on section four. He soon 
sold. J. Kinks preempted the southeast quarter of section four in 
1870. He sold, the same year, to George W. Stillman. Jacob Oler 
homesteaded land on section four in the fall of 1870. He came from 
Jones county, Iowa. After he proved up, at the expiration of the 
five-year term, he sold and went west, where, some years later, he died. 
Almon Wood came from Michigan in 1870, and pre-empted land 
on section ten. He soon sold, however, and returned to Michigan. 
Mathias Wood came at the same time, from the same place, and settled 
on the west half of section ten. He also sold and went back to his 
old home in Michigan, thinking that this country would never amount 
to anything. S. Lane was an 1870 homesteader on the west half of 
the southwest quarter of section ten. He remained until 1876, proved 
up his claim, and then returned to Michigan. Sylvester Bradford, 
formerly from Michigan, claimed the southeast quarter of section ten 
as a homestead. He finally sold and removed to Waterloo, Iowa. 
William Van Cleve came to the township in 1870 and homesteaded 



mwm. 




PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 521 

eighty acres — the south half of the northeast quarter of section ten. 
After proving up he sold and went on west. 

In 1870 James McDougall came out from Wisconsin, and home- 
steaded and bought all of section two — that is, the family did — for he 
had a son and several daughters. They still reside there, all well-to- 
do and highly respected farmers. Nelson Ralston came from Jones 
county, Iowa, and homesteaded on section eighteen. After he proved 
up he sold, and bought land on section four. He now lives in Dakota. 
John Albers came, early in the seventies, from Jackson county, Iowa, 
and settled on section twenty-two, where he still farms. H. E. Wilcox 
and his son, H. W. Wilcox, were early settlers on section twenty-one. 
The former is now in Florida and the latter is engaged in the hard- 
ware trade in Le Mars. G. W. Sheeley homesteaded the northwest 
quarter of section twenty, in 1870 or 1871. He came from Mary- 
land, and is now living in Kansas. 

First Events. — The first township election was held in the spring 
of 1870. 

The first death, as now remembered, was that of William Benton 
in May, 1874. 

The first religious services were held by Methodist Episcopal peo- 
ple, at the house of Almon Wood, on section ten, in 1871. Preaching 
was planned for, but as the clergyman did not arrive, a prayer meet- 
ing was held. 

The first child born in Grant township was that of Mr. and Mrs. 
William Van Cleve, in July, 1871. It survived only a few months. 

The first child born (now living) was Henry H. Millard, born 
April 26, 1872. 

The first school-house in Grant township is what is now styled No. 
9. It was erected in 1872 on the southwest quarter of section twenty- 
nine. The first term taught in this school-house was in 1873, by 
James A. Harroun. 

Educational. — At the very earliest period the homesteaders of 
Grant township began to lay the foundation for a good system of 
public schools. In the winter of 1870-71, what few children were 
then old enough, gathered together at the sod claim-shanty of uncle 
" Geo " Dailey, and there, in that little tucked up and dirty place, the first 
lessons were taught by Mr. Dailey, who received whatever the parents 
felt like donating him in the way of fuel, provisions, etc. In the 



522 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

summer of 1872 or 1873, Sally Parsons, wife of Alfred Parsons, 
taught, at public expense, in a frame house on section four. She 
had but seven pupils, but she made a good and faithful instructor. 
What is now No. 9 school-house was originally built on the south- 
west quarter of section twenty -nine, in 1872, and was the pioneer school 
building of Grant township. To-day the township is well supplied 
with all the country school advantages. It has eight sub-districts, 
and each is provided with a good building. The enrollment in 1889 
was 190 pupils. Seventy-five shade trees adorn the various school 
grounds of the township. 

German Lutheran Church. — -This is the only regularly organized 
religious body in Grant township. The Methodists have held occa- 
sional services here, but owing to the German element, which is 
nearly all Lutheran, no attempt to organize has ever been made. The 
German Lutherans organized their church in 1872. At first they 
held meetings at the school-house, but in 1878 they erected a frame 
church on the southwest quarter of section twenty-one, which cost 
them $600. This served quite well until 1889, when a larger build- 
ing was demanded by the rapidly growing congregation. So the 
present fine structure was reared at a cost of $4,950, besides decorat- 
ing work of $300 additional. A good parsonage was built in 1879. 
The old church building is now used for the parochial school, which 
is taught by the pastor, Eev. F. S. Buenger. The first pastor's name 
was E. Beck, who served for two years and was succeeded by the 
present pastor. The present voting membership of the church is 
sixty, while the congregation numbers over 400. A forty-acre tract 
of land was purchased by this society, at an early day, and on it the 
church, parsonage and school, together with the burying ground, 
are situated. The tillable land is rented to first one member and 
then another, and the proceeds all go toward the general support of 
the society. 

In the southern and western portions of Grant township the Ger- 
mans predominate largely. This church's membership is made up 
from farmers living both in Grant and Preston townships. A more 
moral, religious and truly industrious people can not be found in Iowa, 
than those identified with this congregation. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 523 



CHAPTER XVII. 
HANCOCK TOWNSHIP. 

Size and Description— Formation in 1883— Early Settlement— French 
Squatters — Early Events — Election — Birth — Death — Schools- 
Fatal Accidents— Grasshopper Scourge of 1868 as Seen by Pioneer 
Joseph La Berge. 

THIS is the least in size of any of the twenty-four civil townships 
of Plymouth county. It comprises seventeen full sections and 
several fractional parts of sections of congressional township ninety, 
range forty-eight west. The area and irregular shape is occasioned 
by the boundary line on the west, between Iowa and South Dakota, being 
the Big Sioux river, the course of which is very meandering. At one 
time Hancock was a part of Perry township, but was set apart as a 
separate organization on April 3, 1883. It is situated on the west line 
of the county and state as well. Sioux township is on its north, Perry 
on the east and Woodbury county on the south. It contains about 
13,000 acres of land. Broken Kettle creek passes through the north- 
western portion of its territory, and has its confluence with the Big 
Sioux river on section nine. Topographically, this township is extremely 
rough and hilly, almost mountain-like. In 1885 its population was 
150, with only thirty of foreign birth. 

Early Settlement. — Let the reader turn his thoughts from the present, 
and view, in his most vivid fancy, the territory embraced in this part 
of the county, as it might have been seen prior to 1854, during which 
year Surrell Benoist, a Frenchman who had married a squaw, by whom 
a family was reared, found his way up the Missouri river to this spot, 
and took a squatter's claim, as this was before the land had been sur- 
veyed by the government. 

For years this was the only inhabitant of the township. The place 
he claimed is the fine bottom farm now owned by Joseph La Berge, 
on section thirty-five, township ninety, range forty-eight. It is in the 
most romantic and picturesque portion of the famous Big Sioux valley, 
at a point about seven miles northwest of Sioux City. This French- 



524 HISTOBY OF WOODBDBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

man looked upon the fertile valley just as it had been left by the sav- 
age Indian tribes, that had recently made it their hunting and fishing 
ground, but who had caught the faint but certainly increasing echo of 
civilization, with its. steady tramp of conquest, and hence sought a still 
more secluded home, farther to the northwest. Upon this tract was 
built a log cabin, which stood on the exact spot where now a portion of 
Mr. La Berge's farm-house stands. Although more than a third of a 
century ago this pioneer cabin was reared, yet some of the logs are 
about the premises, in a fair state of preservation, having been made 
use of in the first dwelling built on the place by Mr. La Berge, who 
came to the locality during the month of May, 1867, and became the 
second squatter on the same place, Benoist, the first settler, having 
abandoned it. It was in 1857 that a man named Verrigutt squatted 
on section twenty-seven and remained until about 1863. 

When Joseph La Berge became a settler of the township, he found 
John Hardin, who came from Pennsylvania, living on section twenty- 
seven, where he had pre-empted his land, and where he remained until 
1878, and then removed to Washington territory. Section fifteen had 
for its occupants old Mr. Conley, who was Hardin's father-in-law, with 
his three sons, John, Richard and Allen. B. B. Sutton, another settler 
in the north part of the township, lived on Broken Kettle creek, and 
was a conspicuous figure in the first organization of the county. He 
finally sold and moved to Kansas. Section three was settled by Ezra 
Carpenter, who came from Dakota about 1865. He afterward removed 
to Arkansas. 

In 1868 Joseph Benoist (French) made a settlement on the south- 
east quarter of section twenty-three, where he lived about five years. 
Section thirty-six was settled on by Timothy Harrington, who took 
advantage of the homestead act. He now resides in Sioux City. 
Henry Multhoup was another early homesteader to claim land on 
section thirty-six. He is also in Sioux City at present. Mr. Wood 
located on section twenty-three in 1869, but only remained a short 
period. J. H. Cowell bought lands on section fifteen about this time. 
He is still a resident of the township. 

W. D. Carlisle settled on section twelve in 1870. He is still there, 
and is a prosperous and honored citizen. Frank West, another pioneer 
settler of section twelve, proved up on his homestead and sold to Dun- 
can Ross, now a prosperous farmer of Dakota. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 525 

In 1878 T. Fursee homsteadecl a portion of section twelve. 

In 1879 came James Daily. He came from Sioux City, and lived 
on what is now known as the Marks farm. He removed in 1881. 
He also purchased land on section twenty-three. 

Other early pioneers were Messrs. Lamoureaux, Easton and 
Denisten. From 1873 on, until after the grasshopper plague had 
passed away, in 1877, but few, if any, came in as settlers. The 
greater part of the township being extremely uneven, in some places 
rough and hilly enough to be called mountainous in this prairie 
country, other parts of the county were settled first. 

Early Events. — The first election in what is now Hancock town- 
ship was held in the school-house on section ten, known as the 
"Massey school," in 1883. 

The first death in the township was that of Richard Connolly, 
who was killed by an early settler named Benoist, a Frenchman, with 
whom he had a difficulty in February, 1872. On the ground of partial 
self-defense the man was sent to state's prison for one year. 

The first birth within Hancock township was that of George, a 
son of Donzitte Lamoureaux, born in October, 1869. 

The first marriage was that of Abe Sutton, son of B. B. Sutton, 
who was married not later than 1867. 

Schools, Etc. — The first school in this township was taught in 
1868, at the private residence of Pioneer B. B. Sutton, by an old gen- 
tleman named Carrons. A school building was erected on section 
twenty-six, in 1869, by Joseph La Berge, who says he paid $6 per 
1,000 for the shingles used, and as much in proportion for all the 
lumber. 

At present the township is divided into four sub-districts, each 
having comfortable buildings. The total enrollment of pupils in 1889 
was fifty-seven. Great care is used in and about the school grounds, 
and the same have been ornamented by eighty beautiful shade trees. 

Accident. — Among the fatal accidents which have occurred in the 
township, may be mentioned the death of Pioneer Knapp, who was 
killed by lightning, during a slight hurricane, about 1875. It is 
related that he, in company with others, had sought shelter by a 
granary or barn, and that while there they saw an out-building blown 
over, which sight provoked laughter from Mr. Knapp, and that at that 
instant he was stricken dead by the lightning, and that so sudden was 



526 



HISTORY OF WOODBUHY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



the shock, that even for hours after death, his face wore a smile, ter- 
rible as it was for friends to behold. 

Grasshoppers. — Pioneer "Jo" La Berge fixes the date of the first 
coming of the grasshoppers in his section of the country, as August 27 
1868, at eleven o'clock, a. m., when the sun was darkened, as if by a 
heavy snow storm filling the atmosphere. The fine prospect for crops 
was entirely removed before sunset that eventful day, as all vegetation 
was destroyed. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
HENEY TOWNSHIP. 



Territory Embraced— When Constituted— Topography— Early Settle- 
ment—Pioneer Events— Growth of the Township— Schools— Early 
Marriages— First Birth— First Election, etc. 

CONGKESSIONAL township ninety, range forty-three west, since 
June 6, 1882, has been known as Henry civil township. Prior 
to that it was included in what was styled Union. Henry is south of 
Remsen township and west of the Cherokee county line, north of Gar- 
field township and east of Union township. It contains over 22,200 
acres, the greater part of which is valuable farming land. Whiskey 
creek and Rathbun creek are the principal streams. The former 
runs from north to south, through the eastern portion of the territory. 
In 1885 the state census gave the population as 260, 183 being of 
foreign birth. 

Early Settlement — The first pioneer who came into Henry town- 
ship is still a resident and an active citizen, and to him the writer is 
indebted for much of the information contained in this early-settle- 
ment review. 

D. S. Rathbun broke the first land in what is now Henry township, 
in 1876, having taken a " tree claim " on the northeast quarter of 
section eighteen. He sold out to J. W. Hawkins, who was the first 
actual settler to locate in the township. He built a house, which forms 
a part of his present residence, in the spring of 1879. Mr. Haw- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 527 

kins now owns the north half of the section, and is a progressive 
farmer. He emigrated from the southern states soon after the close 
of the Civil war, in which he took an active part. The first land he 
purchased cost him $5 per acre. 

One qf the nest to effect settlement in this township was Col. 
James Fenton, who located a fine stock ranch in 1881, on section 
eleven, known as the Karlton stock farm, which contains 1,000 acres 
of highly improved land. 

Nest came Henry Schuett and Henry Breiholtz. The former 
bought the northeast quarter of section seventeen, in 1881, and still 
resides there upon a well-tilled farm. Breiholtz bought and improved 
the northeast quarter of section nine, the same year. Then came in 
John Toothman and Mrs. A. C. Peebles. Toothman bought and im- 
proved the northwest quarter of section thirty-one, in 1882, and Mrs. 
Peebles the south half of section thirty-two, the same season. 

Herron Brothers bought and improved all of section nineteen, 
in 1882-83. It is now known throughout this section as the Herron 
Bros, stock ranch. 

Henry Mundt and Emil Boehmke came into the territory nest, 
settling on sections five and sis, respectively, where they now possess 
two of the finest farms in Plymouth county. Daniel Arbuthnot settled, 
in 1882, on the uorthwest quarter of section seventeen, where he 
remained until 1888, then sold to H. J. Rolfs for $25 per acre, and 
moved to Los Angeles, Cal. He is the only one of the first settlers to 
remove from Henry township. In 1883 came William Treptow and 
his son, C. W., and located on the south half of section thirteen. 
The father died and left the property to his son, C. W. A. F. Pfaffle 
also took land that year on section thirteen. 

In 1884-85 Thomas Healey, N. L. Hisson and Gerhart Fokken 
settled on sections thirty-one and thirty-two, where they still remain. 

Early Events. — Henry township was organized and named in 
1882 by J. W. Hawkins. It had been called East Union. 

The first election was held at the house of Henry Schuett, where 
the first officers were elected as follows: Henry Schuett, Daniel Ar- 
buthnot, John Moellers, trustees; J. W. Hawkins, justice and assess- 
or; J. H. Herron, clerk; James Peebles, constable. Mr. Hawkins, 
making an efficient officer, has held the position ever since, having 
been elected four times in succession. 



528 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The first school-house was erected in 1883, on the northwest 
quarter of section eight; it is termed " Hawkins " school-house, and the 
first teacher was Miss Mary A. McCartney, of Union township. 

The first marriage in the township was that of Henry Mundt to 
a lady from the east. The next was A. F. Pfaffle to Miss Huldah 
Treptow. The first birth was a son to Mr. and Mrs. Mundt. 

The growth of Henry township has been very rapid. At the first 
election twenty-four votes were polled — four republican and twenty 
democratic. At the present date, 1890, the assessor's books show 120 
voters, 104 of whom are subject to military duty. 

Schools. — As already stated, the first school was taught in 1883. 
As settlement increased, due attention was paid to school matters, 
and according to the school superintendent's annual report for 1889, 
Henry township had six sub-districts, each provided with a hand- 
some frame building. The school attendance was then 130 pupils. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

HUNGEKFOKD TOWNSHIP. 

Present Territory — When Organized— Location — Kailroads— Popula- 
tion — Name— Pioneer Settlement — Early Events — Hinton Station — 
Village of James — Churches— Schools, etc. 

BY government survey, Hungerforcl would be described as town- 
ship ninety, range forty-six west. It at one time was embraced 
in the civil townships of Lincoln and Plymouth, but by an act of the 
supervisors it was constituted a separate organization, April 7, 1875. 
Hungerforcl is located on the south line of the county, with Lin- 
coln township to its east, Plymouth to its north, and Perry to its west. 
The line of the Illinois Central and Minneapolis & Omaha (consoli- 
dated ) traverses this township from north to south, with stations known 
as James and Hinton. The Sioux City & Northern road runs parallel. 
It is a well-developed agricultural district, with signs of thrift and 
prosperity on every hand. Its population is mixed — American, Ger- 
man and Canadian — and in 1885 numbered about 600, but at this time 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 529 

has come to be much larger. It was named in honor of an early 
settler, E. S. Hungerford. 

The Floyd river meanders from section three to section thirty-one, 
while Carter creek takes its source from section twenty-four, and flows 
northeast, having confluence with the Floyd on section four. A half- 
dozen smaller streams add to the beauty, fertility and value of the 
township. 

Pioneer Settlement — The first attempt to settle this goodly town- 
ship was in 1856, when a colony of immigrants came in from Ogle 
county, 111., in the month of July. 

John and Henry Schneider, of the large family of Schneiders, 
settled in Hungerford, while the balance of the family located in 
Plymouth township. Henry was a mere boy, but John pre-empted a 
part of section four, where he still resides, a well-to-do farmer. 
Most of the party came by team, but John Schneider walked the en- 
tire distance, coming via Dubuque, then a small town. Morgan Staf- 
ford came the same time, and pre-empted land on section four, where 
he remained until 1863, and then removed to Kansas. Mr. Carter pre- 
empted land on section two, in 1856, moved to his place in 1857, and 
during war times he sold and moved farther west. 

A. E. Ilea came about 1857, settled on section ten, was a prominent 
man in county affairs, was elected treasurer and recorder, but removed 
to another part of the state a few years since. 

E. S. Hungerford (for whom the township was named) came in from 
Illinois in 1856, and settled on section thirty-two. He was coiinty 
supervisor for many years, and died in this township in 1889. 

C. E. Sheetz settled in 1856. He was county surveyor, and held 
many of the early offices. He had every chance for becoming a 
wealthy man, but through some lack of management never prospered. 
In 1887 he moved to Kansas. Philip, Fred and Erhard Held all came 
in prior to 1861, and made land purchases. Philip and Erhard still 
live in the township; Fred was accidentally killed by a horse, in 1886. 

There were no other settlers until long after the close of the Re- 
bellion, up to about 1868-69, when many flocked in and claimed 
lands, prior to the completion of the Illinois Central road. 

Early Events. — The first mill in the county was built on section 
nine of this township. It is on the Floyd river, and was first a 
buhr mill, but now has a "roller" system, which produces flour 
second to none in Iowa. It was built in 1867-68, by Hoese Bros. 



530 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

It seems probable that the first person to die within Hungerford 
township was the wife of a man named Verrigut. She died during the 
war, and was buried on section four — a place Avhere all the early- 
dead were laid away to rest. The spot has long since been abandoned 
as a cemetery. The first marriage in the township was that of Morgan 
Stafford to Miss Catharine Schmidt. The first school was taught on 
section sixteen, in war times. The first religious services were held 
by the Baptist people, at the house of Pioneer Sheetz. No societies 
have ever been organized in this township, except those at James 
station. 

Hinton Station. — This is a small hamlet, a station of not much 
business importance, on the Illinois Central railroad, and is situated 
on section eight. The first general merchandise store at this point 
was conducted by A. C. Davis, in 1883. A post-office was estab- 
lished in 1883, with Samuel Davis as postmaster. He was followed 
by James Davis; then came H. S. Hubbard, aDd in turn B. F. Bo- 
genrief who served until September 7, 1889, when G. W. Sheetz was 
commissioned. The only traffic of Hinton to-day is transacted at the 
general stores of Bogenrief & Co. and G. W. Sheetz. The first- 
named firm handles grain also. H. E. Jenkins is the blacksmith 
of the hamlet. Mrs. H. E. Winters conducts a sort of hotel, where 
the traveler is well provided for. 

Village of James. — James is a station on the Illinois Central, 
Omaha and Sioux City & Northern railroads, located on section 
thirty. It was platted May 26, 1876, by the railroad company. Fred- 
erick Prust built the first house on the plat in the summer of 1872. 
J. & E. Schindel put in the first general store in the building bought 
from Mr. Prust, in 1875. A post-office was established in the fall of 
1874, with one of the Schindels as postmaster. He was succeeded by 
A. W. Clancy in 1886. He held it until his death, in October, the 
same year, when Eanny Clancy was appointed, and still holds the 
office. The Schindels dealt in general merchandise, grain, coal and 
stone. Peter Peterson conducted the hotel, and sold groceries and 
coal. James Fulton, the pioneer blacksmith, is still an honored work- 
man of the village, who attends to blacksmithing, pump and well- 
drilling work. He came to James in June, 1875. 

The Methodist Episcopal church at this point was formed in the 
spring of 1889, with twenty-three members, Avhich is also the present 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 531 

number. The present pastor is Rev. G. Griggs. Trie average of 
Sabbath-school attendance is about eighty. A neat frame church was 
erected in 1889, costing $1,600. 

While James is not large, yet it supplies the people in that part 
of Plymouth county with the staples used in families and on the 
farm ; gives a grain market, and also affords a good place at which to 
get mail and have repairing done. 

Schools. — The first settlers believed in education as well as the peo- 
ple living in Hungerford to-day, for early during the Civil war, when 
but a handful of settlers were battling against the hardships of a new 
and altogether wild prairie country, we find that a school was main- 
tained on section sixteen. With the passing years educational matters 
have never been left to lag, but always keeping pace with the march 
and progress of the more modern, improved methods. In 1889 the 
county school superintendent's report shows that Hungerford town- 
ship had seven sub-districts, each provided with a good-sized frame 
school building, and the average enrollment of scholars was, at that 
time, 160. 



CHAPTER XX. 

JOHNSON TOWNSHIP. 

Present Domain— When Constituted— Water Wats— A Farming Sec- 
tion— Population— First Actual Settlers— First Events— Schools 
of 1890— Religious— Post-offices— Perished in the Prairie Fire. 

THIS township comprises congressional township ninety-two, 
range forty-seven. It was taken from Plymouth and Sioux 
townships by an act of the supervisors dated June 8, 1870. It is 
bounded on the north by Preston township, on the east by Washing- 
ton township, on the south by Liberty, and on the west by Westfield. 
Water Ways. — The streams which supply Johnson township with 
water and give a thorough natural drainage, are the Broken Kettle 
creek in the northwest corner, and Bull Run creek in the southwest 
portion. It is purely an agricultural district, with no towns or vil- 



532 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

lages within its borders. The soil's richness is equal to any in the 
whole domain of Plymouth county. 

The population in 1885 was 500, of which about 300 were Ameri- 
can born, and the balance about equally divided between the Canadians 
and Germans. 

The First Actual Settlers. — In older countries it is no easy matter 
to delve back into the dim past and establish the facts concerning the 
first settlers, but here, in Plymouth county, many still sui'vive, who 
saw and helped to erect the pioneer buildings, and by this class it is 
stated that the settlement of Johnson township was effected, at first, 
by a number of homesteaders, among whom the very earliest ones 
were: John P. Hoffmann, on section thirty-six; he still resides on 
the land originally claimed. Theodore Hoffmann came at the same 
time. August Hauswald homesteaded a part of section twenty-sis. 
Andrew Wilson came from Jackson county, Iowa, in the spring of 1871, 
and homesteaded the northeast quarter of section twenty-two, where 
he still remains — a well-to-do farmer. The earliest settlers came in 
1868-69. Thomas Stanton came from Jackson county, Iowa, and 
homesteaded the south half of the northwest quarter of section twenty- 
two, where he still lives. 

In 1870, C. S. Rowley homesteaded the south half of the southwest 
quarter of section thirty-two. He still resides there. Charles Kanago 
homesteaded the west half of the northwest quarter of section thirty- 
two, and still occupies the place. Wallace Puller came from eastern 
Iowa, and in the spring of 1871 homesteaded the southeast quarter of 
section eight. In a great and sweeping prairie fire, about 1880, his 
wife was burned to death. He married again, however, and is now a 
large farmer of this township. Isaac N. Jeffers was a homesteader 
about the same date, who claimed a portion of section four. He came 
here from Black Hawk county, Iowa, and is still an honored resident 
of Johnson township. Peter and Donald McKinnon came in the fall, 
and took homesteads on section two. Later on they bought farms on 
sections one and three, where they still reside. 

Richard Goldie, now editor of the " Sun " at Le Mars, homesteaded 
the northeast quarter of section twelve, in 1870-71. He proved up 
and remained there until a few years ago, when he entered the journal- 
istic field. August McGruinis claimed the east half of the northwest 
quarter of section twelve, in 1870. He is still a resident of his original 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 533 

homestead. C. F. Wendt was a settler of 1872, on section twelve, 
where he still remains. August Muecke, in the fall of 1870, home- 
steaded the northeast quarter of section fourteen, where he still lives. 
Christian Kasper homesteaded the southeast quarter of section four- 
teen, in the autumn of 1870. He is still an honored resident of this 
township. Chris Miller homesteaded on the northwest quarter of sec- 
tion fourteen, and still remains a resident. B. H. Michael located a 
homestead in the fall of 1871, on the northeast quarter of section twen- 
ty-four. About the same time came in Henry Beckeberg, claiming the 
south half of the northeast quarter of section twenty-four. He is 
now a large land owner in Johnson and Washington townships', 

Richard Faull homesteaded land on the south half of the south- 
west quarter of section twenty-four. He still resides there, possessing 
a well-tilled and finely-improved farm. William Bornschein settled 
on the north half of the northeast quarter of section twenty-six, in the 
fall of 1870. He still remains on the place. Another early settler 
and homesteader was Aaron Archer, who, in the fall of 1870, took land 
on section thirty-two. He was driven out of the county by grasshop- 
pers, and now lives at Emporia, Kas. Moses Archer came in at the 
same time and claimed a part of section thirty. He was also com- 
pelled to leave the county during the plague years, and is now a resi- 
dent of another part of Iowa. John Arndt, now living at Le Mars, 
homesteaded on section thirty-four about 1869. A Scotchman named 
Shaw was an early homesteader in the north part of the township. 
After proving up his claim he sold and removed to a point farther 
west. Julius Goecky homesteaded on section four, in 1870, and removed 
soon after he proved up his claim, about 1875. 

These, with a few more, made up the first settlement of the town- 
ship. But few others sought homes here until after the country had 
escaped the grasshopper ravages of 1874 to 1877, years long to be 
remembered by the early pioneers and homesteaders of Plymouth 
county. 

First Death. — The first person to die in the township was the wife 
of Ellis Rowley, a homesteader. She died in 1871, on section thirty- 
two. 

The First School was taught very early in the history of the 
township, probably about the winter of 1871-72. Two school-houses 
were provided about that date, one on section thirty-four and the other 
on section thirty-two, and then one very soon on section fourteen. 



534 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Schools of 1890. — According to the report of the county superin- 
tendent of public schools, in 1889 Johnson township had six sub-dis- 
tricts, each provided with a suitable frame school building. The total 
enrollment of pupils that year was 145. Much attention has been 
paid to securing good and fully competent teachers, and, as a conse- 
quence the educational standing is most excellent at the present time. 

Religious. — The religious element seems to have predominated 
quite largely in Johnson township. At present we find four denom- 
inations represented with active societies, viz. : The United Brethren, 
Presbyterian, German Methodist and Roman Catholic. The former 
two each have church edifices, the Catholics have built two, but their 
last one was blown down some years since, and never rebuilt. 

The United Brethren church was formed in February, 1874, as 
the result of the labors of Bev. I. G. W. Chase, formerly of Lisbon, 
Iowa. At first the society numbered ninety-nine. Among the mem- 
bers and officers were: Jacob Brown, class leader; T. W. Lias, Sun- 
day-school superintendent; McKeel, class steward; AVhitney Atrill 
and Joseph Stinton, trustees. Of the original members there only 
remain the following: James Stinton and wife, Joseph Stinton and 
wife, Abner Andrus, Mrs. Wilson, Hannah Stinton, Louisa Bristow, 
Lucy Bradley, Mrs. Kanago. Of the remainder, some have "fallen 
out by the way," some removed, and others gone to reap the reward of 
the faithful. The preachers have been: Rev. Chase, Rev. J. D. Snyder 
(present presiding elder), Rev. T>. M. Harvey, Rev. A. E. Curtis, Rev. 
J. Brown, Rev. A. W. King, Rev. Jacob Brown, Rev. M. Fulcomer, Rev. 
G. Dity, Rev. L. T. Craven, Rev. F. Stinton, Rev. F. H. Neff. At 
present the church numbers forty-one. The Sunday-school superin- 
tendent is U. Stinton, the class leader is S. Morehead; trustees: James 
Stinton, Joseph Stinton, F. S. Talbott, A. Andrus, William May. A 
church was erected in 1882, at a cost of $ 1,200. It is thirty-two by 
forty feet, seats about 300, and is located on the northwest quarter of 
the northwest quarter of section thirty-three. 

The German Methodist Episcopal church of Johnson township is 
the earliest of this sect in Plymouth county. It was formed by a few 
devoted German families in 1872. It now has a membership of 
twenty-five. They now hold services in the school-house, being 
attended by the pastor at Le Mars, but are talking of building a 
chapel. -A good Sabbath-school is maintained, which meets at the 
Kasper school-house, on section fourteen. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 535 

The Presbyterian church of this township is situated in the ex- 
treme northeast corner of section one. The society was formed in 
1879. It is known as the "First Presbyterian church of Plymouth 
county," and is truly what its name signifies, the first in the county. 
At present there are but twelve members. A braiding was erected 
about 1879, thirty by forty-five feet. Its cost can not be got at, as it 
was built by volunteer labor, no money being paid for the work. The 
building was first started by a pioneer named James, who was a mason 
and helped lay the brick work. He was a Presbyterian clergyman 
and a zealous worker. At present Rev. Fahrs, of Le Mars, preaches 
here once in two weeks. There are two elders: Mr. Shaddegan and 
Malcom F. Brodie. The trustees are Peter McKinnon, John Robin- 
son and Angus McGinnis. The present Sunday-school superintend- 
ent is Malcom F. Brodie. The school now numbers about seventy- 
five. 

Post-offices, Etc. — This township has no towns or villages or rail- 
roads. It has, at present, two post-offices: Adaville, established in 
1889, near the United Brethren church building, in the southwest 
part of the township; there is also a store at this point, kept by Mr. 
Scott. Clathorne post-office is located on section twelve; it was estab- 
lished about 1885, with Richard Goldie as postmaster. It is now pre- 
sided over by Mr. Russell, who also operates a small general store at 
this point. 

Fatal Prairie Fire. — Among the heart-rending and revolting 
calamities which it becomes the duty of a historian to record of this 
county, is the terrible death of the wife of one of the present residents 
of Johnson township — -Mrs. Wallace Fuller. The sad event took place 
on Broken Kettle creek, the first week in April, 1879, and has always 
been looked upon as the most appalling catastrophe ever having hap- 
pened in Plymouth county. The homestead where Mr. Fuller then 
lived was twelve miles west of Le Mars, and there had grown up a 
goodly settlement along the valley in which he lived; but there were 
a few full sections of wild land, covered with a rank growth of prairie 
grass, adjoining this ill-fated spot, which were set on fire and became 
unmanageable. The fire came up about noon, and threatened Mr. 
Fuller's stables (made chiefly of straw and hay, as all western stables 
were at that date). Mr. Fuller, who was working in the field near by, 
saw the danger, and repaired to the stable to release the horses, while 



536 HISTOBY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

his wife went to another stable for the purpose of releasing some more 
stock. The angry, wind-fanned flames swept to the door of the stable 
to which the poor, unfortunate woman had so bravely gone in defense 
of the dumb brutes. She made a dash through the flames, which 
then totally enveloped the stable, but in so doing, her clothes caught 
fire. Before going far, she fell to the ground, where she was shortly 
observed by her husband, who frantically sped to her rescue. While 
the seething, hissing flames roared around him, he tried to tear the 
clothing from off his wife's body. The sad story must terminate by 
saying death soon ended the woman's sufferings, and the homesteader's 
wife, midst the turmoil of a new, wild prairie life, was laid away to 
rest from her cares and labors, lamented by all who knew her. Besides 
the loss of his dear companion, Mr. Fuller also sustained the loss of 
four horses, ten hogs, thirteen head of cattle, a thousand bushels of 
wheat, 150 bushels of flax and a large amount of corn. In the mean- 
time the flames had leaped to the farm-house, and that also was 
rapidly consumed, together with its contents. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. 

Location — Organization — Population — Early Settlement — Early 
Events— Frozen in a Blizzard— First Election— Schools. 

LIBERTY is located in the southwestern portion of the county, and 
comprises congressional township ninety-one, range forty-seven 
west. It was at one time included in Lincoln, but after many changes 
in the subdivision of the county was finally, by an act of the board of 
county supervisors, June 2, 1879, created a separate civil township. 

It is south of Johnson, west of Plymouth, north of Perry and east 
of Sioux township. It is a beautiful tract of rolling prairie land, 
unsurpassed for richness and value for agricultural purposes. Perry 
creek is the only stream of any note, and courses its way through the 
eastern part of the territory. The population in 1885, according to 
the state census report, was 441, of which 320 were American boi - n. 




'>^m "&*&> 






II 








^7 




PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 539 

Early Settlement. — The first person to settle in what now com- 
prises Liberty township was Charles Beuttner, who located on the east 
half of the southwest quarter of section fourteen about the year 1868. 

Eobert Crouch, who moved to this township in 1881, first settled 
in Perry township in 1871, and when he came to this section of coun- 
try he says the principal settlers in Liberty were the following: 
Charles Beuttner, George Veidt, Pat Gorman, L\ Eberhard, Cris Ban- 
erly, L. J. Hume, H. J. Callaghan, S. W. Garner, D. W. McAllister, 
T. Hansel, J. F. Groshong, H. C. Baker, and some half dozen more 
whose names have now been forgotten. 

During the years 1871, 1872 and 1873 came in A. W. Crouch, W. 
W. Waddle, H. Bock, M. A. Moore, D. M. Woodman, L. Benfro. 

Other quite early settlers, some of whose personal sketches will be 
found elsewhere in this book, were: Thomas Clary, on section twenty- 
three; John McAllister, William McAllister, Cyrus Washburn, William 
Ahem, Alvah Schedd, now of Akron, Iowa; John Willis, a home- 
steader, now a resident of Omaha; "Coon" Popps, a homesteader in 
the north part of the township, but who afterward removed to Dakota; 
W. S. Cassady, and a homesteader known as " Scoot," on section 
thirty-four, who finally sold his land to M. F. Crouch. 

Early Events. — The first birth in Liberty township was quite 
likely that of Jennie Callaghan, born in February, 1871; however, 
there may have been earlier ones in the northeast portion of the town- 
ship. The first death from natural cause was that of the mother of S. 
W. Garner, who died in the winter of 1872-73. 

After the great blizzard of January 27, 1871, two men, father and 
son, named Jordan, were found frozen to death on section thirty- 
three. Their home was on section thirty, township ninety-two, range 
forty-six. In February, 1871, the father of L. J. Hume, who lived 
with his son on section thirty-four, was frozen to death in a terrific 
storm. The first marriage now recalled was that of George Hagle 
and Kosa Woodman in 1873. The first school was taught in a shanty 
built by the settlers in the fall of 1870. The first township election 
was held in the fall of 1879, at the McAllister school-house. Owen 
Garvey was elected clerk; John McAllister, justice of the peace; Tim. 
Donovan, Patrick Gorman and C. Banerly, trustees. 

Schools, Etc. — This township is fully up to the high-grade stand- 
ard of the Plymouth public-school system. As previously stated, the 



540 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

pioneer school was held in a shanty built by subscription in 1870. 
The teacher was S. W. Garner. A school building was erected in 
1872 by Thomas Clary. 

At the present date the township is divided into five sub-districts, 
each being provided with an ample school building. There are 185 
pupils within the limits of the township. Thirty-eight shade trees 
adorn the school yards. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 
LINCOLN TOWNSHIP. 



Location— Description — Population — Early Settlement— Coming of 
tiie Illinois Central Kailway— Schools and Churches— General 
Appearance. 

CONGBESSIONAL township ninety, range forty-five, is now 
known as Lincoln, but formerly was embraced in Plymouth 
civil township. It is located on the south line of the county, with 
Elkhorn township on the east, Stanton on the north and Hungerford 
on the west. It was organized October 3, 1860, one of the first in 
Plymouth county. The whole territory is exceedingly well provided 
with water-courses and natural drainage. Muddy creek is in the cen- 
tral part of the township. Dry Branch, of Muddy creek, courses its 
way through the eastern part of the township, while Big Whiskey is 
found in the western part of the territory. 

This is one of the best agricultural sections in nortwestern Iowa. 
The population in 1885, the last enumeration, was 669, of this num- 
ber 500 were American born, and the remainder are chiefly German. 

Early Settlement. — The first man to enter this fair domain and 
build for himself a home, was Hon. William Barrett, whose name was 
for many years well known in Plymouth county, from the fact of his 
serving as the chairman of the board of supervisors for so many years. 
He had previously lived in Hungerford township, but after a short 
residence there he took up a homestead on section eight of Lincoln, 
where he remained until 1885-86, when he removed to Dakota terri- 
tory, now South Dakota. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 541 

T. J. Ilea (son of A. E. Rea, for many years a county officer here) 
homesteaded land on the northwest quarter of section eight, about the 
year 1866. He finally sold and removed to Kansas. 

The Mathwig family were among the first to settle in Lincoln, 
along the northern line. They came in just after the Rebellion closed. 
The father died in 1887. Two sons are still residents of the township. 

But little settlement was made from that date on to the time the 
Illinois Central railroad was built through the county in 1869-70. 

Schools and Churches. — The earliest public school was held near 
Mr. Barrett's, on section eight, about 1870. Much attention has been 
paid to school matters, and by the school superintendent's report of 
October, 1889, it is found that Lincoln township had sis sub-districts, 
each provided with a suitable school-house. The total scholarship, at 
that time, was 168. The number of shade trees about school grounds 
(planted out) was seventy-five. 

There is a Roman Catholic church on section one, known as St. 
Joseph's. A part of the congregation live in Lincoln, while the re- 
mainder reside in adjoining townships. It is now attended by Father 
Tierney, and numbers about forty families. 

A German Lutheran organization is found in the western por- 
tion of Lincoln township, with a building on section eight. No 
data was furnished by those in charge of the records, but it may be 
said that the church is a strong one, and has been the means of great 
good to this people. The influence of the faith held by German 
Lutherans is indeed great. The young being reared to reverence the 
teachings of the church, good society always prevails in such com- 
munities. 



542 HISTOBS OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
MAEION TOWNSHIP. 

Boundary — Description— Population — First Settlers — Homesteaders- 
Schools— Religious Element— The Poor Farm— Village of Oyens. 

THIS civil organization is the second from the east and also from 
the north line of Plymouth county. It formerly belonged with 
other subdivisions of the county, which, as the settlement advanced, 
were cut down, and is now described as congressional township ninety- 
two, range forty-four. It is situated south of Fredonia township, west 
of Remsen, north of Union and east of America township, and con- 
tains thirty-six full sections. The line of the Dubuque & Sioux City 
(Illinois Central) railway traverses the northern part of the township. 

The village of Oyens was platted on section five, in the month of 
October, 1886, but has never come to be a place of any great business 
importance. Deep creek courses its way through the northern part of 
this township, while Plymouth creek flows in the central part, extending 
on west. But few townships in the county are more favorably situated 
than Marion. Her population is about equally divided between Ameri- 
cans and Germans. The census of 1885 gave the township an enu- 
meration of 650, which is much larger to-day. 

First Settlement. — The American people, and those who become 
American citizens, even by adoption, are given to moving and chang- 
ing about, perhaps, more than any other class of people on the globe, 
unless we may possibly except the Jewish race, who always see some 
better country ahead, and they generally succeed in that new location, 
wherever it may be! Here, in Plymouth county's twenty- four town- 
ships, one finds people from almost every country on the earth. We 
also find men and women who have come hither from nearly all the 
many states within our own great Union. While, in tracing out the 
early settlement of Elgin township, we find nearly half of the original 
homestead claimers were from northern Illinois, here, in Marion town- 
ship, one finds that the first pioneers came from Michigan. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 543 

The most of the earliest homesteaders — the first actual settlers of 
the township — have removed from the bounds of the county, and the 
very earliest events were never made a matter of record; but by con- 
sulting Pioneer William Hall, it is learned that he came to the town- 
ship in 1872, and that upon his arrival the following were all home- 
steaders, some of whom are still honored residents of the same tracts 
of land which they at first settled upon, together with many additions 
made by them since that date. The first homesteader came in about 
1868. Marion Lobdel, who was then a single man, claimed a portion 
of section two, where he still resides. A Mr. Johnson claimed the 
northwest quarter of section eighteen. Silas Forbes homesteaded a 
part of section nineteen, where he still resides. He came from Michi- 
gan prior to 1872. Ed. Covill homesteaded land on section eighteen. 
He died several years afterward. W. L. Shaw, another settler of very 
early date, came from Michigan and took land on the southeast quar- 
ter of section twenty, which he improved and finally sold, and then re- 
moved to section twenty-nine, where he is now renting. Fred Herman, 
a German and a single man, came with his mother from Detroit, Mich., 
and both took homesteads on section eight, where he still farms and is 
still unmarried. " Johny " Evans located his homestead on another 
part of section eight, where he still lives. P. S. Vaughn was an early 
homesteader on the southwest quarter of section twenty. He still 
holds the land, but now resides in Sioux City. He was a married 
man and came from Michigan. 

Henry Mohing came from Clay county, Iowa, in 1872 or 1873, and 
claimed the southwest quarter of section fifteen, where he still lives. 
Charles Adamson came prior to 1872, locating on the northeast quar- 
ter of section twenty-eight. He now follows the painter's trade in the 
city of Le Mars. Thomas Adamson, a brother of the one above named, 
took land on the same section, and is also a painter at Le Mars. 
Patrick Hickey came in from Michigan prior to 1872, and claimed a 
part of section six, where he still resides. He was a man of family at 
the time of his immigration to Plymouth county. Another early set- 
tler, who came prior to 1872; may be mentioned — Charles Wright, who 
took land on section twenty. He now lives at Le Mars and deals in fruits. 

William Hall, from whom the historian gained most of the valu- 
able information concerning Marion township, removed from the big 
pine woods of Michigan, when a single man, in October, 1872. He 



544 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

bought railroad land at $7.50 per acre, purchasing a quarter section 
on section seventeen, where he still resides. He had breaking done 
the next season, 1873, and then returned to Michigan and worked for 
a year, and then moved permanently to the township. He is now a man 
of family and a successful, highly-esteemed farmer, who relates much 
of interest concerning the early days of the settlement of what has 
now come to be one of the most valuable and highly improved sections 
of Plymouth county. 

John Hoffmann became a resident of the township about 1875, 
locating on section nineteen. He finally sold and now resides at Le 
Mars. About the above date, John Rollings became a settler on sec- 
tion thirty, where he still lives. John Aircl came in 1875, from Michi- 
gan, and took land on section seventeen, which place he still occupies. 

Schools. — The first school-house was erected on section seven. 
Much attention has been paid to the schools of this part of the county, 
and now, 1890, the township is provided with four good frame public- 
school buildings, each within a sub-district. The total enrollment of 
pupils according to the county superintendent's last annual report 
was 200. AVhile this township is purely one of agriculture, yet its 
citizens see the necessity of a good common-school education for 
their children, hence the taxes paid in that direction are freely given. 

Religious. — There are no churches within Marion township. The 
early religious services here, as in most western places, were held by the 
Methodist people, at private homes, and later at school buildings. At 
times the American and foreign element have not fully agreed con- 
cerning the use of school-houses for such purpose, and in consequence, 
the religious element has not developed and grown as it would under 
a more harmonious state of affairs. In 1873 a Congregational min- 
ister, named Sawyer, held services in this locality, and a year later Dr. 
Stanley, a Methodist local preacher, undertook to evangelize the 
farmers, whom he saw all at work, cutting grain, on the Sabbath day. 
He went out Sunday forenoon and canvassed the sparsely-settled 
township, and got every one to agree to come and hear him preach at 
the school-house in the afternoon (never saying a word against the 
harvest work they were doing). So it was that in the afternoon he 
had a good congregation of farmers, some of whom drove their reapers 
from the field, and remained in their seats on the reapers, listening to 
the good man of God, while he preached the Word of Life. There 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 545 

was a class formed in 1875, which is still kept up; it belongs to the 
Eemsen circuit. 

The Poor Farm of Plymouth county is situated on the north 
half of section sixteen. It contains 280 acres, all well improved. 
The number of paupers, however, is so small that no costly, elaborate 
buildings have as yet been needed, and the county authorities lease the 
farm land. But when the time comes that the unfortunate poor shall 
multiply sufficiently to require such improvements, no county has a 
finer tract of land upon which to keep her poor people. 

Village of Oyens. — The only village plat of Marion township is 
that known as Oyens, which was platted in 1886, on section five. It is 
simply a railroad station and post-office point on the line of the Illi- 
nois Central railroad, midway between Le Mars and Eemsen. As 
Marion township is situated so near to Eemsen and Le Mars, but little 
business has ever developed at Oyens. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
MEADOW TOWNSHIP. 

Its Location— Organization— Area— Its Surface and Streams— Popu- 
lation in 1885— First Settlers— Schools — Early-day Hardships- 
Grasshoppers. 

THE extreme northeastern subdivision of Plymouth county is 
known as Meadow township. It was originally included in the 
domain of Fredonia township, but became a separate organization 
June 5, 1878. As now constituted, it comprises congressional town- 
ship ninety-three, range forty-three west, hence contains a territory 
six miles square, equal to 23,040 acres. It is bounded by Sioux coun- 
ty on the north, Cherokee county on the east, Eemsen township on the 
south, and Fredonia on the west. The line of the Illinois Central rail- 
way touches three sections on the south line of the township, the town 
of Eemsen being the nearest market place. 

Meadow township is a beautifully rolling prairie territory, and is 



546 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

well watered and drained by Deep creek, which courses its way from 
the northeast to the southwest portion of the township. Whiskey 
slough meanders through the southeastern sections. Besides these 
streams are their numerous little tributaries, all of which are well 
bridged at the highway crossings. In 1885 the state census gave it 
credit for a population of 436, of which 256 were American born. Ger- 
mans and Canadians predominate among the foreign born. 

The First Settlement. — -Meadow township was first settled upon by a 
man named Herman, who claimed a portion of section fifteen in 1873. 
He improved the place, traded, and left the county in 1874. He was 
a miller by trade and went to Sioux City. He sold his place to John 
Herron, and it is now owned by John Beck. 

The next to settle in this township was Joseph Bauer, who came 
from Dubuque county, Iowa, in March, 1873. He had been here in 
1872 and bought railroad land on section five, at $6 per acre. The 
year he settled he built a house, and broke fifty acres of land. At 
present he has a fine, large, well-tilled and well-stocked farm. Fred 
Lane came from Fredonia township iu 1874, and took land on section 
nineteen of Meadow township, where he still lives. Henry Weinner 
came from Dubuque county, Iowa, in 1875, and purchased railroad 
land on section twenty-one. He still lives on the original land. With 
him came Mike Forbes, who took land in the same section, but now 
lives on section thirty-one. 

William Neuschwander came from Clayton county, Iowa, and 
settled in September, 1876, having been out the previous May and 
bought railroad land on section seventeen, at an average of $7.50 per 
acre. He purchased three-foiirths of a section, and now has one of the 
finest farms to be found in Plymouth county. "Col." Clark, a single 
man of considerable means, came from New York City in 1876, and 
took land on section thirty-two, where he still owns a half section. 
He now resides at Le Mars. J. H. Beam bought the north half of sec- 
tion thirteen, in' 1876. John Steinforth was a settler in the township 
in 1874. He claimed land on section tweuty-one, but now lives at Le 
Mars. 

From 1876 the township was settled very rapidly, and to trace out 
the coming and going of these later settlers is almost impossible; 
nevertheless, we refer the reader to the personal sketches of the men, 
at another place iu this book. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 547 

Public Worship. — The township has no church oi'ganization or 
building. The people mostly worship at one of the two churches at 
Remsen. 

Schools. — The educational matters of Meadow township have ever 
kept pace with those of other townships in Plymouth county. In 1879 
the township took its present bounds, and a school-house was erected 
on section twenty-eight. Miss Mary Malory taught the first term of 
school there. A private school was taught the same year, on section 
eight, by Aggie Klein. 

At the present time Meadow township has six sub-districts and sis 
frame school-houses. The enrollment of pupils is now 150. Around 
the various school-houses there are forty-five shade trees. 

Early Hardships. — The early settlers in this portion of the county 
endured many hardships, on account of being so far away from good 
market towns, and on a new, wild prairie country, with no timber to 
speak of. The streams were not bridged, and the roads were very 
bad. To show that it was indeed wild, it needs only to be added, that 
deer and elk were not infrequently seen, and wolves abounded every- 
where for the first five years of the township's settlement. The grass- 
hoppers devastated this section in 1874, 1875 and 1876, and in 1879, 
also, did much damage. One farmer, who had nearly a hundred and 
forty acres of wheat, harvested only thirty-five bushels from his whole 
crop. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
PERET TOWNSHIP. 



Original Bounds— Creation or Present Limits— Streams— Population — 
The First Settlement— Early Events — First Election— Schools — 
Fatal Accident— Railroad Lands — Grasshopper Days. 

AT one time congressional township ninety, range forty-seven, was 
included in what was known as Sioux and Lincoln townships, 
but at present is styled Perry. It was created by an act of the 
supervisors, January 8, 1870, and has since that date been a separate 
organization. It is bounded on the north by Liberty township, on 



548 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the east by Hungerford, on the south by the Woodbury county line, 
and on the west by Hancock township. Its chief water-courses are the 
west branch of Perry creek and Perry creek proper, which latter flows 
through the township from north to south. 

The population, which numbers about 500, is about two-thirds 
American, and the remainder is equally divided between the 
Germans and Canadians, all of whom are thrifty farmers and good 
citizens. 

First Settlement. — The history of the early pioneers in Perry 
township is but the story of the life and hardship of a set of hardy 
homesteaders, who saw many years of ill luck, and passed through the 
plague of the grasshopper years. The earliest of this number were 
men named Smith and Hagel, who claimed lands on a part of section 
two, about 1869. They removed from the township in 1878. 

In the spring of 1870 Eobert Crouch came in from Wisconsin, 
and homesteaded the place now occupied by his brother Andrew, on 
section four. Thomas Flannery homesteaded the northeast quarter 
of section four, in the month of November, 1871 ; he came from Canada, 
as did very many of the first settlers here. He has been a constant 
resident ever since, and has, from time to time, bought land, until his 
estate now contains 1,100 acres. W. H. Brill homesteaded on section 
thirty-four, in 1870, and still resides there, the possessor of an excellent 
farm home. Ed. and Nick Dorsey settled on section thirty-four, also 
in 1870. Edward is now deceased. Pat Elinn homesteaded on section 
two, in 1870 or 1871. He is still a resident and an honored citizen. 
Peter Garvey settled on section thirty-three in 1869; he came from 
Canada. Philip Garvey came at the same time, locating on section 
twelve, where he still resides. James Graham settled as a homesteader 
on section twelve, in 1871. He came from Canada, and is now deceased. 
Michael Tracy homesteaded a portion of section ten, in 1870. He also 
came from Canada, and afterward proved up and removed to the north- 
west quarter of section eleven. Timothy Shanahon was another 1870 
homesteader on section ten. He proved up, sold, and removed to 
Nebraska. Ole Bonnes came in the spring of 1872, and claimed as a 
homestead, land on the southeast quarter of section four, where he 
still farms. Christian Kalass was among the very early settlers, locat- 
ing on section two, where he still remains. Another Canadian settler 
was George Keyes, who homesteaded land about 1870. He afterward 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 549 

sold out and purchased lands on the southwest quarter of section six- 
teen, which he still occupies. 

In 1872 D. Knapp homesteaded the northwest quarter of section 
six. He is deceased, but the family still remains there. A man named 
Doll was a homesteader of 1871, locating on section four. He did not 
remain in the township many years. T. L. Elliott came in from Canada, 
about 1875, and homesteaded the southeast quarter of section eight, 
where he still resides. As early as 1869, perhaps the fall of 1868, J. 
L. McElhaney settled on section thirty-two; he is now dead. Dennis 
O'Brien and his son James came to the township about 1872, and took 
homesteads. . The father is now dead. They came from Ireland direct 
to this part of the country. 

Early Events. — The first election was held (for the present town- 
ship) at the Brill school-house, in the spring of 1870. 

The first school was taught near the south line of the township, 
at a private house, early in the seventies; while in the northern 
part the first term of school was held at the house of Thomas Flan- 
nery, in 1876. It was held there for three years, the first term being 
taught by a young man named Ed. Crary. The school consisted of 
about twelve scholars. 

The first school-house was what is known as the " Jo Martin school- 
house." It will be remembered that the first few years after the 
township was settled, it embraced more than its present territory, 
and hence the school-houses were in what is Liberty township now. 
There are now six school-houses in Perry township, located in the six 
sub-districts. The total enrollment of scholars, in 1889, was 109. 

The first township officers embraced the following: Robert Crouch, 
clerk; Messrs. Hagel and Holden, trustees; Robert Crouch, assessor; 
Mr. Petty, justice of the peace. 

Among the few fatal accidents which have occurred in Perry town- 
ship, may be mentioned that which caused the death of George 
Chamberlain, who was struck with a flying plank in the time of a 
cyclone, about 1880. 

Early settlers were given their choice of railroad lands from 1870 
to 1876, at $4 per acre; the least valuable of these lands, in 1880, 
brought $11 per acre. 

The years known in the " log-book " of the pioneers of Plymouth 
county, as the " grasshopper days," drove many a poverty-stricken 



550 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

family from this now goodly heritage, while many others were so cir- 
cumstanced that it was impossible for them to remove, but who, to- 
day, are enjoying the comforts of a well-settled township, with school 
and railway facilities on every hand. 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP 

When Constituted— Size of Present Territory— Population — Rail- 
roads— Settlement— Eikst Events— Grasshopper Days— Schools and 
Churches— Oldest Lodge in the County — Village of Merrill — 
Sad and Fatal Accident— Burned to Death. 

WHAT is termed Plymouth civil township comprises all of con- 
gressional township ninety-one, range forty-six. It was consti- 
tuted in August, 1858, when the county was organized. Plymouth 
then covered the entire domain of the county, but in 1860 Lincoln 
was created, which divided the territory, leaving Plymouth to be de- 
scribed as follows: Township ninety, ranges forty-three, forty-four, 
forty-five and forty-six; township ninety-one, ranges forty-three, forty- 
four, forty-five and forty-six; township ninety-three, ranges forty- 
three and forty-four. As now constituted Plymouth is situated south 
of Washington, west of Stanton, north of Hungerford and east of 
Liberty townships. 

It is one of the most highly cultivated and most desirable portions 
of the county. It is well supplied with numerous small streams, 
including the Floyd river, in the central part, and the West fork of 
that stream, which enters the territory on section two. The population 
of the township in 1885, was 400, but is now several hundred greater. 
The combined lines of the Illinois Central and Minneapolis & 
Omaha railways traverse the territory from northeast to southwest, 
with a station on section eleven called Merrill. The Sioux City & 
Northern railway runs through the township parallel with the above 
line, or nearly so. 

The oldest plat now found on the Plymouth county " Village plat 
book" is Melbourne, which was laid off by C. C. Orr, April 12, 1860. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 551 

It was situated on section thirty-four of what is now Plymouth town- 
ship. This was the county seat until about 1870, when Le Mars 
sprang into existence and was made the seat of justice. 

Early Settlement. — The early settlement of this township is virtu- 
ally the early settlement of Plymouth county as well, for it will be re- 
membered that the first pioneers located along the beautiful valleys of 
the Big Sioux and Floyd rivers, in 1856-57. In July, 1856, the 
Schneider family came from Ogle county, 111. Jacob Schneider pre- 
empted land on section thirty-four and Philip Schneider on thirty- 
three; Jacob still resides on the same land, while his brother Philip 
owns his farm, but recently removed to Sioux City. At the same time 
(1856) came their brothers, John and Henry Schneider. John pre- 
empted land in Hungerford township, where he still resides. The 
same county in Illinois furnished several more of the pioneer band of 
Plymouth township, Peter Schindel settling on section thirty-three and 
Peter Emmett on section twenty-seven. Christian Schmidt came at 
the same time and took land on section twenty-seven also. He was a 
resident of the place until his death, in 1888. E. Held came the same 
year, together with his several sons. They pre-empted land, remained 
several years, but later sold and removed to Nebraska. The old gen- 
tleman died and the family are again in Plymouth county. 

Another pioneer of considerable note was Benjamin Stafford, who 
settled on section thirty-four. He platted a town site there, known as 
Melbourne. He was a sort of new-country roamer and soon went on 
farther west, some time during the Civil war. Louis Winters came 
in during 1862, and took land on section twenty-eight. He became 
insane a few years since, and is now in the hospital for the insane at 
Independence. John Winters, upon his return from the war, came to 
Plymouth township and made a settlement. He removed to Nebraska 
in 1887, but still retains his land here. 

But few settlers came to the township from early in the Civil war 
period until the railroad era — 1869-70. All marketing, milling and 
postal business had to be transacted at Sioux City up to that time. The 
settlers were few, and their wants were supplied largely by what the rich 
soil would produce for them. 

The grasshopper years, as the settlers who lived here from 1874 
to 1879 term them, were indeed plague years, and caused times that 
verily tried men's souls. Many had to borrow money, and pay an ex- 



552 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

cessive interest on the same, for the purpose of procuring seed-grain, 
and then, the day before harvest was to begin, see the broad and 
beautiful acres totally destroyed by these pests ; not alone for one year 
but for four and five years in succession did this misfortune befall the 
settlers of this county. 

First Events. — The first birth was that of a son of Mr. and Mrs. 
Philip Schneider, named Jacob. He was born in the fall of 1857, and 
is still living in his native township. 

The earliest death was that of a boy-baby of Mr. and Mrs. Peter 
Schindel, who passed from earth in the autumn of 1857. 

The first marriage in Plymouth township was that of Morgan 
Stafford to Catharine Schmidt, in 1858. 

Schools and Churches. — The first term of school was taught at 
Melbourne before the court-house was erected at that point. 

The first church edifice in the county was reared in Plymouth 
township by the Evangelical people, at the close of the Rebellion. 
It was a frame building, standing on the southwest quarter of section 
thirty-four; and it served the society until 1874, when it had become 
too small for the rapidly increasing church membership. It was sold 
to Mr. Wilcox, and a better, larger church erected on the same site. 
The new edifice cost $2,100. Its size is thirty by fifty-five feet. As 
evinced by the many churches and schools in this portion of Plymouth 
county, one can easily infer that the first settlers were a God-fearing 
and intelligent class of people. At a very early day they commenced 
to lay well the foundation for the present school and church privileges 
— second to none in the county. 

School matters have ever been properly conducted, and hence 
eminently successful, and to-day one finds an intelligent class of peo- 
ple as the result. The township has now five sub-districts, each con- 
taining a good sized frame school-house. The average enrollment in 
1889 was 131 pupils. 

The Evangelical church was organized in 1858, by sixteen mem- 
bers of German nationality, as follows: Philip Schneider and wife, 
John Schneider and wife, Peter Schindel and wife, Christian Schmidt 
and wife, Mary Launbach, Henry and Jacob Schneider, Philip Schmidt, 
Miss Catharine Schmidt, Christiana Schmidt, Peter Emmett, Daniel 
Schneider and Mrs. Elizabeth Schneider. The first meetings were 
held at the house of Philip Schneider in July, 1858, and next at the 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 553 

school-house on section thirty-four. At one time the church had a 
membership of 140 members, but on account of removals, death, etc., 
at the present time has not more than 100. A parsonage was built 
near the church, in 1885, at a cost of about $600. 

The following have served as pastors of this church, which was 
the first to herald the gospel in Plymouth county, the date of its 
organization being identical with the organization of the county itself: 
Rev. J. F. Schreiber (missionary), one year; Rev. Henry Kleinsolgei, 
two years; Rev. FredBenner, two years; Rev. Buncy, two years; Rev. 
Sanders, two years; Rev. Zimmerman, one year, at the end of which 
season he died; Rev. Joseph Brennen, two years; Rev. Oren Buzzard, 
two years; Rev. Henry Kleinsolgei, two years; Rev. Pflauni, three 
years; Rev. George Youngblood, three years; Rev. F. Loehle, three 
years; Rev. Pippert, three years; Rev. J. J. Miller, two years; Rev. 
G.. Koehn, two years; Rev. S. L. Stabler, two years; Rev. Adam 
Goetchel, the present pastor. 

Floyd Valley Odd Fellows' Lodge. — -This is the oldest civic society 
in Plymouth county, and was formed during the month of October, 
1870, by six members. Its number among the lodges of Iowa is 208. 
The first noble grand was Philip Schneider, the first vice-grand was 
John Radermaher, and the first secretary was Leonard Koenig. The 
lodge met for some time at the farm-house of Mr. Koenig, but after 
a few years built them a good hall on section thirty-four, which they 
still use for lodge purposes. This hall was built in 1882 at a cost of 
$700. The present officers are: Albert Speis, N. G. ; John Koenig, 
V. G. ; Anton Hicky, treasurer ; and Leonard Koenig, secretary. The 
order is in a growing and harmonious condition. 

Village of Merrill. — At present Merrill is the only regularly platted 
town site in Plymouth township. It was originally platted February 
27, 1872, by the Railroad & Town Lot Company. In the spring of 
1888, William Frost, a pioneer homesteader and now a grain dealer 
at this point, bought land to the west of the old plat, and made an ad- 
dition of about fifty acres. The first house erected at Merrill was by 
C. K. Smith and was used as a residence, and for a general store, as 
well. Mr. Smith being disappointed over the county seat not finally 
being located at Merrill, left the town and is now a prosperous grocer 
of Sioux City, Iowa. 

Mr. Frost relates that in those early days, when he was a home- 



554 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

steader, and, in common with nearly all others, owed Mr. Smith for 
provisions, they were compelled to draw wheat in to him, and store it 
in a building until they got a car load, and then all hands go over and 
carry it to the car in wash-tubs. It was a novel grain elevator, but 
Mr. Frost says it was never patented and only used one season, after 
which time the grasshoppers carried all the grain, free of charge! 

The first dealer at Merrill was C. K. Smith, who commenced oper- 
ating in a small way in 1870. He was "lord of all he surveyed," 
being merchant, railroad agent, express agent and postmaster. 

The pioneer blacksmith to wield his sledge here was " Nick " Bill- 
ings. The first to handle grain was J. H. Morf, who built an elevator. 
There was no lumber yard at Merrill until 1888, when Arthur S. 
Welch started in that line. 

A post-office was established in 1871. The postmasters have been 
as follows: C. K. Smith, J. H. Morf, A. Looney, Mrs. Beeman (kept at 
her hotel), Mrs. Dodson, the same lady, but who married Mr. Dodson; 
D. K. Tooker succeeded her and Fred Aldrich received the appoint- 
ment in the spring of 1889 and still holds the office. 

A bank was started in 1888, as a branch of the Le Mars National 
Bank. W. J. Lawrence is the cashier. 

The present population of Merrill, by actual count taken in March, 
1890, was 160. In 1890 its business interests comprise the following: 

Agricultural implements — Veal & Vague. 

Barber — William Weinheimer. 

Blacksmiths — Harker & Sutter, Belan Bros. 

Bank — Farmers' & Merchants'. 

Drugs — Dr. Henry Nigg. 

General dealers — Aldrich & Haylock, McCanley & Co., D. K. 
Tooker, J. L. Jenkins. 

Grain dealers — Frost & Fullbrook. 

Hardware — Aldrich & Haylock. 

Harness shop — Joseph Elschamp. 

Lumber — Knorr & Schaeffer. 

Livery — John Anderson. 

Millinery — Mrs. John C. Smith. 

Meat market — T. J. Moore. 

Physicians — Drs. Nigg and Jenkins. 

Stock— Frost & Fullbrook. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 557 

The railroads of Merrill are now the Illinois Central, Chicago, St. 
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha and the Sioux City & Northern. It has 
come to be a good grain and stock shipping point. 

When the railroad was being first built through Merrill, it was be- 
lieved the county seat would be near there, and a district school-house 
was erected, which served until 1889, when a better one was provided. 
It is a two-room building, thirty-two by forty-four feet, costing $1,450. 

At present there are three religious societies represented by organ- 
izations, the Methodist Episcopal, Free Methodists and Roman Cath- 
olic. The two mentioned last are now each erecting good buildings, 
while the Methodist Episcopal built a neat chapel in 1882, which is 
twenty-six by fifty-two feet and cost about $1,300. It is situated on 
the corner of Calhoun and Second streets. 

The Methodist Episcopal church of Merrill was organized by Rev. 
Hiram T. Snyder in September, 1878. He was the first pastor ap- 
pointed on the Merrill circuit. The members of the first class were: 
John Eastman, Mary Eastman, Maggy Eastman, Mr. and Mrs. Yerger, 
Henry Calhoun, Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. Volney Tooker. The first class 
leader was Henry Calhoun, first Sunday-school superintendent, John 
Patterson. Their building was badly damaged by the fearful wind 
storm of June, 1885. It was rebuilt and opened in September, 1889, 
by Pastor G. L. Griggs. Seven hundred dollars were raised at the 
time by Rev. Wilmot Whitfield. In 1889 a neat parsonage was built, 
which is twenty-four by twenty-four feet, costing $600. 

The present membership of the church is eighteen. The Sabbath- 
school is superintended by Rev. Griggs. The Merrill charge takes in 
an appointment in Lincoln township and one at the village of James, 
at which point a building was dedicated by Rev. G. L. Griggs, De- 
cember 15, 1889. The edifice cost $1,600. 

Casualties. — Among the sad occurrences that have transpired in 
Plymouth township, may be mentioned the death of a young man, one 
or two miles west of Merrill, who in trying to extinguish the flames 
with which a prairie fire had enveloped his house, perished before help 
reached him. His name is now forgotten, but early settlers will recall 
the great fire in which many thousand dollars' worth of farm property 
was destroyed. This man was a bachelor, twenty-six years old, and a 
highly respected gentleman, who was working hard to secure a home 
for himself, and was soon to have been married. 



558 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
POETLAND TOWNSHIP. 

Location and Description — When Constituted— Population— Early 
Homesteaders— First Things— Schools— Town of Akron— Roller 
Mills— Business Interests— Incorporation — Churches— Civic Socie- 
ties. 

THIS is the northwestern township of Plymouth county, and is 
bounded on the north by Sioux county, on the east by Preston 
township, on the south by Westfield township, and on the west by the 
state line of Iowa, which is the Big Sioux river, in this locality. It 
now comprises congressional township ninety-three, range forty-eight, 
and a small portion of range forty-nine west, also the upper tier of 
sections in township ninety-two, but originally the territory was in- 
cluded in Johnson and Sioux townships. It was constituted as Port- 
land township, June 5, 1872, and as now bounded contains about six 
miles square; it is, however, irregular in shape, on account of the 
river on the west. 

The principal water courses are the Indian creek, in the north 
part; Bear creek, in the central part; and the Big Sioux, on the 
western border. In 1885 the population (aside from Akron village) 
numbered only 230, but has since greatly increased. The only village 
of the township is Akron, on section thirty-one. 

The Early Homesteaders. — To be a citizen of Portland township 
and a land owner there,- in 1890, is a part of a man's life of which he 
need never be ashamed. Here one travels over the finest lay of land 
and the most fertile, easily tilled soil in the world. Here one beholds 
a rural scene which is ever a feast to the eye. Here one meets the 
combined industry and intelligence of both native and foreign-born 
citizens. Here one sees marks of thrift and true wealth — of comfort 
and happiness; of moral and religious sentiment, seldom adorning any 
one subdivision of a county. 

The first man to avail himself of the opportunities found in this 
part of the county was Joshua B. Hughes, who homesteaded the south- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 559 

west quarter of section thirty-two, in 1869. He proved up his title, 
and was not a resident from that time on for three years, but is at the 
present. 

In 1871 came Dennis Rearden and located on a town lot given him 
by Sargent & Crill, who had platted what was known as Portlandville — 
later changed to Akron. Mr. Rearden remained only a year or so, 
and then removed to Dakota and there died. 

George Reed came to the present toAvn site of Akron in the spring 
of 1871, and built the first hotel of the village. It was called Reed's 
hotel, but now the Plymouth House. He engaged in trade for a few 
years, sold out and removed to Colorado. 

H. D. Barrcame to Akron May, 1871, from Sioux township. He is 
a miller by trade and operated the old Sioux Mills ; also owned a mill 
in Dakota, but at this time is numbered among Akron's citizens. 

In 1872 O. E. Hardy came from Waterloo, Iowa, and purchased 
Reed's hotel property. He finally moved to California. 

E. W. Sargent, one of the projectors of Akron, came to the town- 
ship in 1871.- He is a native of Vermont, but has lived in the west 
many years. He was a member of the firm of Sargent & Crill, who 
bought land on section thirty-one and platted Portlandville. Mr. 
Sargent states that there was but little settlement made in this town- 
ship until after 1880, on account of the railroad difficulty, arising out 
of disputed title to lands claimed both by the government and by the 
railroad company, to whom a grant had been given, but the contract, 
it seems, had not been lived up to by the railroad company, which 
finally lost the land, and then it was thrown open to actual settlers, 
who came flocking in very rapidly. 

First Happenings. — The first child born within Portland township 
was a son to Mr. and Mrs. George Reed, the second being Grant Barr, 
born in February, 1872. The'first death was that of a son of Capt. A. 
H. Smith, who was cut down like a tender plant in the fall of 1872. 
The first marriage ceremony was that uniting Mr. Andrew Palm to 
Miss Emma Johnson, in 1873. 

Elder Freeman (Baptist) held the first religious services in 1871- 
72. He came over from Elk Point, across the Big Sioux river. 

Schools. — The first term of school was taught by Mrs. E. B. Don- 
alson at her own residence, in 1873. A school building was erected on 
section thirty-one, in 1873. It was the two-story frame house at 



560 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Akron now used for post-office purposes. Much attention has been 
paid to the education of the rising young in this part of the county. 
The reports show that in 1889 Portland township was divided into 
seven sub-districts, with a good frame building in six, and a substan- 
tial brick in one of the number. The number of pupils at that date 
was 300. Fifty shade trees grace the school grounds, and are monu- 
ments of beauty, and also bespeak the refinement and taste of the 
patrons of the various schools. 

Akron. — This enterprising, incorporated town on the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul railroad, is the only one within the limits of the 
township, and was originally platted as Portlandville, by Sargent & 
Crill, in 1871. It is situated on section thirty-one, its plat extending 
to the Big Sioux river on its west. It is charmingly situated on a level 
plateau of land, a part of the great valley through which flows the Big 
Sioux, tending toward the southwest; it furnishes a water-power sel- 
dom equaled in all Iowa. 

The beginning here was in the autumn of 1871, when E. W. Sar- 
gent put in a general store, which he shortly afterward sold to Peed & 
Kennedy, who in turn sold to Martin & Dorsey; afterward the same 
business was conducted by Pobison & Dorsey. E. W. Sargent handled 
the first grain, both at his mill and in the way of shipping, and also 
built an elevator at this point in 1876. The first to sell lumber at 
Akron was S. Bevins. Thomas Sedgwick was the first to deal in live 
stock. 

The pioneer and one of the present blacksmiths was M. W. Top- 
pings. Henry L. Waterbivry was the first harness-maker. The first 
to retail meat was J. Booth. The first hardware store was conducted 
by William Lowe in 1877. The first to engage in the drug trade was 
L. H. Farmer. The earliest agricultural implement dealer was M. L. 
Disbrow. The first furniture was sold by August Peterson. 

The business men of 1890 are: 

Attorneys — Mat Agnes. 

Agricultural goods — Toppings & Haskell, Mellon Bros. 

Bank — Bank of Akron. 

Boots and shoes — Henry Waterbury. 

Blacksmiths — Tinker & Gardner, M. W. Toppings. 

Drugs — Mathwig & Clise. 

Doctors — Drs. Clark and Ellis. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 561 

Furniture — J. H. Hampton and M. E. Tuttle. 

General dealers — Palm & Johnson, W. C. Bryant, C. F. Horton, 
W. J. Homer & Co., J. F Kennedy. 

Grocers — A. L. McGinnis, E. TV. Edgerton, J. C. Wade. 

Grain — Hunting & Co., Monihan Bi - os., Streetor, manager for a 
company. 

Hardware — B. Ferguson, V. G. Farnham. 

Harness shop — Benjamin Jeffers. 

Hotels — Kendall House, City Hotel, Plymouth. 

Jeweler — B. F. Winterstein. 

Livery — J. D. Brown. 

Lumber — J. N. Baish, B. B. Harrington. 

Meat market — Agnes & Waterbury, C. H. Pinkney. 

Millinery — Ladies, Hall & Stearns. 

Mills—Akron Boiler Mills, O. F Haskell, proprietor. 

Newspaper — "Western Delta." 

Real estate — Smith & Robertson. 

Wagon-makers — Peter Muir, Hans Barr. 

The post-office at this point was established about 1873 at Port- 
landville, but in 1882 changed to Akron, in contradistinction to Port- 
land, in Cerro Gordo county. The first postmaster here was T. 
S. Martin, who was succeeded by the following in their respective 
order: C. E. Robinson, Amy Hampton (now Mrs. Dr. Ellis), F. T. 
Sheppard, Messrs. Peck, Harrington, McGinnis, and the present in- 
cumbent, C. P. Kilbourn. 

Akron was made a money-order station July 1, 1878. The first 
order was issued to David Strohbhn, for the sum of $30, payable at 
Traer, Iowa. The number of orders issued up to June 12, 1890, was 
8,010. The number of postal notes sent was 7,249. 

The roller flour-mills are situated on the Big Sioux river, and were 
erected by Sargent & Crill, in 1871, as an old style buhr-stone mill. 
Frank Haskell has owned the plant since 1885, at which time he 
changed it to a new process roller-mill. It is the just pride of this 
part of the county, and does an excellent business. The town also 
supports a steam feed-mill, run by Stacy & Barr. 

Akron is a good business point, though not seemingly as thriving 
as some years ago. The banking interest was commenced at this point 
July 3, 1883, by A. C. Button, by the establishment of the Bank of 



562 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Akron. Six months later lie took for his partner J. H. Brady, and 
they made a strong firm for seven years, when they sold to J. L. 
Wetheral, and two months later he sold (in the spring of 1890) to H. 
J. Thode, who now has a cash capital of $10,000. 

The Akron Savings Bank has just been organized. The capital is 
to be $10,000, backed by Sioux City men, and J. C. Button will man- 
age the bank. It is intended to erect a two-story brick the present 
season, the first story to be used for bank business and the second 
story as a Masonic hall. 

Akron became an incorporated town in 1882, and the following 
have served as mayors to the present date: From 1882 to 1886, inclu- 
sive, J. Biddelcome; 1887 and 1888, B. H. Fryson; 1889, A. L. McGin- 
nis; 1890, S. G. Baker. In 1881 the present elegant brick school build- 
ing was reared and was made from brick burned at Sergeant's Bluff, 
below Sioux City. The work of construction was carried on by J. L. 
Hartley. It is a four-room building, costing the district $11,000, 
and would be an ornament to any town. 

The people in and around Akron are a God-fearing people, as is 
evinced by the numerous religious societies. Of these the Methodist 
Episcopal church was first formed across the Sioux in Dakota, 
then changed to the Richland charge, and in 1871 reorganized 
at (Portlandville) Akron. The first class met at the school-house and 
private houses, but in 1879 a neat frame edifice was built. It is twen- 
ty-six by forty feet, and seats about 200 people. The cost was $1,100. 
The lots were donated by Messrs. Sargent & Crill and the railway com- 
pany — owners of the town site. The present membership is 110; aver- 
age in Sabbath -school, 115. The present superintendent is Rev. C. W. 
Clifton; the present class leader is B. B. Harrington, who is also re- 
cording steward; the stewards, proper, are B. B. Harrington, J. C. 
Button, J. N. Brady, Julia E. Smith and Amanda McGinnis. The fol- 
lowing list shows the pastors in their respective order: G. W. Binks, 
J. C. Damon, G. M. Curl, Ira Wakefield, W. J. Gardner, W. W. Brown, 
D. W. Chamberlain, O. R. Newell, Samuel Snyder, I. B. Kilborn, L. 
C. Woodford, P. H. Eighmy and C. W. Clifton, the present pastor in 
charge. The parsonage was built at an expense of $1,000 in 1883. 

The Christian church was formed a few years ago, but at present 
is not flourishing. The frame chapel which it erected is about to be 
transferred, by a forced sale, to the Catholic people, who organized in 

3, and are now attended from Hawarden, Iowa. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 563 

The First Baptist church of Akron was organized with eleven 
members on the west side of the Big Sioux river, in what is now South 
Dakota, on March 25, 1871, by Bev. G. W. Freeman, a general mis- 
sionary. The first meetings were held in a log school-house. After 
the mill was built at this point and a village started on the Iowa side, 
regular services were held here in the new school-house. Bepeated ef- 
forts were made to erect a meeting-house, but all failed until 1878, 
when the present building was erected. It is a frame house, twenty- 
four by thirty-two feet; seats 100 persons, and cost, all told, $1,200. 
The pastors have been Bev. G. W. Freeman, Bev. J. H. Young, 
Bev. J. L. Cappoe, Bev. J. P. Coffrnan, Bev. G. W. Freeman, Bev. E. 
H. Hurlbut, Bev. J. P. Coffman and Bev. P. M. MacLeod. The pres- 
ent number in the society is seventy-eight. The present officers are: 
William B. Kidd and John Williams, deacons; Dr. B. D. Clark and 
M. W. Toppings, trustees; C. F. Horton, treasurer; L. H. Farnham, 
clerk. John Williams, of the above officials, contributed toward the 
church last year (1889) $708. This church belongs to a Dakota as- 
sociation. 

James Biddelcome Post, No. 461, G. A. B., was organized at Akron 
in the spring of 1889, with twenty charter members — comrades of the 
late Union army. The commander was Bev. Eighmy; adjutant, N. J. 
Schooler; Q. M., J. P. Kendall; S. V., J. F. Kennedy; J. V., H. D. 
Barr; officer of the day, S. W. Hall; O. G., O. A. Stowed; chaplain, 
John G. Snider. The 1890 commander is M. W. Toppings; ad- 
jutant, J. F. Kennedy. The post is in a good condition, and has a 
valuable auxiliary in the way of the Sons of Veterans, Corporal Tan- 
ner Camp, No. 187, which was formed by sixteen members, sons of 
ex-soldiers, June 23, 1889. They now number twenty-one. Their 
first officers were: Captain, B. E. Miller; first lieutenant, John Ham- 
mond; second lieutenant, Frank Putnam; first sergeant, H. Toppings; 
quartermaster-sergeant, A. Waterbury; chaplain, C. Waterbury. They 
all have fine uniforms, and meet twice each month. G. V. Ellis is 
present captain; John Lindsay, first lieutenant; H. Toppings, second 
lieutenant. 

The town also supports a Good Templar lodge and Masonic blue 
lodge. 

Freedom Lodge, No. 434, of A. F. & A. M., was instituted in 1882, 
with thirteen charter members. The first worsbipfrd master was 



564 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Dr. R. D. Clark. The present lodge has a membership of seventy — 

very large for the town's size. The 1890 officers are: J. C. Ruble, 

worshipful master; B. A. Jeffers, treasurer; R. D. Clark, secretary; 
G. W. Raish, senior warden; Lewis, junior warden. 



CHAPTEK XXVIII. 

PRESTON TOWNSHIP. 

Boundaries— Present Territory— Description— Population— First Set- 
tlers — Early Events — Badly Erozen — Grasshoppers — Groves 
Planted by Pioneers— A Contrast— 1870-1890. 

CONGRESSIONAL TOWNSHIP ninety-three, range forty-seven 
west, is now styled Preston civil township. It formerly be- 
longed with Portland, but was subdivided by the board of supervisors, 
June 8, 1875. It is bounded on the north by Sioux county, on the 
east by Grant township, on the south by Johnson, and on the west by 
Portland township. Its domain contains over 22,000 acres of excel- 
lent farming land. The principal streams are the Broken Kettle 
creek, in the central portion, running south, the Indian creek, in the 
northwest, with Du Bois creek in the northern part. 

The population in 1885 was 380, of whom 250 were American 
born. The present enumeration will give about 600. 

The First Settlers. — The historian is indebted to Moses K. Du 
Bois for much regarding the incoming of the first men and families 
who ventured upon the wild lands of Preston township. He was orig- 
inally from New York, but came from Winneshiek county, Iowa, in 
May, 1872, and claimed the southwest quarter of section two as his 
homestead right, he having been a soldier during the Civil war, enlist- 
ing as a member of the Fifteenth New York Engineer Corps. This 
township at that date was included in Portland, and settlers had to go 
to Akron to vote, a distance of fourteen miles, from section one of 
what now constitutes Preston township. 

When Mr. Du Bois arrived in the then prairie wilderness, with not 
a tree in sight and but few neighbors, he found D. Bradley a home- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 565 

steader on the south half of the southwest quarter of section twenty- 
four. He came in about 1870. He proved up and then moved to 
section twenty-five, where he still lives. 

E. Taylor was a homesteader on the northwest quarter of section 
twenty-six, and one of the representative men of his township at this 
time. Robert McKay homesteaded the northeast quarter of section 
twenty-six, where he is still living. A German, named S. Bohlken, 
homesteaded eighty acres of section twenty-two, which he still farms. 
C. B. Frerichs homesteaded the southeast quarter of section twenty- 
two, and is still a resident of the same place. Fred Jacobs home- 
steaded on section twenty-two, and still lives on the same land. 
Another settler of section twenty-two was H. C. Collman, who home- 
steaded the southeast quarter, which he still lives upon. William 
McCauliff bought out the first settler of the township — a man who 
homesteaded on the north half of section twenty-four. McCauliff 
settled about 1871, and is to-day one of the largest land owners and 
best situated farmers in Preston township. A man named Wills home- 
steaded the north half of the northeast quarter of section twenty-four, 
remained a short time, and sold out. W. W. Wingett took as a home- 
stead the southeast quarter of section fourteen, in 1872. He still owns 
the place but lives elsewhere. 

Lewis Shaddinger came in 1871-72, homesteading the northwest 
quarter of section fourteen, where he is now comfortably surrounded. 
As early as 1871 John Nesbitt and his mother located on the northeast 
quarter of section fourteen. " Gil " and Charlie Shaw each home- 
steaded eighty acres on the northwest quarter of section fourteen, in 
1872; they proved up and then removed. A Mr. Hoglan homesteaded 
the southwest quarter of section ten, in 1873. He proved up, sold 
and moved away. He was an emigrant from Illinois. " Ed " Bills 
homesteaded the northwest quarter of section ten, in 1873, proved up, 
sold, and moved to other parts. The northeast quarter of section ten 
was homesteaded by Al. Hayes, who, being a soldier, claimed a title to 
160 acres. He remained until he proved up, and then moved. He sub- 
sequently died. I. C. Munson homesteaded the whole of the south- 
east quarter of section ten, in 1872. He now lives in Le Mars. E. 
Haymond pre-empted the southeast quarter of section two, in 1871, 
or not later than 1872. He removed from the township in 1885. Har- 
vey Parsons, another early settler, homesteaded eighty acres — the west 



566 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

half of the northeast quarter of section two. He soon removed to 
Le Mars. William Shaw and his daughter, Flora, homesteaded the 
northeast quarter of section two, in 1872. They proved up and re- 
moved. The northwest quarter of section twelve was pre-empted by 
Pike Young, in 1872. He proved up his title, sold out, and removed. 
The southeast quarter of section twelve was homesteaded by Mr. Col- 
well, now of Le Mars. Hiram Goff settled on the northeast quarter 
of section twelve, proved up, sold, and returned to Indiana. 

The above comprises a list of nearly all the eai"ly settlers of Pres- 
ton township, with a few exceptions among the Germans, who settled 
in the southeastern part. 

Miscellaneous. — The township has, to this date, never had an 
organized church. The first election was held at the Wingett school- 
house, at which Moses K. Du Bois was elected township clerk and 
treasurer. 

The first term of school was taught at Ed. Haymond's house, in 
1873-71, by L. M. Black. A school-house was erected in 1874, now 
known as No. 1, situated on section eleven. At this date, 1890, the 
township is divided into seven sub-districts, each being provided with 
a good school-house. In 1889 the county school superintendent's re- 
port gave the total of scholarship in this township as 170. 

During the seventies Pike Young was badly frozen. He was mak- 
ing his way home, and in the fearful, blinding storm was lost and 
strayed far over into Sioux county. A t that time there were but few 
landmarks, no fences or roads, neither groves, so that it was next to 
presumption for a settler not to be very near his home when a blizzard 
was coming on. 

The pioneer homesteaders of this part of Plymouth county endured 
many hardships. Not a few had to succumb in the days of the grass- 
hoppers, and look for a home elsewhere, while still others could not ob- 
tain the means with which to get away; these, through much hardship, 
succeeded in tiding over that ever-to-be remembered era in the history 
of Plymouth county, and are to-day prosperous farmers, living in the 
enjoyment of comfortable homes, and in the midst of good school and 
railroad facilities. 

Great indeed has been the changes wrought in Preston township 
since 1870. Now, instead of the wide stretch of bleak prairie land, one 
finds well-cultivated farms and magnificent artificial groves planted by 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 567 

the hardy pioneers. The trees forming these groves now tower up from 
thirty to fifty feet, making an excellent windbreak in the winter season, 
and provide a cooling shade in midsummer days. They standout on 
the broad expanse of the rolling prairie like so many landmarks to the 
traveler, and as so many living monuments erected by the good sense 
of the early settlers. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

REMSEN TOWNSHIP. 

Location— Description— Railkoad — Population — Early Settlement- 
Schools— Agriculture — Village of Remsen— Origin of Name — Incor- 
poration—Business Interests— Churches— Newspaper— Post-office 
—"Early Days in Remsen," By Mrs. J. H. Winchel— An Interesting 
Reminiscence. 

ON the east line of Plymouth county we find congressional town- 
ship ninety-two, range forty-three west. Since October 18, 
1881, this territory has formed the civil township of Eemsen; prior 
to that date it was included in Marion township. Remsen is bounded 
by Meadow township on the north, Cherokee county on the east, Henry 
township on the south and Marion township on the west. 

The line of the Dubuque & Sioux City (Illinois Central) railway 
passes through the northwest corner of the township, with a station 
known as Remsen, which is located on section six, and of which further 
mention will be hereafter made. The chief stream of Remsen town- 
ship is Whiskey slough, in the eastern part of the territory. 

In 1885 the population was given at 650, of which 400 were 
American born. The present population, however, is much greater, 
perhaps nearly double the above figures. 

Early Settlers. — The name of the first man who claimed land in 
Remsen township has been forgotten, but the oldest settler now living 
within the township is Henry Mullong, who bought a second-hand 
homestead claim of S. C. Pringy, on the south half of the southeast 
quarter of section twenty-eight. Mr. Mullong settled on the land in 
April, 1873, and he thinks it was originally claimed by the first settler 



568 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of the township, in 1867. The nest to locate was J. J. Murphy, on the 
southwest quarter of section ten, where he still lives. He is at present 
in the employ of the Illinois Central railroad company, at their water 
tank. Ed. Ellier came to the township in 1878, and bought land of a 
speculator named Baxter. This tract was on the northwest quarter of 
section thirty-two. Until after 1880 there were no settlers in Remsen 
township to speak of, and from that time on the territory was largely 
settled up by Germans, who have come to be wealthy farmers and 
stock-growers. 

In 1885 the total population of the township was 649, of which 
310 were Germans. 

The population of Remsen township are exclusively devoted to 
agricultural life and its kindred branch — stock-growing and feeding. 
The land is of a very rich, superior quality, and can be relied upon 
for a crop each year. Many artificial groves adorn the township and 
lend both beauty and actual value to the domain. 

Schools. — The first school was taught at the residence of R. E. 
McCourtland, on section thirty-four, about 1880. At this date, 1890, 
the county school records show that this township has five sub-dis- 
tricts, which are provided with four good school-houses. The total 
enrollment of scholars is ninety-three. 

There are no religious societies in the township, except those found 
at Remsen village, the only post-office and market-place of the township. 

Village of Eemsen. — Remsen is situated in the west half of sec- 
tion six, in Remsen township. It was platted August 28, 1876, by 
the Sioux City and Iowa Falls Town Lot & Land Company. Since 
then five additions have been made, the description of which will be 
found in the " Recorded Plats " elsewhere in this volume. It is lo- 
cated on a beautiful tract of rolling prairie land, and is now a thriving 
little mart of about 500 people. It derived its name from Dr. Will- 
iam Remsen Smith, of Sioux City, a large land owner. It was made 
a station on the original Dubuque & Sioux City railroad line, and has 
come to be one of the best market places and shipping points along 
the line. But little was accomplished in the way of business improve- 
ments until 1881, when Frank Miller put in a general store. 

The same year the " Blake House " was erected by C. R. Blake. 
It is now known as the Monthoven House. The first to engage in the 
sale of agricultural implements was Rathmann & Michaels. The first 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 569 

hardware was sold by John H. Eathmann. The first grocery store was 
that of Samuel Wentz. In 1882 a furniture store was put in by 
Hubert Nothen. 

The same year, 1882, Dr. Theodore Wrede opened up a stock of 
drugs. "Dr." Baker had kept a few patent medicines, etc., the year 
prior. A saloon was started to quench the thirst of the pioneers, in 
1881, by Peter Mouner. The pioneer grain company was Peavey & 
Co. The first to handle lumber was Townsend Bros., of Le Mars. The 
first blacksmith to wield his hammer beside the glowing forge was Mar- 
tin Seba, in 1880-81. A wagon-shop was put in operation by John 
Schumacher. The first bank was the Bank of Bemsen, in 1887. 

In the spring of 1889 the citizens of Bemsen concluded, to further 
on the business interests of the place, that it was best to become an 
incorporated town. The first election of officers resulted as follows : 
N. Lang, mayor; Ed. S. Lloyd, recorder; Z. Gilman, treasurer; Hamm 
Atkinson, M. Scheel, John Fish, Hubert Nothen, Peter Bruscher and 
George E. Bright, councilmen. The same officials were serving in 
1890, except Councilman George E. Bright, who was succeeded by 
J. P. Steicher. 

The village supports a good, live, local newspaper, edited by J. P. 
Kieffer, who issues twice each week — one issue printed in German, 
called the " Bemsen Glocke," and later in the week one of the same 
contents, only printed in English, called the " Bemsen Bell." These 
papers have a large circulation — some hundreds going to Europe — 
sent by Germans to their friends. [See " Press " chapter for further 
concerning the " Bell "]. 

The following gives the various firms transacting business at Bem- 
sen in 1890: 

Agricultural implements — Scott Bros., Pew Bros., Stang & Peters. 

Attorneys — Ed. S. Lloyd. 

Banks — Bank of Bemsen, W. J. Creglow, president; Farmers' 
Loan & Trust Company, James F. Toy, president. 

Blacksmiths — Theodore Fiddler, Adolph Hoper, Jost Bros. 

Coal — Z. Gilman, Townsend Bros. 

Drugs — Meinert & Fish, H. J. Brink. 

Furniture — H. Nothen. 

General stores — N. Kass & Son, M. Beck & Sons, Matt Janse, S. 
Wentz. 



570 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Grain dealers— Union Mill Co., E. N. Dickey & Co., F. H. Peavey 
& Co., Cedar Falls Mill Co. 

Hotels — Renisen House, Hotel Monthoven. 

Harness shop — Charles Bushgens. 

Hardware — Townsend Bros., Z. Gilnian, Henry Schaafs, M. & J. 
Wictor. 

Jeweler — P. Koehnke. 

Lumber — Z. Gilman, Townsend Bros., Henry Sudtelgat. 

Livery — One connected with each of the two hotels. 

Millinery — Mary Wictor. 

Stock — Lang Bros., A. Zink. 

Physicians — H. J. Brink, George Roepke. 

Newspaper — " Remsen Bell," J. P. Kieffer, editor. 

The American Express Company is represented here; the Western 
Telephone Exchange is also connected with this town. 

At the present time there are twelve open beer saloons running, 
despite the Iowa state law. 

Since the incorporation of the town it is being rapidly supplied 
with good sidewalks, street crossings, etc. In 1889 they also erected 
a jail of sufficient size and security to hold what few law-breakers 
might chance to infest their town. 

Eemsen became a post-office point in 1879. H. W. Alline was 
appointed the first postmaster; he served until 1885, when he was suc- 
ceeded by L. L. Page, who conducted it until April 11, 1889, when A. 
C. Morgan was appointed, and still serves very acceptably. It be- 
came a money-order office in 1886. The first money order was issued 
August 20, 1886, to Bev. F. X. Shuty, in favor of Appleton & Co., 
Chicago, 111. The amount was $12. The full number of money orders 
issued up to May 21, 1890, from this office, was 1,629; number of 
postal notes, 2,296. 

The two church organizations at Remsen, each have a good building. 

The Evangelical Lutheran society was formed in 1884 by six 
members, Bev. Miner, of Le Mars, officiating. The first president was 
John Isley; John Schumacher was first treasurer, and Martin Seba 
first secretary. In 1888 a frame church building was erected, at a cost 
of $1,600. It is twenty-four by forty feet, and seats fully one hun- 
dred persons. The present membership of the society is twenty-six. 

The present church officials are: George Beck, president; Char- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 571 

lie Schumacher, vice-president; Clos Sievers, treasurer; John Schu- 
macher, secretary; John Helms, librarian. Until October, 1889, the 
church was supplied with a minister occasionally from other points, 
but at that date Henry Bender became pastor, and is still serving. 
A Sunday-school was formed in 1889, which now averages twenty 
scholars. The superintendent is Rev. Bender, pastor of the church. 

The Eoman Catholic people of this vicinity were first attended by 
Father Gilchrist, formerly of Marcus, Iowa. He looked to the spirit- 
ual welfare of this people for some two or three years. The first 
church building was blown down by a cyclone in 1885, and the present 
building was erected the same year. Rev. F. Schulte took charge of 
the congregation in Decembei - , 1885, and finished the new edifice, 
which is forty by eighty feet, and seats about 300 people comfortably. 
In the fall of 1886 the fine parsonage was built, at a cost of $1,900. 
In the summer of 1888 the parochial school-house was built, at an 
expense of about $3,600; it is thirty-eight by sixty-eight feet and 
two stories high. It contains rooms for the sisters and boarders. In 
the fall of 1888, the sisters of St. Francis, from Dubuque, Iowa, took 
charge of this school, which now has an attendance of about one hun- 
dred. 

The church building at Bemsen is heated by two large stoves; 
there are there altars, an organ, and a good-sized bell. The building 
contains seventy pews. An enlargement of about thirty feet of this 
church is contemplated in another year. The valuation of this church 
is about $4,600. The present (1890) family membership is placed 
at about 150. 

Early Days in Eemsen (Contributed by Mrs. J. H. Winchel). — 
From time immemorial, or rather since the building of the Illinois 
Central railroad, Eemsen consisted of a name and a station. The 
pi*esent station building, however, is not the original one, as that, 
according to tradition, was burned, the fire being started by means of 
a spark from a passing engine, which ignited the straw-bed of an in- 
moving depot agent. In this way Bemsen was wiped out by fire. 

History fails to record the names of the various agents at this 
point. But in 1879 J. S. Ellis was succeeded by H. U. Alline, both 
being pioneer settlers in Flymouth county, who owned farms in the 
vicinity. In the summer of 1879 J. Bagley, of Tipton, Iowa, built a 
small house, which he occupied until fall, when it was removed to a 



572 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

farm adjoining the town plat. The station was once more left to "hold 
the fort " alone. 

The first business in Remsen was engaged in by J. H. Winchel, 
who owned a large farm one mile north, and H. W. Alline, of Rem- 
sen, under the firm name of Winchel & Alline. Scales were put in 
and grain bought and shipped. This was in the fall of 1880. At the 
same time P. Hopkins, of Le Mars, bought and shipped, from this 
point, cattle and hogs. 

The winter of 1880-81 is known in the annals of Remsen as the 
"starvation winter" — it might also be termed the " freeze-out win- 
ter," because, if hunger did beset the little garrison, none the less did 
the lack of fuel cause much trouble. Those who remember the serious 
inconveniences of the long snow blockades, even in a much larger 
town, can imagine the sufferings of those who were ten miles from a 
grocery store, the same distance from a meat market, and who did not 
live on a farm, consequently did not have the pork-barrel to fall back on. 

The shoveling-train that occasionally reached us was our only means 
of communication with the outside world. When that failed us, as it 
frequently did, and supplies were at their lowest ebb, the hero of the 
hour was he who volunteered to tramp the ten miles of drifted track, 
and who came back somewhat the worse for wear, but covered with 
glory, and well laden with flour and coffee, beans, graham flour, 
etc. These were divided with the stranger within our gates, who was 
trying to make his way from Marcus to Le Mars on foot. 

Never was a spring later or more welcomed than that of 1881. 
Before spring had fairly opened, S. L. Townsend was on the ground 
ready to open a lumber-yard; and, as soon as it was possible to lay a 
foundation, a building was erected and a stock of hardware and 
lumber placed in shape. The next building was a hotel, and, in a few 
days 0. B. Blake and family, of Cherokee, took possession, and 
furnished accommodations for the little army of carpenters. 

The first store was then in process of erection, and the following 
week a car-load of groceries arrived, and Remsen had a market at 
home. This store was owned by Miller & Co. of Le Mars, and oper- 
ated by George Kline. 

The first saloon soon followed, and was built and owned by Peter 
Monner. 

Private residences sprang up here and there, and immigrants 




/SJCLO~<^^ Cls 0{^-^^u^^^4 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 575 

commenced to come in and seek shelter for their families and house- 
hold goods, until they could build for themselves. 

The first elevator was built and run by S. Ellingswortb, of Oyens, 
for the "Waterloo Mill Company. . 

The first school was taught by Miss Mary Alline, during the sum- 
mer of 1881, in one of the living-rooms of the depot building. It 
found its next home in a room over J. Eathman's hardware store ; from 
there it was moved to a building owned by J. K. Alline. This house 
also served the Protestant people of this section as a church. In it 
was organized the Methodist Episcopal church, under the leadership 
of William Edgar. The original members were four in number: E. 
K. Morgan and wife, and Daniel Arburthnot and wife. A successful 
Sabbath-school was, for a long time, maintained. Its superintendent 
was Z. Gilman. 

In 1883 the first public building, the Roman Catholic church, was 
erected, and the following season a much-needed school building was 
built. Both of these structures were destroyed by the tornado which 
swept over this county in the spring of 1885. They have both been 
rebuilt. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
SIOUX TOWNSHIP. 



Once Included in Plymouth — Present Organization— Population— 
Description — First Settlement— Early Scenes — Pioneer D. M. 
Mills — An Early Murder— First Events — Kailroad— Schools- 
Interesting Incidents— Indian Affairs, etc. 

SIOUX contains all of congressional township ninety-one, range 
forty-eight, except parts of sections thirty-one and thirty-two, 
which are cut off by the Big Sioux river, the dividing line between 
Iowa and South Dakota. At one time Sioux was included in Plym- 
outh and Lincoln townships, but by an act of the supervisors it was 
finally set off by itself. 

The Big Sioux river forms the western boundary, while Broken 



576 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Kettle creek meanders through the entire eastern portion, providing 
excellent drainage for a goodly part of the whole territory. 

In 1885 the township had a population of but about 250 souls, but 
has grown greatly since thattime. The people are chiefly native-born 
Americans, and of the best and truest type. 

The First Settlement. — To have lived west of the Mississippi river 
in 1856, was not considered very early, but to have been a settler in 
the northwest portion of Iowa in that year, was indeed, to be classed 
as among daring, brave men. The Sioux valley was then first settled 
by a few persons, and to Hon. D. M. Mills must be accorded the 
honor, for such it was, of being the first white man to claim land, 
erect a cabin, and make for himself a home in this section. He was 
the first to effect settlement and remain through all these eventful 
years, including the dark and trying days of the Civil war, as well as 
through the Indian troubles from 1857 to 1864. 

When Mr. Mills came to section fourteen, in the month of March, 
1856, he looked upon streams, the waters of which reflected back the 
image of the red man who had folded up his tents for the last time in 
the magnificent valley of the Big Sioux, who had spent a lifetime 
midst these wild, yet charming haunts, but was now to bid a long 
farewell and leave his once happy hunting ground to the plowshare of 
a more progressive race. 

Of Pioneer Mills, it may be said, he has ever been true as steel to 
the white settlers, and also to the remnant of the Indian bands which 
from time to time still came to this section. Having been reared 
from childhood among the North American Indians, and having been 
an extensive traveler in South America, just prior to coming to Iowa, 
he was, by experience, quite well calculated to become a successful 
pioneer. It was in 1856 that he held a claim down for a Dubuque 
company on the present site of flourishing Sioux Falls, S. Dak., 
and also claimed land there, at the same time for himself, which 
included the falls now so valuable for mill power. He returned, how- 
ever - , to his cabin home in Sioux township, and made other improve- 
ments. He became a popular pioneer leader, and was the first sheriff 
of Plymouth county, serving two terms. From 1864 to 1871 he 
resided at Elk Point, Dak. ; he was a member of the upper house of 
the Dakota territorial legislature, at Yankton, from 1867 to 1870. He 
also held the office of internal revenue assessor a year, his district 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 577 

extending to the Eocky mountains. He was appointed by Vice-Presi- 
dent Andrew Johnson, at a salary of $3,000 per year. These facts are 
given in this connection, to show the reader that the early settlers of 
this section were men of sterling worth and intelligence. 

After Mr. Mills' pre-emption of 160 acres, on section fourteen, 
township ninety-one, range forty-nine, in March, 1856, the next settler 
was J. D. Pinkney^wko settled the northeast quarter of section four- 
teen, in the spring of 1857. He came from Michigan, as did D. M. 
Mills, his brother-in-law. He pre-empted his land, remained until 
1872, and then removed to Washington territory. His was the first 
family to find a home in this section of the county. 

About the same time (1856-57) came James Dormady, who pre- 
empted land on section thirty. He left, however, the same season. 
He finally drifted into the army but afterward returned to this township. 
Joseph N. Field came in with Mr. Mills in 1856, and claimed the south- 
west quarter of section thirty-four by pre-emption right. He moved to 
Sioux City during the war, and from there to Chicago, and is now 
purchasing agent, at Manchester, England, for the great dry-goods 
firm of Marshall Field & Co. He still owns 280 acres of Sioux town- 
ship land. 

Barney Eoney was the next to settle. He took the northeast quarter 
of section twenty-four, in 1858. He was killed by his hired man in 
November, 1859, while quarreling over a bushel of wheat claimed by 
his murderer. The deed was committed near D. M. Mills' place. 
There was no attempt at further settlement until the Rebellion and 
Indian troubles were over. 

William Hunter, the next to come into the township, settled on 
section thirty-two a year or two after the war closed, about 1868. No 
others came until about the time of the building of the Milwaukee 
railroad in 1874-75. 

The first birth in Sioux township was that of John and Henry 
Eoney (twins), born to Mr. and Mrs. Barney Eoney, in 1857. The 
first death was that of Barney Eoney in 1859, as mentioned above. 
The first marriage was that of D. M. Mills and Sarah A. Eobinson in 
1859. The first school term was opened in 1868-69. One school was 
kept near William Hunter's place, on section thirty-two, and another 
near Mr. Mills, on section fourteen. Mr. Hunter was teacher in his 
district for some time. The first election was held at his school-house, 



578 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

too. The railroad was graded through this part of the county iu 1873, 
but not ironed and fully equipped until 1875, after which a new im- 
petus was given the country. Settlers flocked in, and things began to 
look more like civilized life. 

There are now four good school buildings in the township, and an 
enrollment of fifty scholars. It should be remembered that much of 
the land in this section of the county is quite rough and hilly, in con- 
sequence of which it has not become thickly settled yet. The best 
lands are confined to the valley portion of tbe territory. 

Interesting Incidents. — To illustrate the fact that an Indian values 
his life even as his white brother does, the following is given : One day 
during the first year of Mr. Mills' sojourn in Sioux township, he was 
alone in his claim-cabin, when a tall, warlike Indian popped in on him. 
Soon another and another came in, all bearing guns. Mr. Mills, the 
cool, level-headed man that he has always proven to be, called the 
young man who was staying with him on the claim, and handed him 
a repeating fire-arm of some sort, and took another himself, and they 
then coolly took seats in one end of the cabin. The meantime Indian 
jargon was being talked by the ten red men then within the building. 
Of course, the position was not an enviable one, to even Pioneer Mills, 
yet he made the best of it, bracing his half -fainting companion up the 
best he could. The Indians made no demands, no requests, which 
seemed all the more strange. They eyed the fire-arms, all cocked, 
ready for deadly service, in case they made an attack. But, strange 
to relate, the leader shook his head and grunted Ugh! and all left the 
cabin and soon disappeared in the timber on the Sioux. Mr. Mills' 
acquaintance with the Indians lead him to believe that when they saw 
he had weapons and was possessed with a large degree of courage, in 
coolly confronting ten armed savages, they concluded, however certain 
they might be of finally overpowering two white men, that the natural 
result of the attempt would be the killing of at least one poor Indian, 
and each one of the "braves" felt that he himself was not quite 
ready to exchange this world for another, hence the quiet retreat. 

Upon another occasion, during the Indian troubles, a family of 
seemingly friendly Indians were camped near Mr. Mills' place, and 
were on good terms with him. There were soldiers sent up along the 
border to keep matters quiet, and they learned of this lone Indian and 
his family, but could not find his camp. They came to Mills and de- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 579 

manded that he inform them, whereupon he refused, saying, " You 
ought to be ashamed of trying to kill that poor, lone, peaceable Indian." 
These brave ( ?) soldiers still insisted, but to no avail. The company 
dispersed, and finally two came riding swiftly to his cabin, and again 
demanded of Mills that, he comply with their former request, or they 
should count him as bad as the Indians, and deal with him accord- 
ingly. At this time Mr. Mills deliberately pulled from behind his 
cabin door a gun, which he cocked and leveled at the two United States 
soldiers, and told them, in words more emphatic than religious or ele- 
gant, that if they dared to bring their guns up from their side he 
would riddle them full of holes. It is needless to say they gave them- 
selves the order, " Right about face," and at once made for their camp. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
STANTON TOWNSHIP. 



Once a Part of America Township— Present Limits Fixed in 1871 — De- 
scription— " Plymouth City" (Defunct)— First Settlement— Early 
Events — Neptune Post-office— Churches— Schools. 

STANTON was at one time included in America township, but by 
an act of the board of county supervisors, dated June 3, 1871, it 
became a separate civil organization. It comprises congressional 
township ninety-one, range forty-five west. It is situated in the third 
tier of townships from the eastern line of the county and the second 
from the southern line. Its chief streams are the Little Whiskey creek 
and Plymouth creek, each of which have many small feeders, in the 
way of prairie "runs." It is a beautiful and extremely productive 
belt of land, which yields forth an abundance of every species of grain, 
grass and vegetable common to northern Iowa latitude. . 

Plymouth City, the oldest town site in the county, was platted, at 
an early day [see "Recorded Plats"], on section six of this town- 
ship. No improvement was ever made, as later, the county seat went 
to Le Mars. 

According to the state census report of 1885, this township had a 
total population of 675; at present it is estimated at 1,000, which 



580 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

would make it the most densely populated of any township in Plym- 
outh county, excluding the city of Le Mars and perhaps two other 
towns. 

First Settlement. — Carlos and Frank Little, who came from New 
Hampshire in the summer of 1869, and took homesteads on section 
fourteen, were the first to effect a settlement in Stanton township. 
They removed to Oregon in 1881. In the same year (1869) the 
settlement of homesteaders was increased by the advent of " Doc " 
Folsoni, who arrived from Boston, and also claimed a part of section 
fourteen. He improved his land, remained a few years, and then re- 
turned to Boston. 

Samuel Ambrose also homesteaded a part of section fourteen, 
where he still lives — a well-to-do farmer. He came from New Hamp- 
shire. Emerson Bixby, a homesteader of section twelve, and still a resi- 
dent of the township, came in 1869. Joseph Skelton, of Chickasaw 
county, Iowa, located on section twelve and now lives on section eleven. 

In 1870 Thomas Stokes and family came from Jackson county, 
Iowa, and claimed an eighty-acre homestead on section fourteen, where 
they still reside. Mr. Stokes, also purchased railroad land, and now 
owns a large farm composed of most excellent soil. Patrick Welch 
came to the country with Mr. Stokes and homesteaded a part of sec- 
tion fourteen, but finally moved away. George Asbury and his brother 
William came the same time the Little family did. The Asburys came 
from Philadelphia, Penn., and took land on section twenty-two. They 
finally sold out and moved to Oregon. One of the brothers went to 
Arizona territory, and from there back to his home in the east, where 
he committed suicide. 

D. O. Marchant came to the township in 1870, and claimed a por- 
tion of section ten, where he still lives, a prosperous and progressive 
farmer. He came from Illinois. The same year came C. E. Ireland 
and homesteaded on section twenty-four. Pat. Keenan came in 1871- 
72, settling on section thirteen. He purchased railroad lands. From 
this date on, settlement was made very rapidly, and we refer the reader 
to the personal sketches of this work for further particulars con- 
ceiving it. 

First Events. — The first actual settlers in Stanton township were 
Carlos and Frank Little, in 1869. The first birth in the township 
was probably that of the child of Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Ireland. The 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 581 

first death was the infant above mentioned. It died in 1870, shortly 
after its birth. The first marriage was that of John Einley to Miss 
Lizzie Asbury, the ceremony being performed by Justice-of-the-Peace 
Thomas Stokes, in 1872. The first term of school in the township was 
taught at the house of Carlos Little in 1870. The first school build- 
ing was erected the same year, 1870, on section twenty -three, and 
the first term of school in it was taught by William Asbury. 

Neptune Post-office. — This office was established early in the 
eighties, and was kept at the farm-house of whomsoever was appointed 
postmaster. At the time of its being established, Mr. Seaman was 
appointed postmaster. It has gone from one to another, until finally, 
in 1882 or 1883, a small cross-roads hamlet sprung up on the south 
line of section twenty-six, at a point known as '' Happy Corners," and 
the post-office since then, has been kept at a general store at that 
point. The store and post-office are now conducted by Charles Reif- 
stack. There is also a blacksmith and wagon-shop there. 

Schools and Churches. — At the present date, Stanton township has 
seven sub-school districts, each of which is provided with a good 
frame building. The average attendance of pupils, for the year end- 
ing October, 1889, was 238. The public schools have always been 
well supported, and the general effect is to be seen to-day in a highly 
intelligent and well-educated class of young men and women. 

The Evangelical church of Stanton township was formed in 1874, 
by a class belonging to the Floyd Valley church, organized by the 
conference at Ackley, Iowa, in 1870. This first class in the township 
was known as " Stanton mission." It numbered among its members 
the following persons: John Dobbert, G. Brandsetter, A. Huebsch, 
John Below, George Schmidt. The names and order of pastors in 
charge are: Eev. Ernst Nolte, 1874; Bev. Gottlieb Heimniller, 1874 
to 1876; Eev. Val. Griese, 1877 to 1880; Rev. John Zellhoeper, 1881; 
Rev. E. Loehle, 1882 to 1883; Rev. M. Eller, 1884 to 1885; Rev. S. 
Stabler, 1886 to 1888, and Rev. C. T. Mueller, the present pastor. A 
frame church edifice was built and dedicated in 1874, the dedicatory 
service being held June 14. The size of this church is twenty-four 
by forty feet, with a tower eight by eight feet and fifty feet high. 
The building cost $1,600. In 1886 a wing was added, twenty-four by 
twenty-six feet, costing $1,600, and now the church has a seating- 
capacity of 300 persons. In 1883 a parsonage was erected at a cost 



582 HISTOKY OF WOODBUBY. AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of $700; it is sixteen by twenty -four feet, with an addition fourteen 
by sixteen feet. The church property is situated on section twenty. 
The present membership of the society is 120. The present officers 
are: Trustees, Jacob Brandstetter, M. Huebsch; treasurer, John 
Schuman; secretary, A. Uthe; president, "Will Dobbert; class leaders, 
A. Huebsch, A. Uthe, W. Dobbert. The Sabbath-school now numbers 
160; Will Dobbert is superintendent. 

Near the church building is a church cemetery of two acres. The 
society is now in a nourishing condition and doing much good in the 
community. 



CHAPTEE XXXII. 
UNION TOWNSHIP. 



Location— Area— Description— Organization— Population— Early Set- 
tlers—First Events — Schools — Churches — Pioneer Hardships- 
Beautiful Artificial Groves— A Terrible Prairie Fire in 1878— 
Man Sixty-seven Years of age Burned to Death. 

CONGKESSIONAL township ninety-one, range forty-four, is now 
known as Union civil township. It was at one time a part of 
Stanton township, but by an act of the board of supervisors, dated 
June 5, 1872, was made a separate civil township organization. It is 
situated south of Marion township, west of Henry, north of Elkhorn, 
and east of Stanton township. 

The principal streams found here are Muddy Creek, the headwaters 
of which are in the southwestern portion of the township; Johns creek 
is in the central southern part; Dry branch is in the southwestern 
sections. These creeks all have numerous smaller tributaries, which 
afford ample water and drainage facilities for the entire territory. 

In 1885 the state census returns gave Union township a population 
of 430, of which three-quarters were American born. The forthcom- 
ing census of 1890 will doubtless give nearly double these figures. 

Early Settlement. — The first to claim land under the homestead 
act was John Laddusaw and his son William, who settled on section 
four, in the summer of 1869. Gilbert Everett took the south half of 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 583 

the southwest quarter of section four, which he finally sold to D. 
Harvey and moved to Nebraska. 

The same season, 1869, came an Irishman, named Hines, who 
homesteaded the south half of the northwest quarter of section six. 
Patrick Quinn homesteaded the north half of the southwest quarter of 
section six. Enoch Sanford claimed as a homestead, the north half 
of the southeast quarter of section six, and still lives there. John 
Henry Nobles came about the same time, and homesteaded the south 
half of the southwest quarter of section six. He proved up, sold, and 
removed to one of the southern states. Samuel Miller, another settler 
of 1869, took up the south half of the southeast quarter of section six. 
He subsequently moved away, and the place is now owned by Mr. 
Watson. William Ruth took the northeast quarter of section six, 
where he still resides. 

In 1870 the next settlement was made, by D. C. Reynolds, on sec- 
tion four, where he claimed the homestead upon which he still lives. D. 
S. Rathburn came to the township January 1, 1870, and homesteaded 
the southwest quarter of section twenty. He removed to the same in 
August, 1871, proved up, and in 1881 sold to W. B. Moore. The same 
year, 1870, came Peter and Robert Steele, two brothers. The first 
named is still here. That year came also John McCartney, William 
McCartney, and John, James and Robert Beggs. George Gray home- 
steaded the south half of the southeast quarter of section thirty; he 
now resides at Le Mars. Asel Bigelow and William West came about 
this date. West settled on the south half of the southeast quarter of 
section eighteen. Old Mr. Seaman, now of Florida, settled on section 
thirty. These constitute the most of the early pioneer band who set- 
tled this township. 

Early Events. — The first person to die within the borders of Union 
township was Mrs. Hines, whose demise occurred in 1870. The first 
marriage was that of Ellen Hines and James Britt, in 1872 or 1873. 
The Methodist Episcopal people held the first service of a religious 
character here, and still proclaim the gospel of peace at different 
school-houses. 

In 1872 Ellen McBride ended her life by taking poison. About 
1875 a man named Markey committed suicide by shooting himself. 

Schools, Etc. — Very early in the township's history the public 
schools were commenced and carefully fostered by the homestead 



584 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

settlers. In 1871 Jane Crostein (now Mrs. Robert Steele) taught a 
term of school at Mr. Rathburn's place, on the southwest quarter of 
section twenty. There was one taught the same summer, or perhaps 
a year earlier, at Mr. Reynolds'. There was a school building erected 
in 1871, known as the Walrath, or district No. 1 school. The build- 
ing in No. 2, on the west half of the southeast quarter of section seven- 
teen, was built in 1873. As shown by the county school superintend- 
ent's report, of October, 1889, Union township had, at that date, six 
sub-districts and six good frame buildings. The enrollment of schol- 
ars was 140. Much care is taken of the school grounds and buildings, 
and the forty-five shade trees planted out in some of the school yards 
add much to the beauty of the premises. 

Improvements. — As viewed to-day, midst its fine state of cultiva- 
tion, one would scarcely believe that in two decades so wonderful a 
transformation could be made in a wild prairie land. Now each water- 
course crossed by a highway is spanned by a good bridge; the groves 
of cotton-wood, maple and box elder, planted by the hands of the early 
homesteaders, have come to be forest trees in fact, and they lend a 
beauty and give value to the farms as no other improvement could 
possibly do. To possess a farm of the rich land found in Union town- 
ship, together with the improvements already made on the same, is 
indeed to become at once independent and happy. 

Pioneer Hardships. — To give the reader some faint idea of the 
hardships encountered in making homes in this county, the following 
sad case is recorded, as being one of scores of like calamities in Plym- 
outh county: During the month of October, 1878, a terrible prairie 
fire raged, and wrought sad havoc in the Tracy neighborhood of Union 
township. A settler named Charles A. Davis was trying to save his 
little homestead property from the fierce flames, when his clothing 
caught fire, and every stitch of wearing apparel he had on his body 
was consumed except his heavy cow-hide boots. He suffered untold 
agony until the following week, when death came to his relief. The 
unfortunate man was sixty-seven years of age, and was an honored citi- 
zen. The same fire devastated the country for many miles around, 
destroying buildings, burning a large amount of stock and leaving the 
homesteaders in a sorry plight for the oncoming long and dreary winter. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 585 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

Present Organization— Topography— Railroads— Early Settlers- 
Homesteaders— Schools— Religious— Dalton Station— The Finest 
Tree in Iowa. 

CONGEESSIONAL township ninety-two, range forty-six, is what 
now constitutes Washington civil township. It at one time 
belonged to Plymouth and America, but since June 5, 1871, has had 
a separate civil organization. It is bounded on the north by Grant 
township, on the east by America, on the south by Plymouth, and on 
the west by Johnson township. Its streams are Mink creek in the 
central-northern part, with the West Fork of the Floyd river in the 
eastern portion. Its population, in 1885, numbered 519, of whom 
352 were American born. 

The line of the Sioux City & Northern railroad, built in 1889, 
passes through this township, and has for a station the platted village 
of Dalton, located on section thirteen, two miles to the west of Le 
Mars. 

Early Settlement — As was the case in so many townships in Plym- 
outh county, in Washington the earliest settlers were nearly all 
homesteaders. Citizens were entitled to eighty acres, while an 
ex-soldier or sailor could homestead a quai'ter section. 

The first settler, and the only one of the original homesteaders 
now living in the limits of this township, is J. J. Madden, who came 
from Sioux City, during the month of April, 1866, the year after the 
Civil war closed. He availed himself of the homestead and pre-emp- 
tion acts by claiming a quarter section of twenty-four. Some he pre- 
empted at government price. He has made for himself a beautiful, 
as well as very valuable home, but did not remove to this land until 
1868. Mr. Madden was an old railroad man, and had several grading 
contracts along the line of the Illinois Central railroad, then known as 
the Dubuque & Sioux City company. Many were the hardships 



586 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

endured by this worthy gentleman and his estimable family. It may 
be said in this connection that among the artificial trees which adorn 
his premises, there is one, a "box-elder," which stands near and over- 
shadows the house, and which, by annual trimming, has come to be of 
a perfect cone shape, and is one of the most magnificent and symmet- 
rical wild trees in all Iowa's fair, broad domain. It is the comment 
of every visitor, stranger and neighbor, and for it has been offered a 
thousand dollars, providing its owner would transplant it and warrant 
it to live in some of the residence lots in the city of Le Mars. 

From Pioneer Madden the writer learned that at the time he came 
to Washington township, there were no other settlers for many miles 
to the north and east. The nest to come in as neighbors were C. G. 
Norris (now in the meat-market business at Le Mars), who settled on 
section twenty-four, and George Evans, who later removed to other 
parts, and died about 1875. 

In 1868 Thomas Calhoun homesteaded the southwest quarter of 
section twelve, where he now resides. John and Alexander Calhoun, 
brothers, came in at the same time and settled on section twelve. They 
have both removed years ago. The east half of section twenty-six was 
claimed by a man named Howes, now living in Johnson township. James 
Hoover was a very early homesteader on the northwest quarter of sec- 
tion twenty-four. He removed and has been dead many years. C. J. 
Young settled on the southeast quarter of section one in 1868, where he 
still remains, a prosperous farmer and honored citizen of his county. 
Peter Eagen, now of Le Mars, claimed the southwest quarter of section 
thirty-six. After proving up, he sold and left the township. J. H. Morf, 
afterward county treasurer, made settlement, in 1869, on section thirty- 
six. He kept a general store, the only one in Plymouth county for 
some time. He finally removed to Seattle, Wash., where he now 
lives. His sketch appears elsewhere in this work. 

Schools, Etc. — The first term of school was taught about 1870, in 
a school-house erected on section twenty-four; it was moved from 
place to place, and is now situated on the northwest quarter of the 
same section. 

At present (1890) there are six sub-districts, each provided with 
a good frame school-house. There are now 155 pupils enrolled in the 
township. Around the various school grounds there are 320 shade trees, 
perhaps more than around those in any other township in Plymouth 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 587 

county. This speaks well for the culture and refinement of the 
population. 

There is no church building within Washington township. The 
German Methodists hold services in different school buildings through- 
out the township, bonds being given for the good care of the property. 

Bolton Station, named in honor of P. F. Dalton, of Le Mars, is 
platted on section thirteen, two miles west of the city of Le Mars, and 
is a station on the newly constructed railroad, known as the Sioux 
City & Northern. It was platted in the fall of 1889, hence has made 
but little growth to this time. A post-office has been established there, 
which is the second one in the township. At an early day one was 
established at J. H. Morf's general store, in the southeast corner of 
the township, but was abandoned soon after railroad days — 1870. 
Dalton also supports quite a grain and live-stock market, the former 
conducted by Mr. Gilbert and the latter by Mr. Pemberton. A gen- 
eral merchandise store is operated by a man named Wilson. This, 
with what in these days is known as a "hole in the wall" — a beer 
saloon in violation of law — constitutes the business interests of Dalton. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP. 

Geographical Location— Description— Organization— Pioneer Settle- 
ment — Village of Westfield— Schools and Churches of the Town- 
ship. 

WESTFIELD is the second township from the north line of the 
county, and is on the western border. Portland township is 
north, Johnson east, Sioux south and the Big Sioux river, or Iowa 
state line, on the west. As constituted at present, it comprises all of 
congressional township ninety-two, range forty-eight west, except the 
northern tier of sections, which is included in Portland. It also con- 
tains a part of range forty-nine, which takes in all that portion east 
of the Big Sioux river. Westfield was one of the two original civil 
townships of Plymouth county. When the county was organized (or 



588 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

soon after), it was divided into Plymouth and Westfield civil town- 
ships. Westfield was described as follows: Congressional township 
ninety, ranges forty-seven and forty-eight; township ninety-one, ranges 
forty-seven, forty-eight and forty-nine; township ninety-two, ranges 
forty-seven, forty-eight and forty-nine, and west half of township 
ninety- two, range forty-six ; also township ninety-three, ranges forty-six, 
forty-seven and forty -eight. Later on Westfield was included in 
Johnson township, but May 3, 1878, took its present bounds. 

The general topography of the township is rolling. Its streams 
are the Westfield creek, running from the northeast to the southwest, 
emptying into the Big Sioux river; Broken Kettle creek, which flows 
through the southwestern part, and which is quite a stream. The 
population in 1885 was 211, 180 of which were American born. 
The only village in this township is Westfield, on section twenty-seven, 
a mere hamlet. 

Pioneer Settlement. — Hunters and trappers had, from time to time, 
gone over this section of the county, but not until 1857 was any 
attempt made at settlement. During that year the following took up 
land under the pre-emption act: I. T. Martin, Thomas McGill, John 
Hipkins, Joseph Goson and Mr. Vidito. The hard times of 1857, 
together with the oncoming of the great Civil war, caused the town- 
ship to become depopulated, and for a time, almost entirely deserted. 

The Western Land company platted what is now referred to as 
Old Westfield village, in 1858, it being then believed that the 
Dubuque & Sioux City railway line would cross the Big Sioux at this 
point and run on to Yankton, Dak. 

Ed. Moody was township clerk in 1857, and it is said absconded 
with some of the funds in his charge. 

No further attempt was made to settle the township until 1871 ; 
from that year on to 1878, a number came in to make homes for 
themselves. Among the number may be here mentioned George 
Cilley, in the north part. Bufus Clark settled in the northern part 
in 1879-80. He finally removed to Wyoming territory. William 
Foster came in 1873 and bought land near the plat of Westfield, of 
his brother. He sold in the fall of 1888 and removed. 

Westfield Village was platted in August, 1877, on sections twenty- 
six and twenty-seven. At an early day an attempt had been made to 
get the county seat located there instead of at Melbourne, in Plymouth 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 589 

township — the center of the county. This idea was abandoned, how- 
ever, in 1860. 

The first goods were sold at this point in 1877, when Thomas 
Trendle opened a general store and was appointed the first postmaster 
in the newly established post-office of Westfield. In the spring of 
1886 a general store was opened by Luke "Wheeler and wife. The 
wife of Mr. Wheeler was appointed postmistress to succeed Trendle, 
and still keeps the office. In the spring of 1888 William Chapman 
put in a general stock of goods and is still in trade. The first and 
present blacksmith is a man named Plutz. The first school in the 
township was held at Westfield in 1878. 

While this place is a station on the line of the Chicago, Milwaukee 
& St. Paul road, yet it has never been noted as a great trading point. 
Akron and Elk Point, on the Dakota side of the Big Sioux river are 
each within a few miles, and there is no room, as yet, for three good- 
sized towns. 

Schools and Churches. — Considering the light settlement of this 
township, it supports schools quite well. In 1890 there were four 
sub-districts, each having a good school building. The enrollment 
of pupils, in 1889 was ninety. No township in the entire county has 
so great a number of shade trees as Westfield, which township, official 
reports show, has 450. 

While there are no flourishing religious societies within her bor- 
ders, there are a good many Christian men and women. Services are 
held by the Methodist, Congregational and Advent denominations, at 
the various school buildings, chiefly at the one located at the village 
of Westfield. 



590 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
AMEEICA TOWNSHIP. 

Origin of the Name— When Constituted— Boundary— General Topog- 
raphy — Population — Early Settlement — Capt. Betsworth — 
Events of Interest— Religious— Educational— Terrible Accidents 
— Post-office and Other History. 

AMERICA is the central subdivision of Plymouth county. It is 
constituted of congressional township ninety-two, range forty- 
four west, and hence contains thirty-six full sections, equivalent to 
23,040 acres of land. In many respects it may well be classed as the 
banner township of the county. It is south of Elgin township, west 
of Marion, north of Stanton, and east of Washington township. In it 
is located the city of Le Mars, which is the seat of justice, the county 
seat of Plymouth county. The Illinois Central (old Dubuque & 
Sioux City) railroad passes from the northeast to the southwest, form- 
ing a junction with the Minneapolis & Omaha railway at Le Mars. 
The latter road follows a northern course into Elgin township, where 
it bears to the northeast. 

The principal streams in America township are the Eloyd river, 
which runs from the northeast to the southwest; Plymouth creek in 
the southwestern portion, and the West Fork of the Floyd river in the 
northwest part. Along these streams may be found some of the 
choicest farming lands in all northern Iowa. 

Originally America was embraced in territory known as Plymouth 
and Lincoln townships, but the date of its distinct organization was 
September 2, 1867, when its entire population consisted of Americans, 
with the exception of three persons, hence the township's name. 

In 1885 the total population, exclusive of the city of Le Mars, 
numbered 650, of which 416 were American. 

Early Settlement. — The pioneer of this part of Plymouth county 
was W. S. McCurdy, who was by trade a brick-maker, and who worked 
at that business in Sioux City, but at an early day became a resident 
of Plymouth township, Plymouth county, near the original county 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 593 

seat, Melbourne. Tt was in the early springtime of 1866 that he 
homesteaded a part of section twenty of what is now designated as 
America township. He still resides there, an honored and successful 
farmer. 

The next man to set his claim stakes was Capt. B. F. Betsworth, 
who emigrated from Kane county, 111., and who, in the spring of 1866, 
after a long, muddy and tedious trip across the state to Sioux City, 
finally reached his claim on June 28. He " squatted " on railroad 
land, which he purchased of the state afterward. His location was 
section nine, upon which a part of the present city of Le Mars is now 
situated. Later on he traded the land for three times its amount in 
acres, with the railroad company, who platted a town site upon it. 

The following fall (1866) America township was organized by 
eight voters — not quite enough to fill the several township offices. In 
company with Capt. Betsworth came his grown son, J. H. Betsworth, 
and his family, who settled on section seventeen. He remained six 
years and finally removed to California. Henry Carmichael, a son-in- 
law of -Capt. Betsworth, also accompanied them and took a claim on 
section seventeen. Andrew Black, who came in from Minnesota, set- 
tled on a homestead on section twenty-two. He was a single man at 
the time. 

In 1867, during the month of July, came J. P. Ladd from Kane 
county, 111., and took the north half of section sixteen. He is now a 
wealthy farmer of Woodbury county. Amos Marvin came' at the same 
time and from the same locality. He homesteaded a portion of section 
ten, but now resides in Sioux City. Walter Clark, of Kane county, 
111., also settled on section ten. He is now a carpenter at Sioux City. 

Joseph Carrington, an Englishman, came in 1867, and settled on 
the southwest quarter of section eight, where he still lives. It was 
about 1868-69 when John Blodgett and B. O. Foster came from 
Maine and located in the township. In 1869 they operated a general 
store — the first of the. new town of Le Mars. 

From 1868 to the time the railroad was completed in 1870, there 
were no settlers, other than those mentioned. From that date on set- 
tlement has rapidly increased. 

Events of Interest — The first human habitation in America 
township was a half-dozen logs rolled together, with a sort of covering 
of sheets, quilts, etc., and this made a camping-claim-shanty for W. 



594 HISTORY OP WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

S. Mc Curdy and his family. The first real house was the log structure 
erected on the east bank of the Floyd river, at a point where the bridge 
and brick yard are now located, in the city of Le Mars. This was 
built and owned by Pioneer Capt. Betsworth, and was raised in 1866. 
It was constructed of cottonwood and willow logs, and covered with 
cottonwood shingles, brought from Sioux City. The first frame house 
was built by Messrs. Betsworth & Clark, for J. P. Ladd, and is still 
standing on the town plat of Le Mars. 

The first child born in America township was John Betsworth, Jr., 
son of John Betsworth, Sr., and a grandson of Capt. Betsworth. He 
was born in June, 1867. The first death was that of Mother Taylor, 
an English lady, who passed from earth in 1869. Capt. Betsworth 
went to Sioux City to procure her coffin. 

The first term of school was taught in a log building on the line 
between sections seventeen and twenty, in 1867. It was a fall school, 
taught by J. H. Betsworth. The first frame school building was a 
two-story house erected on the plat of Le Mars, and is still used for 
school purposes. It was built of pine and cottonwood lumber, and 
was considered too large by some of the citizens. B. O. Fostei', an 
early settler, remarked that, " We will never fill that school building 
in the world." He was mistaken, for the city of Le Mars has already 
erected two spacious public school buildings, and is about to erect a 
third. 

The first religious services in the township were held at the house 
of Capt. Betsworth, by a German Evangelist, in the fall of 1867. The 
Methodist Episcopal people were the first to organize a regular society 
and to erect the first church edifice. Meetings were held in the rail- 
road depot in 1869. 

Fatalities, — During a thunderstorm of unusual severity, July 25, 
1884, Mrs. Michael Ferguson, in Foster's addition to Le Mars, was 
standing in the yard of her residence, feeding some chickens, when 
she was struck by lightning and instantly dropped dead. The side of 
her head and her breast were burned to a crisp. A near neighbor, see- 
ing her fall, supposed she had slipped down, and at once went to help 
her up, when to her astonishment she found the poor creature dead 
and badly mutilated by the electric shock. Her husband was engineer 
at the roller mills. 

Another terrible death took place in Le Mars during the month of 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 595 

February, 1876, in a tenement house in the west end, by which the 
fire fiend burned to death a woman named Nora Mermeyer, and her 
three children, John, Henry and Frankie. The fire originated from 
coals of fire left in the ash pan, which had been carelessly set by the 
wood shed. 

The first to reach the burning house was James Andrews and 
George Pugh. It occurred in the dead of night, when all were sleep- 
ing. The husband was roused, but, coming to the door half asleep 
and horrified, could not direct the men to the bed chamber until it 
was too late to gain admittance, and the family thus perished. The 
building had been used for a hotel at one time, and there were other 
families then living there, but they made good their escape. 

To the list of fatal accidents in Le Mars may be added the sad case 
of Frank Bennick, a nine-year-old son of D. H Bennick, who, in 1881, 
fell into his father's well, which was thirty-five feet deep. He fell 
head foremost, penetrating the mire and sand in the bottom of the 
well, while his feet appeared just above the water's edge when dis- 
covered. He was taken from the well alive, but never regained his 
consciousness. 

Post-office and Schools. — The first post-office in the township was 
established on section seventeen, with James Garrison as postmaster. 
He was succeeded by Mr. Blodgett, who was also the first post- 
master at Le Mars. 

Deep interest was taken by the first few homestead settlers in get- 
ting good schools started as soon as possible. At first the rude log 
houses served; then were reared the better frame houses. The present 
public-school system is, indeed, a good one. In America township, 
exclusive of the city of Le Mars, there are five sub-districts, five good 
school buildings, and 140 pupils enrolled. See Chapter XXXVI, for 
further concerning the schools of America township. 



596 HISTORY OF -WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 
CITY OF LE MAES. 

Location— Origin of the Name— Platting — The First Settlement — 
First Business Men — First Events — Incorporation— Industrial and 
Commercial— Churches— Civic Societies— Eailroads— Directory of 
1890— Etc. 

LE MARS, one of Iowa's roost beautiful prairie cities, has been 
brought into existence during the past twenty years. It is 
located on sections nine and sixteen, in township ninety, range forty- 
five west, and was platted by John I. Blair, of the Dubuque & Sioux 
City railroad, June 4, 1870. It was not named, however, until the 
month of September, the same year, when a party made up of John I. 
Blair and family, W. W. Walker, of Cedar Rapids ; Mrs. John Weare, 
Mrs. Reynolds, of Clinton, Iowa; Miss Underbill, of New York; Mrs. 
Swain and Mrs. Parsons, of Fort Dodge; Mrs. George Weare, Mr. 
and Mrs. Dr. William R. Smith, of Sioux City; Mrs. John Cleghorn, 
Sioux City; Col. Wayne, of New York, and Mr. Anable, of Iowa, all 
of whom came by special train to the spot where the present sprightly 
city stands, and named the town by letting the ladies write the initials 
of their names, and then so arrange them as to produce a name befit- 
ting. After much " combination work " the letters were so arranged 
as to produce the pretty and novel word LEMARS, which is now uni- 
versally written with a small e — Le Mars. 

When the glorious land surrounding this goodly inland "gateway 
to the west" was the habitation of the free birds of the prairie wil- 
derness, when the graceful and nimble-footed deer and elk were dis- 
turbed only by the hunter and the scout, and the trail of the Indian 
or the path of the beast of prey was the only evidence of life, then a 
few but brave pioneers from eastern lands fought their way through 
many disadvantages to this section of Iowa. 

The greater number had settled not far from Sioux City, yet scat- 
tering huts showed smoke at a distance, until 1862, when the Indian 
outbreak in Minnesota gave the dread alarm, and the settlers deserted 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 597 

their cabins and sought refuge at Sioux City, that being looked upon 
as a stronghold against the invasion of the savage Sioux warriors. 

It was four years later (1866) that Capt. B. F. Betsworth moved 
to where Le Mars now stands, and erected a log cabin, forty rods 
from where Gehlen's flour-mill now stands. His family consisted 
of a wife, ten sons and four daughters. This log cabin home stood on 
the bank of Floyd river. 

J. P. Ladd and Amos Martin made their settlement the same year. 
Love was then known without the Eden serpent; to ask a favor was to 
receive; the sorrow of one household became the grief of all, and the 
joy of one was but gladness to all within the limits of the little settle- 
ment. 

Two decades have passed, and the historian records great changes; 
a hamlet with a mill by a babbling brook, has grown to a city of 4,000 
and more people. Here one finds to-day the largest flouring-mill in 
all Iowa. The rush of commercial industry is heard and seen on every 
hand. The many church spires and school-house cupolas tell of a God 
fearing and intelligent populace. Situated in the very heart of one 
of the most famous grain and stock-growing sections in America, this 
place can not fail of steadily advancing with the great march of time. 
Within a very small radius of Le Mars there is an annual product of 
75,000,000 bushels of corn; 15,000,000 bushels of oats; 2,000,000 
head of hogs and half as many cattle. Factories have sought and 
still continue to seek locations here. It is but twenty-five miles from 
Sioux City, the best railroad center is Iowa, and has direct rail routes 
to the east, and to the Lake Superior country via St. Paul. 

While Le Mars, through local drawbacks (chiefly the magic-like 
growth of Sioux City), is not as thriving a place, in many ways, as it 
was in 1885, yet with the development of the surrounding country, she 
must become a prominent business point, at no distant day. 

Le Mars was made the county seat in 1872 by a general election, 
at which the vote stood 476 against 111. The land now occupied by 
the city plat, was originally owned by Capt. B. F. Betsworth, Jerry 
Ladd and Amos Martin. Mr. Betsworth, as already related, had 
claimed that portion located on section nine, in 1866, and finally 
exchanged it for three times the acreage, with the Iowa Falls & Sioux 
City railroad company, who wished it for town-site purposes, as it 
had already been determined that here was to be the junction of the 
present Illinois Central and Minneapolis & Omaha railway lines. 



598 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

First Events.- — The first actual settler on the town site was Capt. 
B. F. Betsworth. The first child born in this vicinity was the son of 
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Betsworth ; the same being a grandson of the 
first settler mentioned above. 

Aside from the willow-log cabin on Capt. Betsworth's farm, the 
first house on the plat was built for J. B. Ladd, on lots uoav used by 
Mr. Perry for his coal yard. The house was sold to David Gibbs and 
removed. 

The first railroad was the old Iowa Falls & Sioux City (now Illi- 
nois Central), which came in 1869. 

The first church edifice was the Methodist Episcopal, built in 1873. 
A society was formed in 1869, however. 

A school-house was built just south of the plat on section seven- 
teen, in which John H. Betsworth taught the first school. The first 
school-house on the plat was erected in 1870, a two-story frame house, 
which was finally sold for church purposes. 

Post-office History. — An office was established at this point in 
1869, with John Blodgett as the first postmaster. He kept the office 
in the store of Blodgett & Foster, in wbat is now the extreme west- 
ern part of the city. From Blodgett the office went to Charles Aid- 
rich, who held it about six years. Col. J. M. Emery was the next 
postmaster; he served about six j^ears, and was succeeded by J. F. 
Vogt, who removed the office to the east side of Main street, its present 
location. He kept the office through a part of President Cleveland's 
administration, and until January 20, 1889, in the Harrison adminis- 
tration, when A. P. Brown received his commission. 

There had been 43,885 money orders sent from this office up to 
June 20, 1890; also 22,775 postal notes issued. The first money 
order was issued July 7, 1873, to James Arthur, to be paid to Booge 
& Co., Sioux City, for the sum of $4.25. 

The present quarters are handy to all parts of the business center 
of Le Mars, and the present management could scarcely be improved 
upon. Mr. Brown, together with very superior clerks, handles the 
large mail matter with great care and speed. In brief, the service is 
a good one. 

Incorporation. — Le Mars became an incorporated town in 1881, 
and soon after, a city of the second class. The following have served 
as mayors and recorders: 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 599 

Mayors— 1881, C. P. Woodard; 1882, A. H. Lawrence; 1883, Dr. 
M. Hilbert; 1884, M. A. Moore; 1885, M. A. Moore; 1886, M. A. 
Moore; 1887, M. A. Moore; 1888, M. A. Moore; 1889, T. J. Priest- 
ley; 1890, T. J. Priestley. 

Recorders (city clerk)— 1881, N. Loutch; 1882, George M. 
Smith; 1883, P. K. Edwards; 1884, T. M. Zink; 1885, T. M. Zink; 
1886, P. Egan; 1887, P. Egan; 1888, P. Egan; 1889, J. C. Kane; 
1890, J. C. Kane. 

The members of the present (1890) council are B. Sudmyer, G. 
Osborne, John Connor, George Carter, Thomas Gillighan and John 
Schmidt. F. E. Gaynor is city attorney and John Lantser, marshal. 

In 1888 the city bonded itself to the amount of $10,000, for ten 
years, at six per cent interest, to raise funds with which to procure a 
fire engine and purchase their city hall. It bought the two-story 
brick block on the corner of Main and Seventh streets, which had 
been erected for a business house. The price paid was $5,000, and a 
thousand more was expended in an addition. The city offices, fire 
engine, hose carts, etc., are in this building, while the front store 
room is leased for business purposes and the second story for a print- 
ing office. 

In 1884 a " steamer " was purchased for $3,800, which protects 
the city from the fire fiend. The corporation pays the Avater works, 
which are a private concern (now owned by J. H. Winchel), the sum 
of $2,400 per year, for a supply of water sufficient to protect the city 
and furnish water at the city building, the churches, court-house, etc., 
which water may be drawn from fifty different hydrants throughout 
the entire city. 

A. well-drilled fire department (volunteer), consisting of thirty- 
four men, have the handling of over 2,000 feet of hose, which makes 
property owners feel quite secure. 

The business and finances of Le Mars are in a good condition. 
In the matter of the city hall property, most of which is leased out at 
a good rental, the incorporation showed good judgment. The side- 
walks, street crossings, etc., throughout the city, all bespeak good 
management. 

Industrial and Commercial. — The first attempt toward the com- 
mercial advancement of Le Mars was the building of the Illinois Cen- 
tral depot in the fall of 1869. 



600 HISTOBY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

The pioneer general store was operated by Deacon John Blodgett 
and B. O. Foster, under the name of Blodgett & Foster. It was 
located in the west part of the present city, where the dairy farm is 
situated. The post-office was kept there, and Mr. Blodgett served as 
postmaster. 

The first to engage in business along the present business streets 
was a groceryman named John Gordon, who, in 1869, located 
on the corner of Court and Seventh streets. He finally sold to Mr. 
Fairchild. 

A drug store was opened up by Charles Bennett on the lot where 
now stands the First National bank, and a hardware store was opened 
by Orsman Bennett north of where the First National bank stands. 

W. W. Johnson started a saloon corner of Main and Sixth streets. 
C. G. Norris started the first butcher business in 1870, on the lot 
now occupied by Diehl's drug house. The first hotel was the Dubuque 
House, kept by Charles Hoffmann. It stood where Mr. Hoffmann's 
residence is situated now. A man named Wood built and conducted 
the St. Cloud House — better known as " Neck Roast," on account of 
the inferior meats served. The same house is now kept as a boarding 
place by Mr. Thompson. 

The Revere House was built by Mrs. Atkinson, who, together with 
her son-in-law, operated it, at first. It stood on the site of the present 
Union House, and was burned July 25, 1884, by incendiaries, who 
were well known, but who, through dishonest officers and packed 
juries, were, with one exception, never brought to justice — James Mur- 
phy served several years in the state prison as being one of the guilty 
parties. At the time of its burning it belonged to Messrs. Monahan 
and Wilson, but was conducted by A. Brown. 

The Depot Hotel was prominent among the early hotels of Le Mars. 
It was erected by the railroad company, upon the completion of the 
line, and served as station-house, hotel and residence for the local 
agent, who was usually the landlord in charge. The first to serve as 
landlord was L. K. Bowman, who, in a short time, was succeeded by 
Col. J. M. Emery. In May, 1878, the house was burned to the ground, 
the fire being started by the explosion of a kerosene lamp. 

In 1887 a stock company was formed of home capital, and the 
present Union Hotel was erected on the lots where stood the old, ill- 
fated Revere, that was burned down. George Wilson is now proprie- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 601 

tor, and is looked upon, all along the line, as one of Iowa's best hotel 
men. The Union is a fine, three-story brick building, and is doing a 
big business. Among the many early-time business changes, it may 
be stated that C. P. Woodard bought out John Bloclgett's agricult- 
ural implement business, and George Walton sold his grocery business 
to George Carter. 

Roe Amsden's grocery, on the corner of Main and Seventh streets, 
was blown down by the great wind of 1870. 

The first to deal in lumber at Le Mars was Wesley Young. S. G. 
Norris was the pioneer meat-market man, and is still in that trade. 
Mrs. Milliman was the first to handle millinery goods. De Witt Clark 
started the first exclusively hardware store, and about 1873 Spring 
Bros, opened up a big business in the same line, and are the heaviest 
dealers to-day. John Blodgett sold the first farm implements. 

Henry Van Sickle built the block now used by Pew Bros, for deal- 
ing in hardware and farm implements. 

Amsden's Hall, over the store building on the corner of Main and 
Seventh streets, was the first public hall, and was used for the early 
courts, religious meetings, etc. The pioneer tailor of Le Mars was 
W. H. Smith, who came in 1872. The first banking house was opened 
in 1871, by Bymer & Kent. It was called Le Mars Bank. In 1875 
there were shipped from the city 811 car loads of wheat. From the 
fall of 1883 to the fall of 1884 there were shipped out of Le Mars 
station 2,468 cars of produce, and during the same period there were 
1,910 cars of merchandise received there. 

The pioneer newspaper of Le Mars, as well as for Plymouth 
county, was the " Sentinel," founded by J. C. Buchanan in 1870. His 
printing office was located where the Mickley hotel stands. Most of 
the residents paid for two copies in advance, for two years, in order to 
get the paper started. 

In 1870 Peter Gehlen's floui - ing-mill was erected on the bank of 
Floyd river. The proprietor boarded at the house of Capt. Bets- 
worth while looking for his mill site. The captain assisted him in 
constructing the dam, he being a ship-carpenter by trade. 

Daltoii's Opera House. — Among the fine, solid and valuable busi- 
ness blocks of Le Mars, may be named the opera house block, on 
Sixth street. It was built iu 1884, by H. L. Hoyt and John Draudt, at 
an expense of $55,000, iucluding the ten-thousand-dollar lot upon 



602 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

which it stands. It is a massive, neatly-designed brick structure, 
three stories and a basement. The first floor is used for business 
rooms, and the second for offices and the opera hall. The property 
passed into the hands of P. F. Dalton in 1887, and he still owns it. It 
has a seating capacity of 1,200 people. The finest of opera chairs 
grace the auditorium, which is seventy by seventy-five feet, with cir- 
cular gallery. The stage is larger than those in most opera halls in 
the west. It measures twenty-five by seventy feet, and is provided 
with ample dressing-rooms, magnificent scenery, etc. The building 
is heated with hot-air furnaces and illuminated by gas. 

The same year Mr. Dalton purchased this property he leased the 
southwest corner to the Masonic fraternity for lodge-room purposes. 
The order has a well-furnished hall, ante-room and dining-room. 
The entire block is occupied. Among other things the telephone 
exchange has fine quarters on the third floor. This is the only public 
hall in Le Mars, aside from Pew's hall, over Pew Bros.' hardware 
store. 

Banking. — The first banking concern of Le Mars was a small pri- 
vate bank, opened by Kymer & Kent, in 1871, known as the Le Mars 
Bank. Soon the firm was Proctor & Kent. Subsequently, the Le 
Mars National Bank succeeded this concern. 

In 1874 the Plymouth County Bank was organized, with a capital 
of $50,000. In July, 1882, it was reorganized, as the First National 
Bank of Le Mars, with a capital of $75,000, and six months later 
worked under a capital of $100,000. Its first officers (after its becom- 
ing a national bank) were: P. F. Dalton, president; F. B. Shaw, vice- 
president; J. W. Myers, cashier. Its present efficient and obliging 
officials are P. F. Dalton, pi-esident ; vice-president's place made vacant 
by the death of Mr. Treat; G. L. Wernli, cashier. The elegant bank 
building they now occupy, on the corner of Main and Sixth streets, 
was erected in 1882, at a cost of $14,000. It is finely equipped and 
furnished, having the best of vaults and Hall's safe and time locks. 
The corresponding banks of this institution are the First National, of 
New York City; the Metropolitan National, of Chicago; the Mer- 
chants' National, of Chicago; the Merchants', of St. Paul; the Sioux 
National, of Sioux City, Iowa; the Security National, of Sioux City; 
and the Weare & Allison bank, of Sioux City. 

The First National, of Le Mars, has always taken the lead in 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 603 

Plymouth county, and stands high in financial circles to-day. The 
honor and integrity of its officials, for a long term of years, has sel- 
dom been equaled by any banking house in the entire west. They 
study how to please and accommodate their patrons, rather than to 
crowd and force obligation. Their course has won for them thousands 
of friends, whose total deposits amount to many hundred thousand 
dollars annually. Their cash capital, surplus and undivided profits in 
1890 were $165,000. 

The Le Mars National Bank, which succeeded the first bank of the 
place in 1882, commenced business January 1, of that year, as a na- 
tional bank, with a capital of $100,000. Its present surplus is 
$20,000. The original officers were: Hon. William H. Dent, presi- 
dent; Hon. E. Moreton, vice-president; Gilbert C. Maclagan, cashier. 
The present (1890) officials are: Hon. William H. Dent, president; 
James Tierney, vice-president; Gilbert C. Maclagan, cashier. The 
building they now occupy fronts on Sixth street, near Main, and was 
erected in 1876 at a cost $10,000. The best of safes and time locks 
make all secure. Their corresponding banks are The Chase National, 
of New York; the National Bank of Illinois, at Chicago; the First 
National, of Chicago. The people of Plymouth county have unlim- 
ited confidence in the Le Mars National, because of its able manage- 
ment. 

The German-American Savings Bank, at Le Mars, is the successor 
to what was known as the Plymouth County Savings Bank & Trust 
Company, which was organized in October, 1883, as a stock company, 
with a paid-up cash capital of $50,000, and incorporated under the 
banking laws of Iowa. Its president was P. F. Dal ton; vice-presi- 
dent, M. A. Moore ; treasurer, J. W. Myers ; secretary, W. P. Manley. 
They transacted strictly a savings-bank business. November 1, 1889, 
the present fine brick bank building was completed, and the concern 
moved into it. At the same time the name was changed to the "Ger- 
man-American Savings Bank." At this time commercial banking 
became a feature of the bank. The first and present officers of this 
newly named institution were: J. W. Myers, president; M. A. Moore, 
vice-president; M. H. Finney, cashier. They have one of the finest 
arranged and most elegantly furnished banks in western Iowa. A 
four-ton, all steel, fire and burglar-proof safe, with the best of time 
locks, make all secure. The corresponding banks of this institution 



604 HISTORY OF WOODBDEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

are the Commercial National, of Chicago; the Western National, of 
New York City; the Security National, of Sioux City, Iowa. This 
bank is one which Plymouth county may well be proud of. Its securi- 
ties are the best, and its officers most obliging and competent. 

The Security Bank at Le Mars was organized during the month of 
September, 1889, with a cash capital of $30,000. It is located on the west 
side of Main street, three doors from the corner of Sixth street. It 
is finely equipped, and protected by the Chicago Safe & Lock Com- 
pany's appliances. Their safe is provided with burglar chest and time 
lock. Their corresponding banks are the Fourth National, of New 
York City; the First National, of Chicago, and the Sioux National, 
of Sioux City, Iowa. The original officers of the bank were: H. C. 
Curtis, president; J. H. Culver, vice-president; D. S. Culver, cashier. 
The same officers still hold, except the cashier, whose place is now 
filled by John Zuraski. The business transacted by the Security ex- 
tends over a large scope of country, and is a satisfactory one to its 
stockholders and patrons. Its president, Mr. Curtis, is an old resident 
of Le Mars, an attorney by profession, and possessed of an excellent 
business judgment. 

In 1878 the Gateway City Bank was. organized by Kelley, Bowman 
and Haldane, who followed loaning, real estate and law business a 
short time on South Main street. 

A private bank was started in 1884 by Kelley, Robertson & Co., 
which was operated only about one year, it being a case wherein a well- 
to-do Englishman was " taken in " by an unscrupulous Yankee, who 
pocketed the capital and left. 

The Citizens' Bank was established in 1887 by Hall & Son, with 
Oscar Orlando Hall (the son) as manager of the business. They occu- 
pied the building now owned by the city, on the corner of Main and 
Seventh streets. They furnished the bank with an elaborate and ex- 
pensive outfit of furniture, safes, etc., and had about $50,000 to operate 
on, but its manager, O. O. Hall, a young lawyer, not being a practical 
banker, and possessed of some traits of character which did not seem 
to take with the patronage he solicited, he finally found a better busi- 
ness point in another line, and the concern withdrew from the field 
after about one year's trial. 

The banks at Le Mars to-day are the First National, the Le Mars 
National, the German-American and the Security Bank. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 605 

The Milling Business. — Le Mars has been fortunate, as well as the 
entire surrounding county, in having excellent and large roller flour- 
ing mills. 

The first mill at Le Mars was built on the banks of the Floyd river, 
which stream furnished the power for the plant. It was constructed 
and owned by Peter Gehlen, who visited this vicinity in 1869, and 
concluded to utilize the river for milling purposes by throwing a dam 
across at this point. His mill was put in operation in 1870. It 
was the old-style buhr-stone process of flour making. Pour run of 
stones were employed. The Floyd river, at this point, affords a nine- 
foot water-power " head," which was utilized by two James Leffell tur- 
bine water-wheels. In 1873 steam power was added, which is still used 
in conjunction with water power. In 1885 the mill was remodeled, 
and the new process of making flour, by means of " rollers," was used. 
The present capacity of these mills is seventy-five barrels of flour per 
day, and five car loads of feed. There are fourteen sets of patent 
rollers used in the plant. An elevator of 30,000-bushel capacity was 
added in 1889, and in 1890 the " Omaha" line of railway ran a spur 
or side track to this mill. They make large shipments of both flour 
and feed as far north as the pineries of Wisconsin and the mining 
country of the Pocky mountains, including Wyoming, Montana and 
Colorado. The founder of these pioneer mills died some years since. 
It is now owned by S. J. Herron, and operated by Gehlen Pros, sons 
of Peter Gehlen, the original builder. 

The Plymouth Poller Mill, one of the largest in Iowa, has had an 
eventful history, a few points of which can only be briefly touched 
upon in this connection: In 1876 Frank and Fred Purns moved a mill- 
ing plant from Aurora, 111., and placed it in operation at Le Mars. It 
consisted of eight run of buhrs, but owing to lack of capital, after 
struggling along for some time alone, they decided they were unable 
to conduct the business, so formed a stock company which made much- 
needed improvements, and furnished the capital with which to run the 
business in a successful manner. The firm for some years was Purns, 
Treat & Co. At 11 o'clock at night, June 22, 1884, the property was 
set on fire, by local "fire-bugs," for which the city was famous at that 
date, growing out of a lawless and malicious, faction in the place, who 
sought to run business and politics, using any means to gain their 
selfish ends. The total loss by this fire was $95,000, of which $33,000 



606 HISTORY OF "WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

was covered by insurance. No convictions were ever made for the 
burning of this mill. 

At that time the property was owned by P. F. Dalton, A. H. Treat, 
Frank and Fred Burns and J. H. Freeman. But business men being 
imbued with faith in the milling industry in this rich wheat section, 
came to the rescue with their capital, and August 16, the same year, 
the old firm merged into what is known as the Plymouth Roller Mill 
company, with P. F. Dalton as president and treasurer; A. H. Treat, 
vice-president; Frank W. Burns, superintendent; W. J. Wernli, sec- 
retary. The work of rebuilding commenced, September 1, and in 
four months, January 12, 1885, the newly-built plant commenced work, 
with an enlarged plant, greater capacity, better machinery and better 
buildings. This consists of a corrugated iron building of large 
dimensions and four stories high. In its construction and that of the 
grain elevator, thirty-three car loads of lumber were used, also 35,000 
pounds of nails. The stone and brick used in the foundation amounted 
to fifty car loads. Its cost was $100,000. Its capacity is 300 barrels 
of flour daily. 

This is the largest single mill in Iowa, and in addition to the flour 
capacity, the mill turns out twelve car loads, of 28,000 pounds each, of 
feed, which is sent to distant points in the great northwest. The 
business of the mill is $500,000 per year. The thirty-eight sets of 
rolls are propelled by a 250-horse-power engine, which is supplied 
with fuel at $1.50 per ton. An immense grain elevator of 250,000 
bushels capacity was erected in 1886. The present officers of the 
Plymouth Roller Mill company are: P. F. Dalton, president and 
treasurer; Fred W. Burns, vice-president; Frank W. Burns, superin- 
tendent and secretary. 

These mills, together with Gehlen's roller-mills, create a home 
demand for grain of all kinds, which gives a good local market to 
farmers, but little being shipped to eastern markets. 

The Water Works. — The Le Mars Water & Light Company was 
formed in May, 1888, with a capital stock of $100,000. A franchise 
was granted them by the city, and June 1, 1888, work of construc- 
tion commenced, with Robert Fenner, the present engineer, as super- 
intendent. By January, 1889, there were laid four and a half miles of 
large mains, and fifty-one hydrants connected therewith, for which 
the city pays an annual rental of $50 each. Water of a perfectly 
pure and most excellent quality was furnished in abundance. 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 607 

The fine brick structure of this plant is located in the north part 
of the city and is indeed a model of beauty and utility. It is designed 
for both an electric light station and water plant as well. 

These well-planned works have at present forty-four three-inch 
drive wells, with several larger wells in course of construction; also a 
reservoir of 500,000-gallon capacity which has a constant overflow of 
a two-inch stream, thereby keeping the water pure and sweet. This 
is reserved to use in case of fire. The drive-wells reach a depth of 
forty-two feet, where an abundance of the purest water is filtered 
through thirty-five feet of sand and gravel. The state board of health 
pronounces it superior to any water in Iowa. The system is known as 
the " Holly direct- pressure system," by which the water is never 
exposed to the air or sunlight until it is drawn by the consumer. The 
machinery consists of two compound duplex pumping engines of the 
latest pattern. Their capacity is 2,000,000 gallons per day. 

In the spring of 1890 the Le Mars Water & Light Company sold 
and transferred all its interest to John H. Winchel, and the plant 
has been extended until it now consists of eight miles of mains, which, 
with four miles of extension now in view, together with the required 
number of hydrants, will furnish the city ample water supply for fire 
protection and domestic use. There are now nearly 500 consumers. 
The plant is looked upon as one of the finest in the state, and is esti- 
mated at a valuation of $75,000. 

The Gas Works.— In 1884 J. H. Miller, of Sioux Falls, came to 
Le Mars and completed a system of gas works which had been com- 
menced in 1883. He operated the same for about one year, when he 
sold to a stock company known as the Le Mars Gas Company, consist- 
ing of Mr. Garretson, of Sioux City, and several eastern stockholders. 
At the present time the works are supplying about 100 consumers, 
including eight church buildings. The city has thirty-nine street 
lamps, and there are about four miles of gas mains in the city. The 
price per 1,000 cubic feet is $2.25. The coal from which the gas 
product is made is shipped from Pittsburgh. About twenty-five car 
loads are consumed annually. The capacity at present is 14,000 cubic 
feet. 

Samuel Albright has been manager of these works ever since they 
were first started; he also follows gas-fitting. The plant is situated 
on the block just east from the Illinois Central depot, on Seventh 
street. 



608 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Commercial Interests, 1890. — The following firms were doing 
business at Le Mars, July 1, 1890: 

Attorneys — Argo & McDuffie, Martin & Gaynor, Struble, Eishel, 
& Hart, J. H. Struble, A. W. Durley, F. M. Eoseberry, J. U. Sammis, 
John Adams, Patrick Farrell, T. M. Zink, Samuel Hussey, George E. 
Scott, Frank Amos, A. A. Alline. 

Abstractors — Dr. M. Hilbert, Pitt Seaman, George E. Richardson. 

Agricultural implements — Will J. Wernli, Pew Bros., E. M. Bailey 
& Co., T. J. Priestley & Son, Spring Bros., Zimmerman Bros. 

Book-bindery — ("Sentinel" office) Eagsdale & Chassell. 

Banks — First National, Le Mars National, German-American Sav- 
ings and Security Bank. 

Boots and shoes — (exclusively) N. B. Kaiser. 

Book stores — L. L. King, Sartori & Pfeiffer. 

Brick manufacturers — John Hickey, C. E. Corkery. 

Blacksmiths— Miller Bros., Kale Gaston, William Galbraith, 
James Hendericksen, " Dick " Bunt, Sullivan Bros., Peter Schmidt. 

Coal dealers— O. H. Hinds, W. H. Perry, M. A. Moore, Knorr & 
Schafer, Townsend Bros., Payne & Luken. 

Clothing — (exclusively) H. D. Dow, Alex. Eeichmann. 

Drugs — P. H. Diehl, Freeman & Hines, Sartori & Pfeiffer, Thomp- 
son & Co., Benjamin E. Smith. 

Dentists — Dr. E. D. Brower, Dr. Breen, Dr. Dwight. 

Dry goods — (exclusively) M. Burg, Kluckhohn & Kerberg, A. 
G. Kegler, Holly & Co. 

Express — American. 

Furniture — Spring Bros., Beeley & Fissell. 

Grain — Peavey & Co., N. L. Greer, Hopkins & Co. 

Grocers — (exclusively) G. A. Sammis & Co., M. P. Nemmers & 
Co., Bray & Carpenter, H. Aupperle, A. G. Blakeway, Laux Bros., 
Frank Miller, P. H. Fluck, Mrs. C- Koetz. 

General dealers — H. A. Miller & Son, H. Brauch, Thoma, Mich 
& Co., John Dradt, the Misses Swazey. 

Gas works — Garretson & Co. 

Hotels — Union, Mickley, City Hotel, Grand Central, Dubuque 
House, Northwestern Hotel, St. Lawrence House, Sutter House, De- 
pot Hotel, Farmers' Home. 

Harness shops — -J. W. Schmidt, G. W. Schmidt, J. N. Lambert, 
G. Schwartz. 




C^eM^G <J (p^iaynCtA^V 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 611 

Hardware — Treat & Watkins, Spring Bros., Pew Bros., H. W. Wil- 
cox, Haas & Huebsch. 

Ice dealer — Knorr Schafer. 

Jewelers — Otto G. Berner, C. W. L. Trottnow. 

Livery — Hoyt & Gondie, Clark Good, G. E. Corkery. 

Lumber — W. H. Perry, M. A. Moore, Townsend Bros., Payne & 
Luken. 

Mills— " Plymouth Holler Mills," " City Boiler Mills." 

Meat markets — C. Hausmann, Connor & Hillery, C. G. Norris. 

Music store — Moist Bros. 

Millinery — Mrs. J. B. Arendt, Mrs. A. Detrick, Mrs. Bastian. 

Machine shop — Gus. Pech. 

Newspapers — " Sentinel," " Globe," " Herold," " Sun." 

Physicians — Dr. W. H. Ensminger, Dr. C. J. Hackett, Dr. J. W. 
Hines, Dr. Paul Brick, Dr. W. O. Prosser, Dr. H. P. Bowman, Dr. 
Bichey, Dr. Peter Schwind, Dr. J. C. McMahan, Dr. C. M. Hille- 
brand, Dr. Mary Breen. 

Photographers — B. I. Dabb, Bobert Karatt, G. G. Gosting. 

Paint stores — Charles Adamson, Close & Martin. 

Plumbing — B. Whitney. 

Beal estate — Blodgett & Mitchell, George E. Bichardson, Chapman 
& Co., A. B. T. Dent, A. C. Colledge, Hon. A. M. Duus, J. H. Win- 
chel, M. Hilbert. 

Stock dealers — Watson, Weir & Co., Brunskill Bros., J. T. Mohan, 
Samuel Miller, L. W. Fairchild, Hopkins & Co. 

Tailors (merchant)— D. W. Held, J. C. Jones, W. H. Smith. 

Veterinary surgeons — B. B. Hammond, George Carter, C. B. 
Baker. 

Wagon shop — James Hendericksen. 

Water works- — J. H. Winchel. 

Le Mars was more of a manufacturing place five years ago, 1885, 
than at present. A large planing-mill and wood-working shop was in 
operation; also a soap factory and other branches of manufacturing 
industry, which to-day are not in full operation. It may be said that 
Le Mars of 1890 contains a population of a little over 4,000 people, 
who are engaged in the ordinary local retail trade, supplying the pros- 
perous fai-ming district of which she is the center. Aside from the 
item of milling, her manufacturing interests are not large. 



612 HISTOEY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In 1889 the following shipments were made and received at Le 
Mars: The Minneapolis & Omaha railroad received 1,064 cars of 
freight and forwarded 2,135; the Illinois Central railroad received 
1,119 cars of freight and forwarded 1,169. 

The passenger receipts for the same year on both lines of road 
were $53,000, exclusive of a vast amount of "book mileage," held by 
passengers who purchased at the general offices. 

The Churches. — The German Methodist Episcopal church of Le 
Mars is one of the most thoroughly religious denominations in the 
county. Its history dates from the early days in 1872, when an 
appointment was kept at Melbourne — now defunct. The next meet- 
ing was in Johnson township, then at Sioux City, and finally organ- 
ized at Le Mars in the fall of 1873. Here lived Daniel W. Held, the 
merchant tailor, and he, together with his good wife and six children, 
organized the first society. In the midst of a strong Catholic ele- 
ment, they kept their willing hands at work, until now the church of 
their choice has come to be a power in the land in which they live. 
At first meetings were held in the old public school building, which 
they finally purchased and used as a church and parsonage. This 
served until 1886, when they erected one of the finest churches in Le 
Mars. It stands on Main street, cornering with Third street. It is a 
frame building, forty-eight by seventy-two feet, and cost $10,000. It 
seats about 500 persons, and is finished and furnished in good taste 
and modern style, and is heated by furnace and lighted by gas. A 
thousand-pound bell graces the spire, whose towering height is but an 
index of the character of the Christian spirit of Le Mars people. 
This church was dedicated during the month of October, 1886, by 
Bishop Bowman and Elder Coup, of St. Paul, and $1,600 was contrib- 
uted on the day of dedication. The first, and one of the present class 
leaders of this church, was Daniel W. Held, whose family have the 
honor of having organized the society at Le Mars. The pastors who 
have served this charge are as follows: Rev. Edward W. Hanke, Rev. 
John Houck, Rev. August Koerner, Rev. Aug. Beebechhauser, Rev. 
C. Stellner, Rev. F. Wellmier, Rev. A. Dulitz, Rev. William Koener, 
Rev. E. Wellmier. 

The present membership of the church is 135; average of Sunday- 
school, 100. The officers for 1890 are, in part, as follows: Pastor, 
Rev. F. Wellmier; trustees: Prof. J. Wernli (president), John Bailey 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 6 1 3 

(treasurer), D. W. Held, Conrad Haas, William Udich, Henry Kluck- 
hohn, Charles Kluckholm. There are now four classes, lead by J. 
Wernli, D. W. Held, Prof. Hirsch and C. Apperley. 

At the time Rev. George Haddock was assassinated by the saloon 
mob element at Sioux City, and his remains were being conveyed 
through the state, over the Illinois Central railroad, D. W. Held, of 
this church, originated the idea of expressing sympathy by the tolling 
of every church bell, and that of the city fire department, while the 
train moved in and out of the city. The plan was carried out in full 
except by the Catholics, and the same was then taken up by each town 
along the line of road over which his body passed, throughout Iowa. 
It was indeed a truly befitting tribute to a grand life sacrificed on a 
temperance altar in Iowa. Though dead he yet speaketh in his influ- 
ence! 

The German Evangelical church, of Le Mars, known as Emanuers, 
was formed by four families, in 1879, the first services being held in 
the court-house by Rev. G. Heimmueller, now a missionary in Ger- 
many. In the spring of 1882 a frame church building, twenty-eight 
by forty feet, was erected on the corner of Main and Second streets. 
It seats 200 persons and cost the society $1,800. The lot was donated 
by the railroad company. This church was dedicated in the month of 
April, 1882, free of all debt, and the society are still unincumbered 
and in a flourishing condition. Its present membership is 150. The 
Sabbath-school, superintended by E. Schaffer, numbers eighty. The 
following have served this people as their pastor: Rev. G. Heim- 
mueller, Rev. Cellhoefer, Rev. Valentine Griese, Rev. F. Loehle, Rev. 
Fred Bezer, Rev. Otto Gerkardt, Rev. Henry Kleinsoge. The pres- 
ent (1890) church officials are: Pastor, Henry Kleinsoge; class lead- 
ers, August Keon, Charles Knueth, George Koenig; trustees, J. G. 
Koenig, George Hamm, Henry Detlof, E. Schaffer, A. Kuehn; stew- 
ards, Jacob Meriman, George Hamm, Charles Knueth, W. Bonstein. 
The work of this denomination at Remsen and Struble is at present 
conducted by the pastor of this church. It may here be recorded 
that J. G. Koenig has been among the active members of this church, 
being instrumental in getting the lot upon which to build, and also in 
helping to lay the foundation stones. 

The Free- Will Baptist church, of Le Mars, was organized May 8, 
1875, by eighteen members, as follows: S. H. Stevens, T. Wells, L. 



614 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Crow, J. J. Murphy, A. Sherman, Charles Terwilliger, J. W. Saterly, 
J. E. Wells, Susie "Walker, Hattie Crow, Sarah Murphy, Alice 
Murphy, M. Terwilliger, S. C. Bickhall, L. L. Eedmon, S. S. Sher- 
man, A. M. Thompson and A. Saterly. A frame church building was 
erected in 1882 and dedicated in 1885. Its cost was $1,400; its size 
thirty by forty-eight feet, and it has a seating capacity of 200. The 
first officers were: S. H. Stevens, pastor; Charles Terwilliger, J. J. 
Murphy and A. Sherman, deacons; C. Terwilliger, clerk; J. J. 
Murphy, treasurer. The officers at present are ; R. A. Coats, pastor ; E. 
K. Thomas, G. N. Thompson, deacons ;N. Redmon, clerk; Jane Duncan, 
treasurer; M. F. Crouch, Lewis Crow, James Duncan, N. Redmon, 

and Moor, trustees ; Sunday-school superintendent, Jane Duncan. 

The present membership of the Sunday-school is thirty-four. The 
pastors have served in their respective order as follows: Rev. S. H. 
Stevens, Rev. F. P. Augir, Rev. S. Summertin, Rev. J. H. Moxom, 
Rev. S. N. Jones, Rev. J. J. Clifton, Rev. S. Summertin, Rev. H. J. 
Brown, Rev. S. N. Jones, Rev. C. W. Dennis and Rev. R. A. Coats. 

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church, of Le Mars, was formed in 
1872. In 1875 it had 300 families connected, and the same year 
erected a chapel, thirty-five by forty feet, which was remodeled in 
1876. The present church edifice was erected in 1885. Its size is 
fifty by one hundred and fifty feet; its seating capacity is about 800 
persons. The cost of the structure was $33,000, and it is situated on 
the corner of Sixth and Park streets. The present enrollment is 230 
families — all of German nationality. The only priest who has been 
pastor over this congregation, is Father Hermann Joseph Meis. The 
present church officers are J. Knorr, N. B. Kaiser, M. Schaefer, F. 
Etzel and M. Fisch. The members of this congregation are residents 
both of Le Mars and of the surrounding country. 

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church was formed February 18, 
1883, by about twelve persons. The first officers of the society were 
C. H. Suecker, August Thle and Charles Deuschle. The present 
(1890) officials are: Fred Kilker, president; J. C. Clos, vice-presi- 
dent; Henry Benjegerdes, treasurer; Otto G. Berner, secretary. The 
church building was erected in the autumn of 1883, on the corner of 
Howard and Fifth streets. Its size is twenty-four by forty feet, and it 
cost about $1,000. It seats 100 persons. The highest membership 
ever enjoyed by this church was thirty-three. Its present membership 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 615 

is thirty-one, while about sixty-five families are adherents to this 
society. A Sabbath-school was organized in 1884. In 1888 the 
school numbered fifty. Before the organization of this church the 
Revs. C. F. Off and W. Kampmeier had been preaching in a room in 
the county court-house, and at the time the society was formed, 
services were held at the residence of Jacob Blumers, on the corner of 
Howard and First streets. The following have served as pastors : Kev. 
W. Echelmeyer, from February, 1883, to July, 1884; Kev. O. C. 
Miner, from August, 1884, to December, 1888; Bev. Jakob Fischer, 
from February, 1889, to March, 1890; Kev. J. Jans, since April, 
1890. In 1886 the congregation built a residence for the pastor, cost- 
ing about $600. In 1888 they bought a lot south from the church 
for $250, and in 1889 erected an addition in front of the church, the 
same costing about $325. The present condition of the church is 
flourishing, and the present indebtedness of the society is only $150. 
The Methodist Episcopal church at Le Mars was formed in 1869, 
by a little band of devout Methodists, who formed a class. Among 
them were : C. B. Wright and his wife, J. H. Garrison and wife, E. H. 
Howard and wife, Peter Garrison, "Mother" Bennett and a few 
others. J. H. Garrison and C. B. Wright were the first class leaders. 
The first meetings were held at the log school-house, just south of the 
present Le Mars city plat. They next held services at Mrs. Bennett's 
house, and also papered the railroad depot, and used that as a place for 
worship for a few months. They next worshiped in McDougall's 
hall and Amsden's hall. In 1873 they erected a frame church on 
the corner of Clark and Seventh streets, which was thirty-six by sixty 
feet. It was placed on a lot donated by the railroad company, and is 
the present church site. The original building, together with a small 
parsonage, cost $2,500. This building becoming too small, in 1883 
an addition of twenty-four by forty feet was made, at an expense of 
$1,400. It seats about 450 people. A parsonage was built near the 
court-house in 1871, at which time the church intended to build there. 
In 1874 they built a part of the present parsonage, at a cost of $4^0, 
to which was added, in 1883, an addition costing $600. In 1889 this 
church had an enrollment, in good standing, of 304 members. At 
present they have about 220. The following is a correct list of pas- 
tors who have served from the date of organization to 1890: Kev. 
J. T. Walker, 1869; Rev. Binks, 1870; Rev. H. D. Brown, 1871; 



616 HISTOBY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Eev. Thornberg, 1872; Eev. J. T. Walker, 1873-74 (on account of 
ill health his term was filled out by Revs. Fairchild and Glass) ; Eev. 
E. C. Glass, 1875-76; Eev. John Hogarth Lozier, 1877; Eev. H. W. 
Jones, 1878-79; Eev. F. W. Gleason, 1880; Eev. A. Jamison, 1881- 
82; Eev. F. H. Sanderson, 1883-84; Eev. E. C Glass, 1885; Eev. B. 
C. Corey, 1886; Eev. I. N. Pardee, 1887-88, and part of 1889, when 
he was placed in charge of university work and his place taken by 
the present pastor, Eev. John W. Klepper, who came from the work 
at Kingsley in the spring of 1890. The present officers are: Lead- 
ers, C. G. Norris, C. B. Wright; trustees, H. C. Curtis, H. S. Payne, 
C. G. Norris, S. Brunskill, W. J. Wernli, J. Dire, Henry March, D. 
E. Edmonds; stewards, W. H. Boyd, George Hemniett, Eobert Jemi- 
son, J. W. Brown, Thomas Adamson, Samuel Albright, E. A. Bell, 
George Hoover, L. M. Garner, C. C. Dire; district steward, D. A. 
Edmonds; recording steward, W. H. Boyd; Sabbath-school superin- 
tendent, W. H. Boyd. The total membership of Sabbath-school is 
185. 

The Presbyterian church was formed May 31, 1885, by thirty 
charter members. The first church officials were: Elders, C. A. 
Spring, B. Mudge, D. McArthur; deacons, W. Spring, George Mon- 
roe; trustees, George J. Gray, B. Bucher. The society has at one 
time enjoyed a membership of 214 persons; at present it has 173 
enrolled. The present Sabbath-school has an enrollment of 225 
pupils. The superintendent is J. M. Emery, assisted by A. E. Barnes. 
A church edifice was built in 1885 and dedicated June 24, 1886, 
Eev. T. S. Bailey, D.D., officiating. The size of the building is fifty- 
two by sixty-four feet, and its seating capacity about 275. It is fur- 
nished with pews and heated by furnaces, and the expense of the build- 
ing was a trifle over $8,000 including the lot. The bell and organ 
were both donated to the church. Eev. D. W. Fahs has served as 
pastor to the present time. The church is in a flourishing condition 
and doing much good in Le Mars. The present elders are B. Mudge, 
W. Spring, C. Spring, D. McArthur, D. Gibbs, A. E. Barnes, E. 
Steele. 

St. James Catholic church was organized September 23, 1883, by 
a membership of 200. A building was erected in 1883-84. It was a 
frame structure, and was destroyed by the fearful tornado of June, 
1885. The present building was erected of solid brick and stone work, 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 617 

in 1886, at a cost of $15,000. It is forty by ninety feet, and lias a 
seating capacity of 450. It stands on Front street, facing the east, 
and is a magnificent edifice, finished in fresco work and hard wood. 
The present membership of the congregation is 450 persons. Rev. 
James P. Barron has served the parish from its organization. 

The Congregational church of Le Mars was organized July 20, 
1871, very early in the history of the city. The following were the 
first members: John Blodgett, of Elm street Congregational church, 
Bucksport Me. ; Bosella Arnsden, of the First Congregational church 
of Dubuque, Iowa; Emma Moore, of Sioux City; Mrs. Julia A. Young, 
of the Sioux City Methodist church ; Miss Ella M. Beadell, of the 
Peosta (Iowa) Presbyterian church. The following pastors have 
served this people: Eev. Rufus M. Sawyer, who died November 29, 
1872; Rev. D. D. Frost, from May 1, 1873, to time he resigned, May 
12, 1875; Rev. A. E. Arnold, from April 4, 1876, to January 8, 1882, 
when he resigned; Rev. Beardslee, from October, 1882 (ordained Jan- 
uary 2, 1884), until he resigned, December 6, 1884; Rev. Isaac Patch, 
from June 4, 1885, until the coming of the present pastor. A frame 
building was erected on the corner of Clark and Sixth streets in 1873, 
costing about |2,500, which served until the present beautiful edifice 
was completed and finally dedicated March 3, 1889. Tbis building is 
located on the corner of Main and Third streets and cost $15,000. It 
is a frame structure, heated by furnaces and lighted by gas. It com- 
fortably seats 500 persons within its fine audience room of fifty feet 
square. The present membership of the church is 270. The average of 
Sabbath -school attendance is 250, and is ably superintended by Dr. M. 
Hilbert. The present efficient church clerk is M. H. Finney; the 
deacons are John Blodgett, L. Butler, F. B. Cooper, George H. Spring. 

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union at Le Mars met at the 
Congregational church, to take some steps toward the enforcement of 
the prohibitory liquor law, in September, 1885; or, rather, it was at 
that time that the Christian ladies of Le Mars met for such purpose, 
and, while assembled, formed a temporary organization of the W. C. T.U. 
The following named ladies were present and became members: 
Addie E. Strable, Dell E. Garner, Mrs. E. Mudge, H. J. Duncan, 
Ella Wilcox, De Etta Payne, Celesta C. Hoyt, R. J. Norris, Maria 
Spring, N. W. Gilbert, A. B. Hewes, Eliza Blakeway, Carrie H. Clay, 
N. W. Spring, Fannie Smith, and a few others, perhaps. Mrs. Mary 



618 HISTOKY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

D. Clark was chosen president; Mrs. Clara C. Lawrence, secretary; 
Mrs. Mary Dalton, treasurer. 

Work was at once commenced. Dr. Collins, of Missouri, was en- 
gaged to give a series of lectures in Hoyt's Opera ball. Well-filled 
houses greeted him each evening, and many persons, hitherto careless, 
took a decided stand in favor of the enforcement of the law. In No- 
vember Mrs. Lawrence resigned, and Mrs. Dalton was elected in her 
place. 

In February, 1886, the society became an auxiliary of the state 
union. Since it was formed, the ladies have raised $624 by a sixty- 
cent membership fee and the holding of various local entertainments; 
$590 of this has been paid for lectures and reading matter. The pres- 
ent officers are C. C. Hoyt, president; Mrs. Thomas Treat, secretary; 
Dell E. Garner, treasurer. There is still great interest manifested, 
but in another line of work. Indeed, the ladies of Le Mars have been 
instrumental in doing great good for the city, and sooner or later shall 
their sons and daughters rise up and call them blessed. 

Civic Societies. — The first secret society to occupy our attention 
would naturally be the order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. 
The traditions of Freemasonry form a precious heritage. Rightly in- 
terpreted, they are as beneficent as they are authoritative. This ancient 
order rests on the foundation of broad human sympathies. Its ob- 
jects are by precept and practice to foster virtue, to inculcate charity, 
to bind the members together in enduring bonds of brotherly love. 
It is, in short, a professor and teacher of every moral and social vir- 
tue. This instifution has its foundation deeply laid in the hopes, 
aspirations and affections of man, or it never could have come down 
to us through the ages, evolving and developing with the lapse of 
time, adapting itself through the revolving centuries to the changes 
of religion, civilization and enlightenment, ever retaining its hold 
upon the heart of humanity. All political agitation is excluded from 
its action and consideration. The very character of its membership 
is a guarantee of its freedom from aught that is harmful, but of its 
profession of much that is laudable and desirable. Members of the 
order are to be found in every land and clime; it is not confined to 
sect or creed, people or tongue; neither does it show preference for 
members on account of wealth or high social standing. Rich and 
poor, statesman and warrior, scholar and laborer, men from every hon- 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 619 

est class and honorable calling, meet upon one common level and 
clasp each other's hands in fraternal grasp. And what has been said 
of Masonry applies equally well to the other secret orders represented 
in this chapter. 

Gibleni Lodge, No. 322, A. F. & A. M., worked under dispensation 
from December 26, 1872. The first officers were: David Gibbs, W. 
M. ; D. W. Clark, S. W. ; William Eymers, J. W. ; E. H. Shaw, treas. ; 
W. S. Welliver, sec. ; I. S. Struble, S. D. ; H. W. Van Sickle, J. D. ; 
G. W. Walton, S. S. ; H. C. Parsons, J. S. and tyler. The above, to- 
gether with the subjoined, made up the charter membership: Steven 
Beeves, E. W. Burclick, J. H. Morf, N. H. Wood, L. K. Bowman, C. 
K. Smith, James Carlin, Neville Bedmond. A charter was granted 
the order June 4, 1873. In 1875 they met in Flint's block and from 
there removed to Steine's block in 1882. In 1888 they found a home 
in Masonic hall over the opera house, where they enjoy the finest lodge 
rooms in northwestern Iowa. The lodge is in a flourishing condition 
and has for its membership the best men of Le Mars and Plymouth 
county. They now number eighty. The officers for the present year, 
1890, are: W. J. Lawrence, W. M. ; J. E. Mayher, S. W. ; Thomas 
Adamson, J. W. ; W. A. Simkins, sec. ; H. J. Moreton, treas. ; D. Pad- 
more, S. D. ; H. J. Pfeiffer, J. D. ; George Carter, S. S. ; E. H. Bush, 
J. S. ; N. Wood, tyler. 

Occidental Chapter of Boyal Arch Masons at Le Mars was 
granted a dispensation by the petition of twenty-three companions, viz. 
Ira N. Pardee, H. P. ; Alfred W. Parsons, K. ; Albert H. Parsons, S. 
J. W. Myers, treas. ; Joseph Long, sec. ; William Frantz, C. of H. 
F. P. Whitney, P. S. ; W. H. Sparling, chaplain ; J. M. Emery, Boyal 
Arch capt. ; August Forchner, G. M. first V. ; E. D. Chassel, G. M. 
second V. ; Charles Adamson, G. M. third V. ; Thomas Adamson, guard ; 
Samuel Miller, William J. Wernli, John Buble, William Parsons, J. S. 
Doty, Harvey C. Parsons, Thomas Treat, J. Wernli, George C. Scott, 
D. W. Townsend. 

The chapter worked under dispensation until November 12, 1889, 
on which date a charter was granted by the Grand Boyal Arch chapter, 
at which time the chapter of which we write had a membership of 111. 
On January 17, 1890, a dispensation was received from the grand 
high priest of the state of Iowa, granting the right to Occidental chap- 
ter to confer the Cryptic degrees, since which date there have been reg- 



620 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ular assemblies of the council degrees. Occidental chapter now has 
forty-three members of the Boyal Arch Masons. The 1890 officers are 
these: Ira N. Pardee, H. P.; Albert H. Parsons, K. ; W. M. Frantz, 
S. ; J. W. Myers, treas., Joseph Long, sec; James E. Snowden, chap- 
lain; F. P. Whitney, C. of H. ; D. W. Townsend, P. S. ; Charles Adam- 
son, E. A. capt. ; E. D. Chassel, G. M. third V. ; John E. Mayher, G. 
M. second V. ; August Forchner, G. M. first V. ; Thomas Adamson, 
guard. 

Masonry is well organized in Le Mars, arid among its number 
may be found the best business men and citizens. 

Order of Eastern Star, No. 70, was organized August 1, 1888, with 
the following charter members: H. S. Payne, Dice H. Payne, Samuel 
Miller, A. W. Winslow, Daniel Padmore, M. A. Simpkins, A. A. Alline, 
Mary Dalton, Helen Padmore, Thomas Adamson, N. H. Wood, J. E. 
Maher, Alice M. Simpkins, Margaret Perkins, Mary A. B. Carter, L. 
T. Cumbesbatch, Lucy A. Whitney, Charles Adamson, Wallace Win- 
slow, Mrs. B. B. Adamson, Lida M. Alline, Mrs. M. E. Adamson, J. H. 
Whetsone, Georgiana Maher, Sarah E. Long, F. C. Whitney, George 
Carter, Alta Miller, P. F. Dalton, P. L. Brick, Mrs. B. Wernli, A. W. 
Durly, Sola Durly, O. A. Conner. The first worthy master was Mary 
E. Dalton ; Mrs. A. Miller, first secretary ; Mrs. O. A. Conner, warden ; 
D. Payne, treasurer. The order now numbers fifty-one, and is in a 
prosperous condition. The present (1890) officers are: Mary E. Dalton, 
W. M. ; A. A. Alline, W. P. ; Sarah E. Young, A. M. ; Mary A. Bush, 
sec, ; D. Payne, treas. ; Eev. J. E. Snowden, chaplain; O. A. Conner, W. 

Zens Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 103, at Le Mars, was instituted 
June 15, 1S83, by a charter membership of twenty -five, whose names 
here follow: I. S. Struble, M. Hilbert, W. J. Wernli, Fred Becker, E. 
W. Savage, C. H. Thompson, F. A. Seaman, H. G. Kockler, O. W. 
Durley, G. A. Sammis, F. B. Durston, W. S. Freeman, C. J. Hackett, 
H. F. Dow, E. D. Brewer, L. A. Williams, J. C. Morris, H. S. Payne, 
P. H. Diehl, H. C. Curtis, J. W. Myers, S. J. Penhallegan, Henry 
Henrich, J. V. Dabb and William Smiley. The first officers of the 
lodge were: I. S. Struble, P. C. ; M. Hilbert, C. C. ; P. H. Diehl, V. 
C. ; F. A. Seaman, P. ; J. W. Myers, M. of E. ; F. B. Durston, M. of 
F. ; E. D. Brower, K. of E. and S. ; J. C. Morris, M. at A. ; W. G. 
Wernli, I. G. ; Fred Becker, O. G. At one time this lodge numbered 
ninety, but by removals, etc., the membership is now sixty-five. They 



PLYMOUTH COUNTY. 621 

meet in a well- furnished liall on Main street, in the Hoffman build- 
ing. The present (1890) elective officers are: O. H. Hinds, P. C. ; 
Eev. J. E. Snowden, C. C. ; J. U. Samrais, V. C. ; C. A. Wernli, P. ; 
C. K. Kluckhohn, M. of E. ; E. Post, M. of E. ; W. H. Boyd, K. of R. 
and S. ; George E. Richardson, M. at A. ; R. H. Carratt, I. G. ; T. A. 
Bray, O. G., and M. Hilbert, D. D. G. C. 

The order at this point is second to none in all the great north- 
west. It is growing, and has for its membership the intelligent, young 
and middle-aged men of Le Mars. 

Le Mars Division of Uniform Rank (K. of P.), No. 22, was organ- 
ized with the following list of officers, September 16, 1886: M. Hilbert, 
Sir Kt. C. ; E. B. Cooper, Sir Kt. lieut. C. ; G. E. Richardson, Sir Kt. H. ; 
John Adams, Sir Kt. rec. ; William Smiley, Sir Kt. treas. ; E. D. 
Brower, Sir Kt. guard; H. E. Hart, Sir Kt. sent. Under the leader- 
ship of M. Hilbert, S. D. G. C, the lodge organized and instituted 
the following new lodges: Plymouth, No. 141, at Kingsley, Iowa; 
Malta, No. 144, Sheldon, Iowa; Loco, No. 145, at Sibley, Iowa, and 
Xenophon, No. 158, at Cherokee, Iowa. In pursuance of a resolution 
of the lodge adopted July 1, 1886, M. Hilbert was presented and 
elected grand chancellor at the meeting of the grand lodge that year, 
at Davenport, Iowa. He stands high in the estimation of the frater- 
nity, both at home and abroad. The present officers are: J. R. Street, 
Sir Kt. C. ; George E. Richardson, Sir Kt. lieut. C. ; E. D. Brower, 
Sir Kt. H. ; John Adams, Sir Kt. R. ; C. H. Kluckhohn, Sir Kt. T. ; 
C. E. Haas, Sir Kt. G. ; William Smiley, Sir Kt. S. 

Plymouth Lodge, No. 255, Independent Order of Odd Eellows, at 
Le Mars, was instituted March 26, 1873, by the following charter mem- 
bers, all of whom Lave moved away or died, except Hon. H. C. Curtis: 
Andrew Block, S. S. Ambrose, John C. Morris, J. W. Earles (N. G. ), 
AV. W. Spalding, J. F. Fairfax, Charles Blind, L. M. Porter, R. M. 
Flick, H. C. Curtis, R. M. Thornburg, J. C. Buchanan, S. V. Berg, 
R. Bitterbock, Chris G. Kretrehner. At one time this lodge num- 
bered 100 members, but from various causes ran down, and finally, in 
the fall of 1882, they surrendered their charter; but, November 24, 
1884, it was reorganized by the following six members : J. T. Adams, 
N. G. ; J. G. Koenig, V. G. ; S. V. Silverwood, sec. ; R. W. Harrison, 
treas. ; W. J. Lawrence, W. ; E. J. Pauley, I. G. The whole number 
belonging to the reorganized lodge is sixty-two, of whom six took 



622 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

cards; thirteen have been dropped, two expelled. The present officers 
are Charles Sperling, N. G. ; J. T. Hall, V. G. ; F. P. Whitney, sec. ; 
F. F. Gleason, treas. ; August Forchner, W. ; H. P. Bowman, C. For 
the first three years the lodge met in the Opera house, but in the fall 
of 1887 removed to their present lodge room, in the Kluckhohn build- 
ing. The lodge has grown faster during the past year than any lodge 
in Iowa. 

Acorn Lodge (Rebecca Degree), I. O. O. F., No. 62, was insti- 
tuted April 4, 1890, with twenty-three charter members. The lodge 
now numbers twenty-nine. The first officers were Mrs. Isabella Wat- 
kins, N. G. ; Mrs. Nettie Harrison, V. G. ; Electa Richey, sec. ; Jennie 
Faus, treas. Those serving at this time are Mrs. Nettie Harrison, 
N. G. ; Mrs. M. E. Wood, V. G. ; Mrs. Electa Richey, sec. ; Mrs. A. P. 
Bowman, F. sec. ; Mrs. Jennie Faus, treas. 



*-^^|9 




d®-»SH-»- 



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GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY 



Dh. John K. Cook (deceased), known as the founder of Sioux City, was 
an Englishman by birth, and was educated in his native country, and grad- 
uated in medicine at London. He came to America at an early age and set- 
tled at Carlinville, Macoupin county, 111., from which place he moved to 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he was several years before coming to Sioux 
City in 1854. He was a government surveyor, and in the summer of 1854 
was instructed by a syndicate, of which Congressman Henn and Senators 
G. W. Jones and N. C. Dodge were members, to select a favorable location 
for a town. He first located on a quarter section of land on the west bank 
of Perry creek, but in the following spring purchased eighty acres of Jo- 
seph Leonais, paying him therefor the sum of 13,000. 

He moved his family here in 1855, and at first lived in a log house on 
Water street near the corner of Second, then built on Second street, and later 
on Nebraska street, between Third and Fourth streets, where he lived until 
he removed with his family to St. Louis in 1879. He was postmaster from 
1855 to 1857, when he turned the office over to C. K. Smith. His demise 
occurred in St. Louis, November 16, 1885. Further reference to Dr. Cook 
will be found in the historical part of this work. 

Asahel W. Hubbard (deceased), ex- judge, Sioux City. The early settlers 
in Sioux City were men of foresight as well as energy. The map indicated 
that this was a very important point, and that here must some day be a city, 
the size of which would be determined in part by the number of enterprises 
centering here. Among these early settlers was Judge Hubbard, a man of 
great force of character and that kind of industrious nature, which, if wisely 
applied, rarely fails. He located here when the village of Sioux City was 
but two years old, and when it had perhaps five hundred actual white 
settlers. He lived to see the number largely increased, and to see railroads 
enter the town, and was the chief promoter of these various enterprises. 

Asahel Wheeler Hubbard was born January 18, 1819, at Haddam, 
Middlesex county, Conn. His parents were Simeon and Esther (Wheeler) 
Hubbard, both of Puritan stock. His father was a farmer, and the son re- 
mained at home until sixteen, working in the summers and attending school 
during the winters. The first summer he drove a team hauling stone to the 



624 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Connecticut river, following it with another winter term of school in his 
father's district. The nest summer he worked in a stone quarry seven 
months at ten dollars per month, devoting the money thus earned to attend- 
ing a select school in Middletown, Conn. The summer following he cut 
stone at sixteen dollars per month, and then following the same business a 
few months longer, he received thirty dollars per month and boarded himself. 
At nineteen we see him wending his way to Indiana as a book agent, locating 
before the end of the year at Rushville, in that state, where he taught school 
for sis months and then entered a law office. He was admitted to the bar of 
the district court of Rush county, in January, 18-41, where he practiced for 
sisteen years, and then moved to Sious City. Here his talents soon made 
themselves apparent, and his fitness for certain positions made it almost im- 
possible, whatever his own taste and inclination might be, to remain in pri- 
vate life. 

While in Indiana, as early as 1847, Mr. Hubbard was elected to the state 
senate from Rush county, and served three years, after which he declined to 
be a candidate for re-election. He had been in Iowa only one year when he 
was elected judge of the Fourth judicial district, at that time embracing at 
least thirty counties in the northwestern portion of the state. He served 
four years, and was then, in 1862, elected to congress, continuing there for 
sis years. Among the committees on which he served were those on foreign 
affairs, public expenditures, and Indian affairs. Representing a frontier dis- 
trict, living in proximity to the red men, and conversant, with their habits 
and methods of dealing with them, the placing of him on the last named 
committee was eminently fitting, and on it he did especially good service. 
He was very attentive to his duties while in congress, and served his constitu- 
ents and the state with unqualified satisfaction. Whatever responsibilities 
he assumed, either as a government official or private citizen, he discharged 
with the utmost faithfulness. He was a whig until the party ceased to exist, 
and was thereafter a rerjublican. Judge Hubbard attended the Presbyterian 
church, but was not a communicant. 

On October 10, 1849, he married Miss Leah Pugh, of Rushville, Ind., a 
near relative of the late Senator Pugh, of Ohio. To them were born four 
children, only one of them, a son, now living. He is practicing law in Sious 
City. His first wife died in 1854. In January, 1862, Judge Hubbard mar- 
ried. Miss Leah Swift, of Rushville, the result of the latter marriage being 
five children, all living but one. Judge Hubbard aided in organizing the 
First National bank of Sious City, and was president for a number of years. 
He was interested in railroads, and in every enterprise which increased the 
prosperity of Sious City, and developed the wealth of the upper Missouri 
Valley. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 625 

Among the enterprises with which he was connected toward the end of 
his life were the Sioux City & Pembina railroad company, now developed 
into the Dakota system of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad com- 
pany, and the Covington, Columbus & Black Hills railroad, now a part of 
the Nebraska system of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad. In 1878, 
becoming interested in mines at Leadville, Colo., while attending to his 
business there, he contracted rheumatism, and was obliged to return to his 
home in 1879. The disease continued to develop, and at length involved the 
heart, and on September 22, 1879, he died, at his home in Sioux City, of 
acute rheumatism of the heart. 

His grave is in Floyd cemetery, where his resting place is marked by a 
massive column of granite, bearing upon it this inscription: "Erected by 
his fellow-citizens, in memory of a faithful public servant, a self-sacrificing 
citizen, a true man." 

Thomas Jefferson Stone was born at Royalton, Niagara county, N. Y., 
August 13, 1825, his parents being Isaiah P. and Mercy (Sawyer) Stone. 
Thomas worked upon his father's farm until he was fifteen years of age, 
attending the district school three or four months each year; he then went 
to Oberlin college, intending to take a full course, but while in the freshman 
year his health failed, and he abandoned his intention of prosecuting his 
literary studies further, except in the high school at Mount Vernon, Ohio. 
He came farther west and spent some time in surveying in Wisconsin and 
Iowa, pursuing this business at times until 1856. During this period he 
spent four years in the office of the treasurer of Linn county, Iowa, going 
into the field occasionally with chain and compass, doing considerable gov- 
ernment surveying. For a short time before leaving Marion, the county 
seat of Linn county, he was in the banking business with other parties, the 
firm being Smyth, Stone & Co. In May, 1856, Mr. Stone removed to Sioux 
City, and engaged largely in the real-estate business, continuing it up to 
1874. For many years he paid taxes for over one thousand persons, and did 
more as land agent and otherwise in entering up the government lands in 
northwestern Iowa than any other man. During the early part of his resi- 
dence here, he was a clerk in the county treasurer's office, and was very 
careful and efficient in this work as in everything else to which he has put 
his hands. In 1867 Mr. Stone opened a private bank in connection with his 
land operations, and continued it for three years; then, in 1S70, he organized 
the First National bank, and for a number of years was its cashier, but is 
now president, while his son holds the position of cashier. For a number 
of years he has paid little attention to real estate, giving his undivided at- 
tention and energies to the bank, which is a very popular institution, and to 
his various other interests, he being the owner of inside real estate in every 



626 EISTOEY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

part of the city, including a number of the best business buildings. In 
1861 Mr. Stone was elected treasurer and recorder of Woodbury county, 
holding that double office three years, and then the office of treasurer alone 
for the same length of time. Mr. Stone was a whig when that party was 
in existence, since which time he has always voted with the republican 
party. On May 12, 1852, he married Miss Alice A. Heathcote, of Mount 
Vernon, Ohio, and they have two children — a son and a daughter. The son 
is a graduate of Yale college and stood high in his collegiate studies; his 
daughter is now the wife of George P. Day, cashier of the Merchants 
National bank at Sioux City. Mr. Stone is emphatically a business man. 
He has done clean, thorough and honorable work all his life, and his friends 
accumulate with his years. He has seen his sixty-five winters, but has taken 
the best of care of himself, and the burdens of life have not hurt his tall 
and symmetrical figure an iota. He lost his first wife in 1882, and in 1886 
married Mrs. Frances A. Flint, with whom he is now living very happily in 
their beautiful home. 

William Leonard Joy, who has been a resident attorney of Sioux City 
since May 5, 1857, stands out conspicuously as a pioneer in Woodbury 
county and the leading lawyer in northwestern Iowa, where, through a legit- 
imate and honorable practice of his profession, together with prudent invest- 
ments, he has made a financial success; and be it said to his credit that he 
uses his means for none other than the true purpose for which a goodly 
competency is given to men. He is not only an able lawyer, bearing the 
esteem of the bar of his state, but an active, public-spirited man, well repre- 
senting the true type of American citizenship. Full of candor and being 
possessed of a kindly nature, he draws to himself many friends and admirers. 
Before speaking of his career in latter days something should be said con- 
cerning his early career. 

He was born at Townshend, Vt., August 17, 1829, making him sixty-two 
years of age at this time. His parents were William H. and Hetty (Leonard) 
Joy. His paternal grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier. The father of 
our subject was a farmer and owned milling property. William L. remained 
at home assisting his father in business most of the time until twenty years 
of age, fitting himself for college meanwhile at Leland seminary in his 
native town. He entered at Amherst in his twenty-first year and graduated 
in the class of 1855, teaching school three winters while in his college 
course. Mr. Joy taught a few terms in the Leland seminary while studying 
law with Judge Roberts ; was admitted to the bar early in the spring of 
1857 and started immediately for the west, reaching Sioux City, Iowa, his 
present home, on the fifth of May. Here he formed a partnership with N. 
C. Hudson, and the firm of Hudson & Joy was continued until 1866. After 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 629 

practicing alone for two years Mr. Joy took a partner, C. L. Wright, and the 
firm of Joy & Wright was the leading firm in Woodbury county for 
twenty years. These gentlemen were the local attorneys for the Illinois 
Central railroad company, and the general attorneys for the Sioux City & 
Pacific, the Dakota Southern, the Covington, Columbus & Black Hills rail- 
roads and for the Iowa Falls & Sioux City Railroad Land company. Mr. Joy 
has always had a large law business both in the state and federal courts, 
and has accumulated a large property; he has managed his affairs with 
prudence and success. He was a member of the lower house in the eleventh 
and twelfth sessions of the general assembly, and jarobably did as much im- 
portant work in the service of his constituents as any member of the legis- 
lature in 1864 and 1866. He was sent especially to look after the railroad 
interests of northwestern Iowa, and succeeded in carrying through the 
measures for which he was sent. Having accomplished this work he has 
steadfastly refused to be a candidate for any office. Mr. Joy was a member of 
the board of capital commissioners for two years. He has been connected 
with the Baptist church for more than forty-five years, and is one of the most 
prominent laymen in that denomination in the state. Mr. Joy is and has 
been a stanch republican. His political friends have frequently urged him 
to be a candidate for judge of the district and circuit courts and the supreme 
court; he has peculiar fitness for such a position, but has never encour- 
aged such movements. Pecuniarily he would suffer by going on the bench. 
October 10, 1859, he was united in marriage to Miss Frances A. 
Stone, of Westmoreland, N. H, and they have two children; the elder, a 
son, is a member of the firm of which his father is senior member. Mr. Joy 
is a strong pleader before a jury, but is best known as a court lawyer, and 
as such has but few equals in the state. The partnership of Joy & Wright 
was dissolved in 1888, and he is now the senior member of the firm of Joy, 
Hudson, Call & Joy, one of the most prominent law firms in the state. Mr. 
Joy has always been deeply interested in school matters, and for more than 
twenty-five years was a member of the school board of the Independent district, 
of Sioux City. He gave the benefit of his large business experience and much 
valuable time to the district. To him and his co-laborers, who comprised 
some of the most prominent citizens of the place, is due the excellent con- 
dition of the public schools of the city, and most of the property the district 
now owns. Mr. Joy is president of the Sioux National bank, and a stockholder 
and director in the Iowa Savings bank, and the Union Loan& Trust company, 
and is largely interested in real estate, and takes an. active interest in all 
public enterprises for the improvement of the city. He is a strong man 
physically, mentally and morally, and the various institutions with which he 
has been connected bear the impress of his ability. Sioux City was fortu- 
nate in having such a man among her early settlers. 



630 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Peof. J. Wehnli. A short sketch of the life of this man is given for 
the purpose that others, and especially those who are commencing life, may 
see what can be accomplished, under the most difficult circumstances, if a 
man unites an untiring energy with ordinary mental and physical strength 
and for a noble purpose. Jacob Wernli was born in Thalheim, Canton 
Aargan, Switzerland, July 13, 1828. His father was a small, well-to-do 
farmer, diligent, careful, and prosperous in all his work. His mother, a 
woman of rare natural talents and goodness of heart, assisted her husband 
in all those labors in which the wives of the farmers in that country gener- 
ally take part. The little boy also learned to work as soon as he was capa- 
ble, and soon became a practical farmer. In the common district school he 
developed such talents that the leading citizens and the minister of the vil- 
lage prevailed upon his parents to give him the necessary preparatory 
instruction for admission into the State Normal school. This preparation 
was given him by his kind pastor free of charge. In 1847 he passed the 
examination of admission into the normal school, when out of seventy-five 
applicants forty were rejected. Under the tuition of an excellent corps of 
teachers, of whom the renowned Dr. Augustin Keller, one of the greatest 
men of Switzerland, was the president, he received most careful instruction 
and training for a teacher. In the spring of 1850 he graduated, and was 
chosen teacher in his native county; but in the fall of 1851 he was called to 
the position of principal of the schools of a manufacturing town in a neigh- 
boring county, with greatly increased pay. As he had natural abilities for 
his profession he taught a great deal better than he knew himself. In 1853, 
while conducting his school successfully, the letters of Henry Bossard, a 
Swiss traveler in the "United States, fell into his hands. The glowing- 
descriptions of the farming lands of the west, and the success of the Swiss 
settlers in this new country, caused the " emigration fever," which can be 
cured only by emigration. Thus the honorable position, the flattering pros- 
pects of the near future, the wishes of dear parents, sisters and brothers, the 
dangers of the voyage, the difficulty of the new language to be mastered 
and the unwonted labor to be done in the strange' land, were not sufficient 
causes to keep him in his beautiful and beloved fatherland. His intention 
was to return home in about ten years, or as soon as he had saved about 
five thousand dollars, at those times a large amount of money in Switzer- 
land. 

On the first of May, 1855, after a trip of two months, he landed at Osh- 
kosh, Wis. The state of Wisconsin was then regarded as the paradise of 
the emigrants. With him, united in spirit and purpose, was his young wife. 
In that little city they began a new life. The long and tedious voyage had 
nearly exhausted their means. Only eighty-eight gold dollars were left — 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 631 

too little to begin farming with. The two now began to labor at anything 
that was honest. Mr. Wernli did not divulge the secret of his profession. 
His former training as a farmer was now a blessing to him. Thus they 
worked, he as journeyman, farm hand, teamster, etc., his good wife sewing, 
washing, ironing, etc., for about eighteen months, in the meantime buying a 
small home. They then sold their lot and little house with profit, and with 
a cash capital of §500 went to Waupaca county, Wis., where, in the spring of 
1857, they bought eighty acres of wild land for §5300, and commenced farming. 
No house, no cattle, no farming implements, no seed, no provisions; but §200 
in cash and two young persons ready to do anything, and to submit to any 
hardships to accomplish their purpose — to cultivate a farm and have a free 
home. Hundreds and thousands worked their way through; so did these 
two. 

From the time of his arrival in America Mr. Wernli commenced the 
study of the English language, using every opportunity offered him — the 
talk of children, the primary readers, the church meetings, and political 
assemblies. A thorough knowledge of the German and French languages 
assisted him, and his continued study, although without a teacher and with- 
out losing a day's work, resulted in a partial mastery of the English lan- 
guage, more especially in reading and writing the same. In 1858 he was 
elected clerk of his school district. His duties were to visit the schools. He 
found schoolhouses without apparatus, teachers without knowledge, methods, 
system, purpose and life. " You must go back to your profession," his con- 
science told him, and he made up his mind to obey. In the spring of 1859 
he commenced teaching at §20 per month, and taught summer and winter 
until 1861. In the fall election of 1861 he was elected county superintend- 
ent, and re-elected in 1863. His work and reforms became known all over 
the state. In 1864 he was called to the position of principal of the Second 
Ward school of Milwaukee; in 1866 to the position of assistant principal of 
the First State Normal at Platteville; and in 1868 as principal of the 
Northwestern German and English Normal school in Galena, 111. His flat- 
tering advancement was the result of his great success as a teacher. But 
this continual hard labor without vacation broke down his health, and after 
five years' toil in Galena he was forced to resign. He then went into busi- 
ness in Chicago as a partner of H. Enderis, who had a flourishing book and 
stationery business. Yet the turmoil of Chicago, the incessant running- 
after the almighty dollar, did not suit this man. During the summer months 
he went to conduct teachers' institutes, and in 1875 he parted from the giant 
city and went to Le Mars, where for two years he worked as principal of the 
public schools, and established a book store, which was conducted by his 
sons. Eesigning his position as teacher in 1S77, he spent most of his time 



632 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

in conducting teachers' institutes, receiving applications from all over the 
state of Iowa and from Dakota. In the fall of 1881 he was elected county 
superintendent, which office he held four years, when he refused a re-election 
in order to visit once more his aged mother in Switzerland. 

In 1887 he established the Northwestern Normal school and Business col- 
lege at Le Mars, with the purpose and hope that it would be converted by 
the Legislature into a state normal, and thus train teachers for the northwest. 
Here he spent his remaining strength and a great part of his means in pur- 
chasing and furnishing a beautiful building and maintaining a school accord- 
ing to his own heart. The institution grew and prospered. His own name 
and work brought in students from Iowa, Minnesota and Dakota. After 
nearly four years' hard labor in teaching and managing the school, he, tired 
and old, looked for a successor, and in his own assistant, Prof. J. F. Hirsch, 
and in the renowned Prof. A. W. Eich, from Decorah, Iowa, he succeeded in 
securing men who are carrying on the work which he had begun and con- 
tinued for years, to ultimate success. Mr. Wernli, a foreigner, so gained the 
esteem and good-will of his American fellow-citizens that they offered his name 
twice to state conventions for the nomination of state superintendent, and for 
many years he was a member of the educational council. 

Having now retired from the regular school work, he writes for educa- 
tional journals, and spends his days in planting and cultivating his orchards, 
gardens and vineyards. His family enjoys the blessings of a good education 
and a training to industry. His oldest son, William J., has a thriving farm- 
ing implement business; the second, Gottlieb L., is cashier of the First Na- 
tional bank, of Le Mars; Charles A. is head book-keeper in the Plymouth 
Roller Mills; George D. is a member of the firm of Wernli & Kluckhohn, 
real estate and loans, while the younger members of the family are either 
commencing to enter business, or attend the school, and assist in the work at 
home. One of his daughters, who was a public teacher for years, is now the 
wife of C. E. Haas, of the firm of Haas & Huebach, in Le Mars. While Mr. 
Wernli's path of life has not been without reverses, and misfortune has dark- 
ened his days sometimes, while he lost his faithful wife just when the days of 
prosperity began to dawn, and she could not harvest on earth that which she 
so richly deserved, yet pew ways and opportunities were always offered him, 
and higher and more lasting happiness was granted him in the faith of his 
Redeemer. He lives now with his second wife and family on his beautiful 
homestead at the city limits of Le Mars. Switzerland lives in his memory. 
He loves it dearly, but America is his and his children's home. They are 
Americans. Will they ever do as much for America as he has done ? Thou- 
sands of teachers were instructed and inspired by him, and he lives in his 
busy and happy age, enjoying the scenes of the present and the memories of 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 633 

the past. By living and working for others he really lived for himself, at 
least it was his only method of enjoying life. 

Judge Charles Henky Lewis was born October 17, 1839, in Collins Cen- 
tre, Erie county, N. Y. His parents, Oren and Elizabeth (Nichols) Lewis, were 
natives of Connecticut, descended from English ancestors. When he was 
but nine months old the family moved to southern Wisconsin, where they 
remained for two years, and thence went to Boone county, 111., where they 
made their home until 1851, when they moved to Iowa, arriving at Inde- 
pendence, October 8, 1851. Three years later the father moved to Quasque- 
ton, Buchanan county, this state, where he remained until his death, which 
occurred in 1881, the mother having died when the subject of this sketch 
was but four years of age. Judge Lewis' early life was spent upon his 
father's farm, save for a little time when be was employed in the furniture 
factory operated by the father at Independence. At the age of nineteen he 
began a close student's life at Cornell college, Mount Vernon, Iowa. His 
father being poor and unable to give financial assistance, the son remained 
in the school during spring, summer and fall terms, and taught school dur- 
ing the winters. In this manner three years were spent, until 1862, when 
he left the school and enlisted in the army, entering the service as a private 
soldier in Company H, Twenty-seventh Iowa infantry. Eor a year he served 
as a private soldier, was then made sergeant-major of the regiment, and held 
that position for one year, when he was then promoted to first lieutenant and 
appointed and commissioned adjutant of the regiment, which position he 
filled until the war closed and the regiment was mustered out of service. 
He served three years and five days in the regiment, and during all that time 
was never absent from the regiment and was off duty but three days, during 
which three days he was on the sick list. The war closing he returned to 
his old home in Buchanan county and soon engaged with his brother and 
another in the milling and mercantile business, which he pursued for a little 
time. He then entered the law department of the State university, and 
graduated therefrom in the summer of 1869. He at once removed to Cher- 
okee, Iowa, arriving there May 29, of that year, and formed a partnership 
with his father-in-law, H. C. Kellogg. They were the first lawyers in the 
county, and their practice was soon extensive and lucrative. In 1870 Mr. 
Lewis was nominated district attorney of the Fourth judicial district of Iowa, 
the district then embracing twenty-two counties in northwestern Iowa. He 
was elected by a large majority, running far beyond his ticket. He entered 
upon the work of district attorney January 1, 1870, and served as such until 
January 1, 1875. In 1873 two counties were dropped from the Fourth dis- 
trict, leaving twenty counties in the district. So well had Mr. Lewis per- 
formed his duties as district attorney that in the summer of 1874 he was 



634 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

nominated for district judge, and at the fall election in 1874 he was elected 
by a large majority, and greatly in excess of his ticket, to that position. He 
entered upon the duties of that office January 1, 1875. In two years there- 
after the district boundaries were so changed that there were left in the dis- 
trict nine counties. In the fall of 1878 Judge Lewis was renominated by 
acclamation to succeed himself, and at the fall election was chosen for 
another term by an increased majority. He served two terms more of four 
years each in that capacity, being re-elected by increasing majorities at each 
election, showing the appreciation the people have of his talents and his fit- 
ness for the office which he held up to January 1, 1891. He has been firm 
in the enforcement of the law, and has justly earned a reputation of being 
one of the best judges who ever presided over any court in Iowa. In the 
first trial of what was known as the "Haddock Case," he presided, and won 
the favorable opinion of all loyal and manly citizens. He had presided over 
nearly all the hotly contested legal battles growing out of the temperance 
legislation and agitation in so far as the same have had hearing in northwest- 
ern Iowa, and in all matters he has given excellent satisfaction. He is prob- 
ably stronger with the masses of the people to-day than at any former period. 
On March 31, 1866, Mr. Lewis married Emma E. Kellogg, who was born in 
Rutland, Vt. They have four children, all at home, viz. : Florence Ger- 
trude, Edward Oren, Burton Kellogg and Ida Sophia. When Judge Lewis 
left the bench, January 1, 1891, he at once entered upon the practice of the 
law, and is still so engaged at his home in Sioux City, Iowa. 

John Hornick, wholesale druggist and capitalist, Sioux City. In the 
opening up of any new country there are always two classes to effect settle- 
ment — those who come with the determination of staying, and those who in- 
tend to play the role of pioneer as long as they can speculate at the expense 
of those less fortunate. Again, of the first-named class, there are but few 
who, twenty years later in life, can be looked upon as financial successes. 
Indeed, it would seem that financiers, like poets and artists, are born, not 
made by training. It takes men of good judgment, good health and strong 
will power to become a settler in an undeveloped country, and obtain any 
considerable competency; and as a rule no one can achieve success without 
the confidence of his fellow-citizens. All of these goodly traits are found in 
the person of Mr. John Hornick, of whom this sketch is written. 

John Hornick was born on November 21, 1843, in Old Eoss, county Wex- 
ford, Ireland, that country beyond the sea that has produced many of earth's 
noblemen. His parents were Peter Hornick and Anna Jekyll Hornick, of 
the county of Wexford. In 1851 the family immigrated to America and 
located as very early settlers, near Ottawa, La Salle county, 111., where the 
father died in August, 1854. The mother survived until July, 1888, dying 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 635 

at Emerson, Neb. The family consisted of eight sons and two daughters. 
John worked at farm labor until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he 
enlisted in Company E, Twenty-sixth Illinois infantry, entering the service 
of the Union army in August, 1861, at Ottawa, 111., with his brothers Ed- 
ward and Thomas. Edward died in front of Corinth, Miss., in May, 1862; 
Thomas died near Vicksburg, Miss., in September, 1863. John participated 
in twenty-eight hard fought battles. He was wounded in Missouri, during 
the month of March, 1862, and at Corinth, Miss., October, 1863. John S. 
Lothrop, now of Sioux City, was captain of his company. After serving his 
country faithfully until the close of that terrible conflict, Mr. Hornick 
engaged in business at Memphis, Tenn., continuing until January, 1867, 
when he sold out and came to Sioux City, since which time he has been 
prominently identified with the wonderful growth and best interests of the 
" Corn Palace City." Mr. Hornick, for his integrity, persistent devotion to 
the welfare of Sioux City, for his indomitable persistence in upbuilding its 
interests, has won a lasting place in the confidence and respect of the people. 
His history is inseparably interwoven with the history of Sioux City, and he 
is justly regarded as one of its first and best citizens. The town of Hornick, 
in Woodbury county, bears his name. 

In the autumn of 1876, after several unsuccessful attempts had been 
made to open up the Black Hills country, Mr. Hornick, with Fred. T. Evans, 
of Sioux City, fitted out a wagon freight train for Deadwood. The party 
consisted of about forty teamsters, herders, and about five hundred yoke of 
cattle. They left for Deadwood via Pierre, in August, 1876, arriving at 
destination in October. One night, while en route, during the temporary 
absence of the men, the camp was attacked by a band of about twenty-five 
Sioux Indians, but Mr. Hornick, with the assistance of his colored cook 
alone, bravely repulsed them. He, later on, sold his interest in the freight 
business to his partner, Fred. T. Evans. Since 1880 he has been engaged 
in the wholesale drug business, and is president of the Hornick Drug Co. 

Mr. Hornick has been very successful in every business undertaking he 
has entered, and is to-day one of the well-to-do men of the northwest. In 
1889, in company with A. S. Garretson, D. T. Hedges, James E. Booge and 
Ed. Haakinson, he organized and constructed the Sioux City & Northern 
railroad (which they still own), mentioned at length elsewhere in this 
volume. In the various public enterprises Mr. Hornick has ever been a will- 
ing, liberal worker. In 1890 he was president of the famous Corn Palace, 
which attracted visitors from ocean to ocean, and its great success came 
largely through his untiring energies and good judgment. He is also presi- 
dent of the Sioux City Jobbers' and Manufacturers' association. He is a 
living example of what men with business tact and good habits can accom- 



636 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

plish under our form of government. Coming to Sioux City many years ago 
with but small means, he has steadily increased his property, and to-day 
ranks high, both financially and socially, among the business men of the 
great and growing northwest. 

Mr. Hornick was united in marriage December IS, 1873, at Richland 
Center, Wis., to Miss Jennie Humbert. Mr. Hornick is a member of Land- 
mark Lodge and of Columbia Commandery, Knights Templar. In the great 
freemasonry of friendship, however, whose password is an ever kindly greet- 
ing, and whose rule a hearty interest in one's fellow-men, no one stands 
higher than John Hornick. From this order, still greater than the conven- 
tional brotherhood of which he is an honored member, comes the highest 
praise a man can receive. 

G. R. Badgeeow is of French and Scotch extraction, his great-great- 
grandfather having emigrated from France to America in the early part of 
the last century, and settled in the old colony of Pennsylvania. On the out- 
break of the Revolutionary war of 1775, his great-grandfather took an 
active part on the side of the patriots, and at the close of the war married 
Miss Gordon, sister of Major Gordon, of the British army. Martin Bad- 
gerow, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the state of New 
York in 1808, and in the following year was taken to Upper Canada, his 
parents settling on a farm in the county of York, near Toronto. He con- 
tinued to reside there, and in later years established woolen mills, which he 
carried on in connection with his farm, until his demise in 1878. He was 
married to Elizabeth Harrington and reared a large family, of whom Mr. 
Badgerow is the youngest. He was a man widely known and highly re- 
spected for his progressive spirit, strong common sense, and the sterling 
uprightness of his character, qualities imparted in a liberal measure to his 
son. 

Gordon Ralph Badgerow was born December 25, 1847, in the township 
of Scarboro, near Toronto. He grew to early manhood on the farm, attend- 
ing the public school in the winter months, and during the summer working 
in the factory and about the farm. For years he stood at the head of the 
school in mathematics, and was always depended upon by the teacher to 
sustain the reputation of the school in the contests which were in vogue at 
that time. He attended college in London, Canada, and afterward taught 
school one year in the county of York, but having learned of the growing 
and liberal west, in the summer of 186S came to Dubuque, Iowa, and read 
law under the present United States district judge, O. P. Shiras. In the 
fall of 1869 he crossed the state in a wagon, coming as far west as Cherokee, 
the Illinois Central railroad not being completed beyond Fort Dodge at that 
time. He finally located at Emmetsburg, and there entered some land, and 



GENEALOGY AND BiOGBAPHY. 637 

in the following summer surveyed the swamp lands of Palo Alto county. 
His friend, Judge White, had recently returned from Lyon county, where he 
had been locating lands for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway 
company, and was eloquent in his praise of the beauty and fertility of that 
region, which was at that time unorganized territory and attached to Wood- 
bury county. In the early fall, having finished his contract of surveying 
the swamp lands, he started on horseback for Doon, at the forks of the Rock 
river, over what was known as the " Old Norwegian trail," running through 
the counties of Dickinson, Osceola and Lyon. Osceola had no settlers with- 
in its border at that time. It was nearly sunset of a beautiful autumn day, 
after a hard ride of over sixty miles, with no signs of civilization in sight, 
when he reached the high plateau overlooking the valley where the three 
streams mingled their waters together, and as far as the eye could reach the 
streams were fringed with timber and the valleys covered with long waving 
grass. A tiny column of smoke could be seen rising from the log cabin of 
the only settler at Doon. He was charmed with the peace and promise of 
this fair land, and determined to go no farther. He commenced at once to 
purchase land and improve the same, selling to settlers as they began rapidly 
pouring into that section of the northwest. The first two years he was 
compelled to go sixteen miles for his mail. All the supplies were freighted 
in from Sioux City, seventy-five miles distant, and no bridges spanned the 
streams. The green cottonwood lumber used in building his first home was 
brought by wagon from a saw mill on the Missouri river near Elk Point, 
taking five days to make the trip. He has a vivid remembrance of leaving 
his load, about twelve o'clock one night, in the middle of the Big Sioux 
river, riding his horses to land and taking refuge for the night in the cabin 
of a settler, two miles distant from the ford. November 19, 1872, he mar- 
ried Adella S. Rogers, of Berlin, Wis. They commenced housekeeping one 
mile from any neighbor, and the nearest physician lived thirty miles away. 
An incident portraying the perils of the pioneer occurred about that time. 
In the early spring he had left his home in the morning on horseback, cross- 
ing the Rock river on the ice. It was ten o'clock that night when he reached 
the bank of the river on his return. Although inky darkness prevailed, he 
knew by the rush and roar of waters that the gorge above had broken dur- 
ing the warm day, and the ice was sweeping past on the swollen river. He 
could see a light in the window of his little home a half mile distant, and 
near that light he knew an anxious heart was beating. A moment's hesita- 
tion and into the angry flood he spurred his faithful horse. Just as he had 
cleared the channel where the waters ran the swiftest, an immese cake of ice 
was whirled past, and had he been a second later the other shore would 
never have been reached. Five children have been born to them, three of 



638 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

whom are living: Egbert M., Ralph J. and Harvey G. But when hope was 
the brightest there came an unlooked-for scourge in the form of grass- 
hoppers, and after years of devastated crops, he removed to Sioux City, in 
the fall of 1876. He was admitted to the bar, but never practiced, as he 
received an appointment in the internal revenue service shortly afterward. 

He had great faith in the future growth of Sioux City, and backed his judg- 
ment by liberal investments. He is the largest individual owner of Fourth 
street property, having nearly five hundred front feet in the best part of this 
thoroughfare, and has erected several fine brick blocks thereon. He is also 
largely interested in inside property in Tacoma, Wash., being among the 
heaviest tax-payers in that city. He was the first secretary of the Jobbers 
and Manufacturers association, filling the place at considerable personal 
sacrifice until the association, which has proved to be of so much value to 
Sioux City, became a strong and vigorous body. He has always been one 
of the foremost of public- spirited citizens in helping to build up the material 
interests of the city, and it is to such progressive, pushing men as he, that 
the city owes, in a large measure, the great prosperity it now enjoys. He 
was one of the founders of the first Unitarian church of Sioux City, and is 
credited with a large share of the financial success which has marked the 
growth of this liberal church. In politics he is a republican. 

John Bailey, physician, Sioux City, was born at Ticonderoga, Essex 
county, N. Y., and when a boy, with his parents removed to Dane county, 
Wis., where he completed his literary education and read medicine with Dr. 
Bowen at Madison. He attended Cleveland Medical college at Cleveland, 
Ohio, from which he graduated March 1, 1861, and began practice at Sun 
Prairie, remaining there until June, 1865, when he entered the service as 
hospital steward and remained during the war. Upon his return to Madison, 
at the close of hostilities, he resumed practice, and remained there until 1869, 
when he moved to Sioux City, his present home, and where he has since 
been engaged in the practice of his profession. He married Emily E. Cor- 
lie, and they have one child, a boy. They are members of the Congrega- 
tional church, and he is a member of the F. & A. M., and an entered appren- 
tice to the thirty- second degree. 

Samuel Tait Davis. Among those active and progressive citizens whose 
faith in and zeal for the growth of Sioux City have led to its permanent 
establishment, the subject of this sketch stands foremost. But few preceded 
him in date of settlement here, and none have been more active or successful 
in fostering the city's welfare. Born at Meadville, Pa., he is the son of 
George and Eliza (Keichard) Davis, the father of Irish and the mother of 
German extraction. He inherited in a marked degree the disposition of 
industry and the prudent husbanding of resources which characterize both 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 639 

nationalities, together with, a sturdy adherence to the principles of justice 
and fairness. His native shrewdness and conservative forethought have 
enabled hirn to confer great benefits upon the city of his home, while reap- 
ing a personal benefit and the enjoyment conferred by the successful prose- 
cution of public-spirited enterprises. Up to the age of ten years Samuel 
dwelt with his parents at Meadville, attending an academy during part of 
that time, and they then removed to Mercer county, Pa., where the son 
spent the time till twenty-one years old in helping to clear a farm in the 
timber of that region. Here he attended the rude pioneer schools, and later 
engaged in teaching. He had a strong desire, for knowledge, with an espe- 
cial aptitude for mathematics, and frequently solved problems by working 
them out on the moldboard of his plow, using pencils of soapstone which 
were found on the farm. He entered Allegheny college, at Meadville, and 
took an irregular course, pursuing such branches as seemed to him most 
essential in fitting him for a practical life. He left the institution while in 
the sophomore year, in 1852, and followed teaching for some time. He 
became principal of Greenville academy, Pa.,' and in two years brought 
that institution up from a state of decline to a most flourishing condition. 
He began the study of law with Hon. David Derrickson, of Meadville, and 
was admitted to the bar of Mercer county in the autumn of 1855. His col- 
legiate and legal education were wholly obtained with means earned by his own 
efforts. After spending a few months in exploring Wisconsin and Iowa, our 
young attorney settled in Sioux City, arriving February 29, 1856. The city 
was then composed of six log cabins and two tents, and there was very little 
legal business to occupy an attorney. Mr. Davis was among the first of that 
profession on the ground. He had paved the way for other business by 
becoming a partner in the firm of Parker, Gray & Davis, land agents. The 
first work done by him was chopping wood for a few hours for a rival firm, 
the result of a banter between them. Before the job was finished he was 
called upon to survey a claim for a settler, who took his place in wielding 
the ax, while the survey was being made. With the growth of the town, 
clients soon multiplied, and Mr. Davis continued to make investments in 
realty, and now for many years has abandoned the practice of law to look 
after his extensive real-estate interests. He has platted several additions to 
the city, and all his grounds have been made a source of profit. The great- 
est improvement conceived and carried out by his genius is the straightening 
of the channel of Floyd river, within the city limits, on sections twenty-two 
and twenty-seven, township eighty-nine, range forty- seven. After the mat- 
ter had been agitated for a year and a half the city council of 1890 agreed 
in August to pay $15,000 damages to the owners of a mill whose water 
power was destroyed by this improvement, Messrs. W. L. Joy and S. T. 



640 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Davis agreeing to straighten the channel at their own expense. By this 
means over three miles of stagnant channel was obliterated, conferring untold 
sanitary benefits on the city, and at the same time avoiding an expense of at 
least $50,000 for bridge building, to say nothing of the enhanced cost of 
making the improvement after the lands were more generally occupied, as 
they are bound to be in the near future. This action reflects great credit 
upon the prudence and foresight of all parties concerned, good business 
sense on the part of the city council, and most liberal public spirit on the 
part of Messrs. Joy and Davis. But it is in the building of her railroads 
that Sioux City owes most to Mr. Davis. It was his activity and acumen 
that secured the building of the main lines now operated by the Illinois Cen- 
tral to Sioux City, instead of Onawa. John I. Blair, who had secured con- 
trol of this line in 1868, remarked, in the hearing of Mr. Davis, that he 
would build on the original survey to Sioux City if the hostile legislation 
known as the "Dond Amendment" could be repealed. Mr. Davis at once 
put this agreement in writing, and it was signed by Mr. Blair. Mr. Davis 
and others then traveled over the state, visiting the several members of the 
legislature, and secured a pledge that the relief asked for would be granted. 
As a consequence the road was at once built to Sioux City. Soon after the 
completion of the Sioux City & Pacific railroad, Mr. Davis suggested to Mr. 
Blair the importance of extending it to connections north and south, making 
a trunk line from the British possessions to the Gulf of Mexico. The rail- 
road magnate agreed that he and his friends would build northward if Sioux 
City would organize a company and do the preliminary work. 

Mr. Davis helped to organize and incorporate the Sioux City & Pembina 
railroad, and assisted largely in securing the local aid which helped to 
start the enterprise and get it on the way for final completion. But the 
financial panic of 1873 discouraged capitalists, and they failed to furnish the 
funds. The road was finally built by S. T. Davis, A. W. Hubbard and John 
H. Charles, from a junction with the Dakota Southern to Akron, and now 
forms part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line to Sioux Palls. This 
secured to Sioux City the trade of a large region which had previously gone 
to Le Mars. The building of this line caused a loss of $20,000 each to the 
builders, and Mr. Davis was compelled to sacrifice some of his most valuable 
holdings to meet the obligation. He drew up the articles of incorporation 
and helped organize the Sioux City & St. Paul road, of which company he 
was made secretary and director, and secured its construction to the state 
line, where it met a Minnesota road, in spite of much opposition. It was his 
forethought and prompt action that secured the shops of this line for Sioux 
City. Mr. Davis was one of the corporators and projectors of the North 
Nebraska & Dakota Southern, and organized the Sioux City & Columbus, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 641 

whose progress is a matter of history and treated in this volume. It is im- 
possible in the limits of this article to describe the struggles of Mr. Davis 
and his confreres to secure local aid in the building of roads that now form 
parts of great systems, and which the modern citizen is likely to suppose 
were built by their present owners. 

In political affairs Mr. Davis has displayed the same interest in the 
public welfare as in matters above related. Previous to the firing on Fort 
Sumter he had affiliated with the democratic party, but in his support of 
the national government in its crusade against slavery and rebellion he was 
led to unite with the republicans. He has recently opposed the latter party 
in its prohibition movement in this state, but with that exception has remained 
steadfast for thirty years. He was elected prosecuting attorney in the fall 
of 1856. At the city election in 1871 he was elected mayor by a handsome 
majority, and his inaugural address to the council was quoted by the press 
at home and abroad as a model of sound business teaching for the conduct 
of a city government. His practical enforcement of ideas during the term 
largely improved the city's credit and rid the town of many undesirable char- 
acters. He was repeatedly urged to again run for mayor, served several 
terms as city attorney, was offered the nomination of state senator, after 
having filled an unexpired term, and was favorably mentioned by the press 
for the position of district judge, but his increasing business cares led him 
to decline all such honors. He has, however, contributed much with his pen 
to the conduct of campaigns and the interests of a pure civil service. Mr. 
Davis sustains the Episcopal church, which his family attends. In addition 
to his real-estate interests, Mr. Davis is a stockholder in the following banks: 
State Savings (being also vice-president), Sioux City Savings, Security Na- 
tional and Home Savings bank. At one time his fortunes were wrecked by 
the failure of local railroad schemes, and he was forced to return to the 
practice of law. At present he is rated as one of the eight millionaires whose 
fortunes have been made in Sioux City, and his success is the result of his 
own foresight and perseverance. On the 9th of February, 1859, Mr. Davis 
was married to Miss Jane A. Putnam, of Sioux City, who passed away in 
1877. Six children came to bless this union, of whom five are now living, viz. : 
Stella (Mrs. William Gordon), Mary (Mrs. H. M. Bailey), Florence (wife of 
William C. Hutchins), George (merchant), and Eoss, a student at Peekskill 
military academy, New York. October 13, 1881, Mr. Davis was again married, 
the bride being Miss E. C. Smith, of Nantucket, Mass. A son, John Allen, 
now six years old, is the fruit of this marriage. The home of this prosperous 
and happy family is on one of the most beautiful sites, on a gentle slope, 
commanding a view of the Missouri, the heart of Sioux City and that part of 
Nebraska lying adjacent. 



642 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Edward Todd (deceased), one of the pioneer residents of Woodbury coun- 
ty, was born November 15, 1821, in Oswego county, N. Y., the son of Eras- 
tus and Polly (Rice) Todd, the former a native of Meriden, Conn., and the 
latter a daughter of Asa Rice, who was the first white settler in Oswego coun- 
ty, coming there with an ox team from Connecticut, his ancestors being of 
Welsh descent. Our subject's early education was very limited, having been 
taken from school at the age of twelve years to help his parents on their farm. 
He remained thus employed until nineteen years old, putting in his leisure 
hours at study. The last eight years the family lived in Cass county, Mich. 
At nineteen years of age Mr. Todd went to Vandalia, 111., where he worked 
at farming for his brother-in-law for three years. September 17, 1843, he 
was married to Mary Parmelee, of Hillsboro, 111., where he bought eighty 
acres of land and began housekeeping. He remained there until 1847, when 
he sold out and removed to Jefferson county, Iowa; four years later he came 
to Council Bluffs, where he continued farming on a 160-acre homestead. In 
1853 he moved to Magnolia, Harrison county, Iowa, where he took part in or- 
ganizing the county, being elected justice the following fall. He performed 
the first marriage ceremony in the new county. In 1856 he again moved, 
this time to Smithland, Woodbury county, from which place he came to Sioux 
City, where he engaged in various occupations for the following four years. 
In 1869 he went into the dairy business, remaining at this four years; then 
began moving and raising houses, which he continued to do until 1889, when 
he sold out and opened a real-estate office with Hopkins & Co. Seven chil- 
dren complete the family circle, viz. : Harriet, Caroline, Eunice, Ellen, Clara, 
Leona and Sarah. Mr. Todd was a republican in politics and a member of 
the M. E. church. Mr. and Mrs. Edward Todd, when visiting their daugh- 
ter, Clara Slayton, in Minneapolis, Minn., while in the act of boarding a train, 
December 10, 1890, were run down by another train, and instantly killed, to- 
gether with their daughter. One of the remarkable features of the family 
was that during the period of forty,-seven years of married life there had been 
no deaths in the family, and this sudden visitation came upon the children 
with great severity. They had the sympathy of the entire neighborhood, 
and the funeral, which was a very lengthy one, was attended by many friends 
and old citizens. 

William R. Smith, M. D. Unlike the man who has slipped noiselessly 
through this life, unseen and unheard by his fellow-men, Dr. Smith, with 
his life of energy, mental force and truly noble aspirations, has touched every 
thread in the warp and woof of human accomplishments within the circle of 
his acquaintance. He has been a potent factor, not alone in the realm of 
his chosen profession, but broader and higher has been his field of action. 
Every branch of industry, every social relation, every work of charity, to- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 643 

gether with whatever goes toward making men and women happier and 
better, has felt the kindly touch of his heart of sympathy and been rightly 
influenced by his superior intellect. 

Coming to Iowa nine years after it was admitted to the Union, when this 
great Missouri valley slope was all one vast but fertile wilderness, that had 
just been vacated by the Indians, Dr. Smith has been socially and profes- 
sionally connected with the comings and goings of each pioneer settlement 
hereabouts. He has called upon the sick, facing the blinding storms, as far 
east as Cherokee; and gone from thirty to fifty miles in Dakota and Nebraska. 
A further mention of the Doctor's professional career may be found in that 
portion of this work referring to "Early Physicians." The Doctor's genial 
ways have not changed during these long eventful years; and while time has 
left its inevitable marks upon his person, the once black hair which adorned 
his head having taken on a silvery hue, yet, like the warm autumnal sun, 
shedding its light down over the fields just harvested, does this estimable 
gentleman's kindness and sunshiny nature reflect back the truly praiseworthy 
deeds of a well-spent life. He has retired from professional duties, and his 
saddle-bags are seen no more; he has entered into a new era of life, so the 
object of this notice will be to make some record of his accomplishments, 
from his boyhood to this date. 

William Kemsen Smith was born at Barnegat, Ocean county, N. J., De- 
cember 30, 1828. His father, Daniel Smith, a wheelwright by trade, died 
when the son was seven years old, and the boy spent the next eight years of 
his life with his grandfather, alternating between labor on a farm and a little 
mental work in the school-room. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth 
Bonde. At sixteen William went to New York city to learn the saddlery and 
harness-making trade, but before he had completed it he followed a venerated 
mother and his step-father, James Collins, a prominent member of the 
Society of Friends, to Macon, Mich. There Mr. Smith spent three years in 
working at his trade and teaching. About the time he was of age he re- 
turned to New York city, studied medicine under Dr. Wm. Detmold, attend- 
ed three courses of lectures at the old college of physicians and surgeons, 
and then returned to Macon. There he practiced three years, in partnership 
with Dr. Joseph Howell, an experienced physician and a most estimable man. 
In 1856 Dr. Smith removed to Sioux City. Here he practiced medicine very 
diligently for eleven years, when not absent from home, building up a good 
reputation and a wide practice, often having more and longer rides than he 
desired. In those early days in the history of this frontier settlement, duty 
often called him to other than his professional labors. In the spring of 1861, 
when there were Indian troubles in this vicinity, Dr. Smith was appointed 
first lieutenant of a company of mounted riflemen, serving until relieved the 



644 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

following autumn by a company of United States soldiers. About this time 
lie was appointed government surgeon, holding that position until 1863. 
When the Indian outbreak occurred in Minnesota in August, 1862, sending 
a thrill of terror among the residents on the frontier, he was made chairman 
of the vigilance committee for protection, and gave whatever time necessity 
required to the duties arising from this cause. The following winter he was 
sent by Gov. Kirkwood, in connection with the late Dr. Brooks, of Des 
Moines, on a sanitary tour of inspection among the Iowa troops, in which 
mission he visited the army then lying in front of Vicksburg, and afterward 
did his best to emphasize that general and strong .appeal for vegetables, so 
indispensable for the relief of our suffering soldiers. As would be naturally 
supposed, a man so full of progress and public spirit as our subject, has held 
many important public positions. In March, 1863, he was elected mayor of 
Sioux City, and two months later was appointed surgeon of the board of en- 
rollment of the Sixth congressional district, serving in the last named capac- 
ity until December, 1864. Several years after the Rebellion closed he was 
examining surgeon for the pension bureau. He was again elected mayor in 
1881. July 15, 1865, he was appointed receiver of public moneys of the 
United States land office at Sioux City, which position he -held until the 
office was abolished in 1878, except for a short time during Andrew John- 
son's administration. His appointment having been renewed four times, shows 
the character of the man, as viewed by those in government authority. 
During one year he had charge of over a million dollars in money received 
on land sales. But few men having so great an amount of business passing 
through their hands have come through unscathed and with a correct record 
of their official proceedings. Dr. Smith was one of the incorporators of the 
First National bank of, Sioux City and of the Sioux City & St. Paul and 
Sioux City & Pembina railroads. In educational matters he has ever mani- 
fested great interest, and was a member of the local board for many years, 
and is now; was vice-president of the first Sioux City Building association, 
and has served as director of the State Horticultural society. In most enter- 
prises calculated to promote the interest of his city and state, the Doctor has 
been vigilant and untiring. In 1878 he was appointed by Governor Gear as 
one of the honorary commissioners of the state of Iowa to the Paris Exposi- 
tion. He accepted, and during his tour made extensive travels throughout 
Europe, and his final report was well received and found place in many Amer- 
ican and European newspapers and periodicals. In 1880 he was made an 
honorary member of the " Cobden Club," and two years later took an active 
part in that part of American politics, which he himself styled " Tariff Re- 
form" and which has been a living issue ever since. In 1SS4 the Doctor and 
his family visited Europe, as they did again in 1889. During his stay there 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 647 

in 1884, he was made an honorary member of the Reform club, while in 
London. This was at the instance of James Howard, M. P., of Bedfordshire, 
and seconded by the great commoner, John Bright. In 1885 he was one of 
the movers in the organization of the Unity church at Sioux City, was presi- 
dent of the board, and perhaps, with a few others, was instrumental in estab- 
lishing this society here and in rearing its edifice. Up to 1886 the Doctor 
lived on an eighty- acre farm within the corporate limits of the city. It was 
well stocked with fruit, planted with forest and ornamental trees, situated on 
a high tract of land overlooking the city and affording a fine view of the 
picturesque bluffs of the Missouri river, but at the above date he platted his 
farm into town lots, recording the same as " Smith's Villa," which to-day has 
come to be one of the most charming resident spots in the city. Magnificent 
residences are completed, and others in course of erection, here and there, all 
over the tract that but a few years ago was farmed. In 1890 the Doctor and 
his family moved out of the old house into the new, where he and his estim- 
able family are enjoying the comforts and blessings of home. Of his more 
domestic and personal relations it may be added that Dr. Smith is a repub- 
lican in politics, but averse to that unreasoning partisanship which places 
party fealty above principle. He was united in marriage, July 12, 1859, to 
Miss Rebecca Osborne, of Macon, Mich., who is a true helpmeet and a most 
excellent, exemplary lady. They are the parents of eight sons, three of whom 
are living: Milton P., Remsen and R. H. Burton. Whether one looks upon 
the subject of whom we have written in the light of a competent, skillful 
physician, a generous type of Sioux City pioneers, socially, publicly and pri- 
vately, or in a pure business sense, in each and every avenue of his well- 
rounded life we see inscribed by the very facts, the words, " True Success." 
Dr. Smith's great ancestry on his fathers' side, John and Mary Smith, came 
to New York from England in 1670. Afterward they bought a plantation 
in Middletown, N. J., the warrant of which is dated 1676. John Smith's 
will bears date December 29, 1714, and enumerates seven children, William 
being the eldest and chief heir. His son, the second William Smith, was 
married in 1728, and died in 1770. Among his ten children was the third 
William Smith, the great-grandfather of the subject of this memoir. He 
lived during the war of the Revolution; and among other deprivations, the 
records state suffered a loss of £138 16s 6d. His son, Daniel Smith, was born 
in 1768 and died in 1850, and this Daniel Smith's son, Daniel Smith, Jr., 
the father of William R. Smith, was born in Middletown township, Mon- 
mouth county, N. J., June 2, 1801, and died in Middlesex county, N. J., 
April 28, 1836. His ancestry on his mother's side, who were of Scotch de- 
scent, came to America quite early, as it is understood, for taking a too active 
interest in the claim of one of the " Pretenders" to the throne of England. 



648 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

They and their descendants settled and became large owners of the sandy 
tract of country which now constitutes Long Branch and adjacent localities 
in New Jersey. He had one brother, the late John Milton Smith, of Peotone, 
111., who died in January, 1869, leaving a family of five children, who came 
to Iowa to reside with their uncle, their mother having died one year 
previous. 

J. C. C. Hoskins. Autobiographical sketch. I was born under the western 
shadow of the White mountains, at Lyman, Grafton county, New Hampshire, 
on the 18th day of January, 1820. 

My father was Samuel Hoskins, a reputable country physician of large 
practice and very small income; my mother was Harriet Byron, daughter of 
Caleb Cushing, Esq., of Orange, N. H, who late in life removed to Charles- 
town, in Maine, where he died in 1855. On both sides my ancestors were 
among the earliest settlers of New England, only two — a Scotch Presby- 
terian from Ireland, and a Huguenot lady — having arrived later than 1700, 
and they came before 1750, so that I am by descent a veritable Yankee of 
the Yankees. 

Of my ancestors in the direct line, the Hoskins family were at Scituate in 
1634, and the Cushings at Hingham in 1635, as were also the Hanks and the 
Lincoln families; the Reeds were in Boston in 1628; the Cobbs at Wey- 
mouth and on Cape Cod before 1640, and John Drake came over with Win- 
throp; the Cottons were in Boston; the Sawyers at Beverly and near New- 
buryport; the Wainwrights and Ambroses in Essex county before 1660; and 
after careful research I find no progenitor except my great-grandfather, 
John Church, the Presbyterian elder, and my great-great-grandmother, the 
Huguenot, Dolly Pinneo, famous to this day among her descendants for her 
personal beauty and her magnificent golden hair, that arrived in New Eng- 
land from the old world subsequent to the year 1700. Through these 
numerous families I inherit a common blood with all New England people 
whose ancestors migrated from England previous to the Revolutionary war, 
and, wherever family histories have been preserved, I have no difficulty in 
tracing the blood relationship with all such, at least within the eighth degree, 
and I find them generally, like myself, proud of their descent. 

William Hoskins, my ancestor in the eighth degree, was at Scituate in 
1634, a freeman of Plymouth colony in 1638, was an esquire in 1642, and 
presumably, therefore, a respectable and religious man and well-to-do in the 
world. He, as well as John Reed and John Drake, was a member of the 
colony that purchased Bristol county from the Indians and settled at Taun- 
ton, from which place his numerous descendants have spread far and wide 
over the northern and middle states. He came from Norfolkshire, in Eng- 
land, and was by trade a wheelwright. His descendants down to my grand- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 649 

father (as tradition reports, of his ancestors also), have been mechanics or 
farmers of the middle class. Few of them have been needy, fewer have 
been rich, few of them ignorant but not many college bred, very few mer- 
chants or lawyers, and fewer clergyman or physicians, much disposed to 
have their own way, tolerably ready to hear argument and be led by 
reason, but quick to kick against any show of assumed authority: in every 
conflict for individual freedom, since the days of Henry VIII at least, they 
have fought against prerogative and oppression. 

None of the family have held important public office, but many have 
been locally honored, and most of them respectable and influential in their 
neighborhoods. 

My maternal ancestor in the eighth degree, Matthew Gushing, with a 
numerous family, some of whom were already adults, came also from Nor- 
folkshire. He settled at Hingham, Mass., in 1635. The Gushing family 
was old and wealthy in Norfolk, and had large landed possessions there. 
Their history is well known far back into the fifteenth century, and there (as 
in this country since) they were men of education and influence and wealth. 
The descendants of Matthew Cushing had, ■ previous to the year 1S00, fur- 
nished more than thirty graduates to Harvard college, and a more consider- 
able number of very eminent clergy and lawyers and judges, than in any 
other New England family. Among them history especially commemorates 
Thomas and John Cushing, who took very prominent parts in bringing on 
and prosecuting the war of independence, and William Cushing who, already 
associate justice of the United States court, declined the chief justiceship 
when tendered to him by President Washington. Nor has the Cushing fam- 
ily lacked men of distinction in the present century. Witness Caleb Cush- 
ing, of Newburyport, Judge Cushing, of Boston, and the late chief justice of 
the state of New Hampshire. 

My parents reared a family of eight — five sons and three daughters — all of 
whom exemplified the character of their paternal ancestry by a respectable 
mediocrity of ability, so far as the accumulation of wealth and extended in- 
fluence go, and their maternal ancestry by a considerable fondness for read- 
ing and literature, which doubtless led to the college education of the writer 
hereof. Three of the sons — all that were physically able — also proved that 
the family hatred of oppression retained its ancient strength, by enlisting at 
the very outset of the war against slavery, and fighting for freedom until all 
were free. So in the revolutionary war my grandfather Hoskins and four 
brothers fought from beginning to end; and so I pray God my descendants 
may hereafter do if any like occasion arise. 

My father led a hard life in a hard country among the granite outlyers of 
the White mountains, but he was always honored and respected by all that 



650 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

knew him, and when he died, in 1873, at Chelsea, Mass., where he went to 
live in his old age, he was much mourned through the whole circle of his ac- 
quaintances. Not less beloved or less widely mourned was my mother, who, 
after her husband's death, came to Sioux City, where she had a home with 
her son, J. D. Hoskins, till she died, in August, 1882. 

In my boyhood there was not much money in my father's house, what 
fees he collected from his farmer patients — the community was entirely agri- 
cultural — were paid in the products of the farm, a bushel of wheat or corn 
or rye, a cow or a colt in extreme cases — these were the fees when any at 
all were received. So I, with an earnest desire for books and a college edu- 
cation, like most New England. boys, had a poor show for success in a career 
that seemed to me as far off and as much to be desired as heaven itself. It 
would be too long to narrate the story of my success, but succeed I did. By 
working on the farm in summer vacation, and teaching school in the winter, 
and some aid from home, I worked my way through college and at the age 
of twenty-one found myself possessed of a diploma as bachelor of arts of 
Dartmouth college, and liberty to go out into the world and see what I could 
do with it. 

I gave my note to my father for $600, payable on demand. I had one 
decent suit of cloths, clad in which I applied for the position of principal of 
an academy at Lebanon, N. H., which had then recently fallen into the 
hands of the Universalist denomination and been christened " The Lebanon 
Liberal Institute," and my application being accepted and the salary fixed 
at the munificent sum of $400 per annum, I went to work on the first of 
September, 1841. 

It would be nonsense in these days of five hours' labor five days in the 
week, and high salaries, for me to dwell on the twelve to sixteen hours' labor 
six days in the week, and the difficulties attendant on securing an increase 
of salary, first to $450, finally to $500 per year. It is enough to say that I 
was a success as a teacher, as witness the considerable number of college 
professors, clergymen of note, and even one IT. S. senator who fitted for col- 
lege under my tuition. The school was prosperous during my continuance 
at its head, and I paid my way and paid my note. 

In 1846 my health broke down and I gave up school-teaching for civil 
engineering which became my profession for life. My first employment was 
on the construction of the Cochituate water works at Boston, Mass. 

I began with the preliminary surveys in June, 1846, and remained on this 
work till it was completed in the fall of 1848. I had charge of the Newton 
and Brookline tunnels till they were well under way, and was then deputed to 
make the survey for what is now the old Brookline reservoir, and when the 
survey was approved I took charge of the construction, and remained in charge 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 651 

until its final completion, and my name may now be seen last on the nfarble 
tablet in the gatehouse which commemorates the completion of the entire 
work. 

From this work in 1849 I went with my friend and superior, Thomas S. 
Williams, who had been appointed superintendent of the Sullivan R. R. in 
N. H. I was his assistant, and, he being soon after appointed superintendent 
of the Boston & Maine R. R., I remained some months as acting superintend- 
ent of the Sullivan road, and then rejoined him in Boston. 

I was on the B. & M. R. R. until June, 1850, when an engineer on the 
Baltimore & Ohio R. R. came north, seeking men who had some experience in 
driving tunnels through rock. Such men were very scarce in those days, 
but I had some experience on the water works, and was eagerly employed at 
what seemed to me very high wages — $60 per month and all expenses paid, 
except food and clothing. So the middle of June, 1850, found me at the 
western end of the great Baltimore & Ohio railroad near the Monongahela 
river. I was soon deputed to relocate a portion of the western division, my 
only instructions being to get as good a line as I could, to get as near the 
southwestern corner of Pennsylvania as I could, but not to touch it by any 
means. My location proved satisfactory, and I was deputed to take charge 
of the tunnel division. 

When this work was well under way I was transferred to the preliminary 
survey of the N. W. V. R. R., which is now the main branch of the B. & O. R. 
R., crossing the Ohio river at Parkersburg, W. Va. At that time there had 
been no work so difficult undertaken in the United States. In 100 miles 
there were twenty-two tunnels, and the ruling grade was eighty feet per 
mile. On these surveys, with a corps of sixteen men, I worked hard for near- 
ly six months, covering a broad extent of rugged country, mostly dense 
forest with a perfect network of lines. 

I located sixty-five miles of this road, and superintended the construction 
of thirty-seven, including the central and most difficult portion. The work 
was begun in the summer of 1852, atid the first train was run to the Ohio 
river on Christmas day, 1856. There was no cessation of work. Doubtless 
with the improved knowledge and implements and methods of to-day much 
less time would now be required, but any one passing over the road to-day 
must notice the extraordinary difficulties overcome and the thoroughness and 
completeness with which the work was done. I left this work at the close 
of January, 1857. 

July 10, 1856, I married Clarissa Virginia Bennett, of Weston, Lewis 
county, Va., the second daughter of Hon. James Bennett, a respectable and 
influential lawyer, who had often represented his district both in the lower 
and upper house of the Virginia legislature. The Bennett family was very 



652 HISTORY OF WOODBTJKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

numerous and very prominent in that region. A brother of my father-in- 
law, the Hon. Jonathan M. Bennett, was president of a bank, a director of 
the N. W. V. R. E., and for many years, continuing until the end of the civil 
war, he was auditor of the state of Virginia. 

My father-in-law and his brother, and their connection generally, be- 
lieved in state rights, and though regretting and condemning slavery per se, 
were very indignant at northern people for their so-called interference with 
southern institutions, and so they were quite prominent among the early 
promoters of secession. I had been bred in very different principles, and so, 
despite a most liberal offer from a Texas railway, I determined to seek a home 
in the far west. I had been much interested in the Kansas war for liberty, 
and determined to go out there and see that country for myself. 

So, March 7, 1857, we started on our great journey. We went to Park- 
ersburg, Va., took a steamer and arrived in St. Louis on the fifteenth — eight 
days' journey, where now one only is required. On the seventeenth I left 
my wife with cousins in St. Louis, and went by rail to Jefferson City, thence 
by steamer to Lexington, Mo., Kansas City, Leavenworth, Weston, St. 
Joseph, Omaha and Council Bluffs, arriving at Sioux City on the fifth day 
of May, 1857. At all the places mentioned I stojsped some hours or a day, 
and gained such information as I could. At Kansas City we took on board 
Gen. Price, Capt. Young, Col. Nelson, John Wilson and others more or less 
connected with the Kansas difficulties, and I learned from them that Kansas 
had virtually settled her own troubles, and would doubtless be a free state, 
I expected to settle there, but my cousin, the late John C. Flint, had written 
me at St. Louis insisting that I should come to Sioux City before locating 
permanently. So I came to Sioux City, met my cousin, looked over the town 
and country, considered its prospects, and bought lots and a house and 
shanty on Nebraska street just below the corner of Seventh, and here has been 
my home ever since. 

The first day I was in Sioux City I thought everybody was crazy. 
People here now know nothing of booms if they were not here then. No com- 
munication except by river, fourteen days from St. Louis, no railroad within 
300 miles. Across the river Indian territory, no settlements of any account 
east of us for more than 100 miles, none north this side Pembina, none west 
nearer than Utah, a few people on the Missouri bottoms between here and 
Council Bluffs, a thousand or so people here, living in log cabins, board 
shanties and tents, and yet lots in town were veritably higher than in 1875, 
some almost as high as now, and every piece of land for many miles out 
covered with claims so that no land could be had for pre-emption without 
first paying four or five times the government price to get rid of some ras- 
cally claimant whose only intention was to extort money. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 653 

However, in two or three days I was as crazy as any of the wildest, and 
went down to St. Louis for my wife. We arrived June 5, and having 
brought some supplies, and a few floor boards, ' a window and a door, we set 
up housekeeping on Nebraska street, just below Seventh, in a log cabin, 
and there, and on the corner of Nebraska and Sixth, we lived until we sold out 
last summer. There on Nebraska street our eight children — two boys and 
six girls — were born; and thence three little ones were carried to their rest- 
ing place across the Floyd. 

After coming to Sioux City, I led a very busy life until 1878, since which 
time I have had no regular occupation. My last work in my profession was 
done in the autumn of 1866, when I made the preliminary surveys for the 
Sioux City & St. Paul railroad, of which I was the first president and chief 
engineer. This road was sold to parties in St. Paul, and is now that part of 
the C. St. P. M. & O. railroad lying within the state of Iowa, 

I have been honored with . various positions of trust, showing the confi- 
dence and friendliness of my fellow-citizens, for which I have ever felt 
grateful and thankful. In 1858 I was chosen township assessor, and I think 
my neighbors did not want me again, but I gave better satisfaction as city 
surveyor, for I was continued in office till 1871, and I made the profiles and 
advised the street grades which were adopted in 1858, and revised and 
re-adopted in 1871. I have held the office of sheriff, and city mayor, both 
by appointment to fill vacancies. I have been a member of the school board 
for three terms, and was postmaster for nearly sixteen years, ending with the 
spring of 1878. I aided in founding the two oldest and most prosperous of 
Sioux City's National banks, was a director of one of them for several years, 
was president of the Sioux City Building fund association for many years, 
and aided in settling up its affairs when it closed its most successful career. 
I was also the founder, in 1864, of the oldest commercial business in the city, 
the J. M. Pinckney Book and Stationery Co., in which I still retain an inter- 
est, though giving it little of my time. 

I find a great many "I's" in this paper but "I" could not avoid them in 
autobiography. I suppose this paper must come to a close, so also must my 
life, now very soon. I hope it has not been altogether useless. I wish it had 
been better and of more worth to the world. One more egotistic paragraph 
and I have done. 

We are getting old, my wife and I, and our children are grown, and have 
left or soon will leave us and take their place in the great world's work. 
We have done what we could to fit them to do more and better work than we 
have done. The issue is with God, but I hope and earnestly pray, that like 
their father, they may love their fellow-men, may love the city and state of 
their nativity, and, above all, look upon the United States as a Nation that is 



654 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the grand hope of the future, the very flower and fruitage of all past ages, 
for whose welfare, prosperity and freedom no necessary sacrifice, even the 
laying down of life itself, can be too great. 

Ransom Jay Chase was born in Unity, N. H., March 23, 1840, and is a 
descendant of a very old New Hampshire family. His grandfather, Jacob 
Chase, died in that state in 1863, at the age of ninety-sis years. His 
father, who bore the same name, died from the effects of exposure, at the age 
of sixty-eight, in November, 1865. His mother, Sarah (Marshall) Chase, 
also descended from an old New Hampshire family, is now living at La 
Crosse, Wis., aged eighty-five years. When seven years old our subject 
moved with his parents to Nashua, N. H., where they remained for ten years. 
He attended the Nashua Literary institute, a well-known academy, but gained 
most of his education by private study. In 1857 the family removed to 
Sterling, Vernon county, Wis., where Ransom taught school during the 
winter seasons and labored on the home farm in the summer time. At the 
time of the outbreak of the Civil war he was reading law in Viroqua, Wis. 

In November, 1861 , he enlisted as a private in Company C, Eighteenth Wis- 
consin volunteer infantry. He was jnade a corporal while in camp at Mil- 
waukee, and arrived with his regiment at Shiloh on the eve of the battle at 
that point, and took part in that memorable engagement. He participated 
in the series of operations against Corinth, and was promoted to first ser- 
geant in June, 1862, for gallant and meritorious service. About this time 
he was recommended by his superior officers for appointment as second lieu- 
tenant in a new regiment then forming. The apjsointment was made by 
Gov. Lewis, but before the commission reached him, he was promoted to the 
same position in his own company, with which he preferred to remain. His 
next battle was that of Iuka, September 19, of the same year. He com- 
manded Company I, in the battle at Corinth, October 3 and 4, losing one- 
third of his command in killed or wounded. With his regiment, he assisted 
in the pursuit of Gen. Price, during which he commanded Companies C and 
I. On November 3, 1862, he was sent to the field hospital at Corinth, hav- 
ing become debilitated by hardships endured, and was stricken with bilious 
fever. Upon the abandonment of Corinth, he was removed to a hospital at 
La Grange, Miss., and thence to Memphis. Here he resigned, and arrived 
home March 1, 1863, his weight then being but ninety-six pounds. After a 
few months' recuperation on the home farm, he again took up the study of 
law, with Gregory & Pinney, at Madison, Wis. He was admitted to the 
bar in November, 1863, and continued his studies with H. W. and D. K. 
Tenney. In August, 1864, he once more entered the military service, as cap- 
tain of Company B, Forty-second Wisconsin volunteer infantry, a regiment 
recruited about Madison and his home in Vernon county. The regiment 




**MW 



fr ¥(R^< 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 657 

proceeded to Cario, 111., where its colonel was made post commander. Capt. 
Chase soon proceeded with his company to Springfield, 111., where he filled 
the position of provost-marshal, with his company as provost-guard, and in 
addition to these duties he acted as judge advocate on military commissions 
and courts martial. In April, 1865, he was sent to Rock Island, 111., to act 
as judge advocate for a general court martial. He remained there until 
June 20, following, when he was mustered out with his company. By virtue 
of his position at Springfield, he had charge of the remains of President 
Lincoln, till they were laid away in the cemetery. In September, 1865, he 
began the practice of his profession, as a member of the firm of Griswold & 
Chase at Madison, Wis. This connection lasted one year when it was ter- 
minated by the disqualifying illness of Mr. Griswold. A year thereafter the 
firm of Carpenter & Chase was formed, which enjoyed a large and remuner- 
ative practice, until the spring of 1873, when Capt. Chase was compelled by 
failing health to abandon his practice, and he removed to Sibley, Iowa. In 
the fall of 1874, after a restful period of more than a year, he opened an 
office in Sioux City, and at once took a leading position among the attorneys 
of northwestern Iowa. 

Naturally of comprehensive views and analytical mind, his inclination as 
a lawyer has been toward the consideration of those fundamental principles 
that are always so important in framing the judicial policy of a state; and 
his marked success in the trial of important cases has been largely due to the 
fact that he has contended for controlling principles rather than technical 
points. As a result of his ability in these fields of forensic discussion, a 
lasting record has been made by the impress of his thought upon the judi- 
cial history of the three great states whose borders meet at Sioux City. In 
the spring of 1883 he retired from the active practice of his profession, but 
has continued to act as advisory counsel for many of the large corporate 
interests, including those of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway com- 
pany, which he had represented as an attorney, and with many of which he 
has been personally associated. 

Since his retirement from the practice he has devoted a large portion of 
his time to the founding of new institutions and assisting in the development 
of the material resources of Sioux City, in which field he has shown the same 
ability and judgment which characterized his professional career. His work 
in this line has not only been crowned with that degree of success implied 
in the fact that he is one of the millionaires of the city, but that success is 
enhanced by the fact that it has been achieved in enterprises which have 
been in line with the progress and prosperity of the whole city, and that he 
stands in the foremost rank of those whose far-sighted and public-spirited 
policy has given to Sioux City its peculiar reputation for push and enter- 
prise. 



658 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

He is a Knight Templar Mason, member of the G. A. R., Loyal Legion 
and Society of the Army of the Tennessee. He belongs to the Unitarian 
church, together with his family. Politically he is a republican, but he has 
never been an office seeker. At one time his name was brought before the 
nominating convention for state senator in this district, but he was defeated 
on the 778th ballot by one vote. In 1866 Capt. Chase married Miss Mary 
M. Baker, of Providence, Pi. I., and they have five children living, to wit: 
Leora M., Lucius K., Effie A., Ransom J. and Millie M. The eldest son is 
a student in the Military academy at Faribault, Minn. The eldest daughter 
is the wife of V. C. Sherman, Esq., who is engaged in the practice of the law 
at Sioux City. 

George Washington Wakefield, district judge, Sioux City, was born in 
De Witt, De Witt county, 111., November 22, 1839. His father, Orin Wake- 
field, was born at Watertown, N. Y., August 27, 1808, and died at De Witt, 
111., May 3, 1885, having engaged in farming. His grandfather, Joseph 
Wakefield, was born at Amherst, N. H, October 7, 1779, and died at Water- 
town, N. Y., May 6, 1842, also a farmer. His great-grandfather, Joseph 
Wakefield, was born at Reading, Mass., May 9, 1752, and died at Windsor, 
Vt., June, 1827, a Revolutionary soldier and farmer. His great-great-grand- 
father, Thomas Wakefield, was born in Boston, August 5, 1727, and died at 
Amherst, N. H., in 1791, a carpenter and farmer. His great- great- great- 
grandfather, Joseph Wakefield, was born in Massachusetts in 1701, and died 
in 1732. His great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Wakefield, was born 
in Massachusetts in 1668, and died in 1738, a shipwright. His great-great- 
great-great-great-grandfather, John Wakefield, was born in 1640, and died 
in 1703, a shipwright, and resided in Boston. His great-great-great-great- 
great-great-grandfather, John Wakefield, shipwright and boatman, resided 
in Boston, and died in 1667. 

George W. Wakefield's ancestors for several generations were farmers, 
and his home was upon the farm in Illinois until the winter of 1868, when 
he came to Sioux City. His life was the usual one of a farmer's boy, attend- 
ing the country school in winter and working early and late upon the farm 
the rest of the year. In his eighteenth year he entered the preparatory de- 
partment of Lombard university at Galesburg, 111. He remained in school 
one year, and thereafter attended an occasional term, taking an elective 
course, giving special prominence to mathematics, in which branch he had a 
reputation for excelling. On July 27, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, of 
the Forty-first Illinois infantry, as a private soldier, and on August 7, 1861, 
was mustered into the United States service with the rank of corporal. Oc- 
tober 9, 1861, he went to the hospital with a severe attack of fever, from 
which he did not recover in time to join his regiment until the latter part of 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 659 

February, 1862. Thereafter he remained with his regiment until mustered 
out, August 20, 1864, with the rank of first sergeant. He participated among 
others in the battle of Shiloh, the sieges or Corinth, Vicksburg and Jackson. 
He was wounded in the charge of Lauman's brigade at Jackson, Miss., July 
12, 1863. After his discharge from service he attended Lombard university 
one year. He taught two or three terms of country school, and read law 
upon the farm, going twice a month to the county seat and reviewing his 
studies with Hon. Henry S. Greene, and at the end of two years' study was 
admitted to practice by the supreme court of Illinois, in January, 1868. In 
February he started to Sioux City, with the fixed intention of making it his 
home, arriving in Sioux City March 6, 1S6S, since which time he has been a 
resident of this, his chosen city. Having no office experience, he secured a 
desk in the office of Judge Pendleton, and devoted himself to his chosen pro- 
fession. In 1869 he was elected auditor of Woodbury county, and re-elected 
in 1871. During the years 1874 to 1S84, inclusive, he was engaged in the 
practice of law. In 1884 he was elected circuit judge for the second circuit 
of the Fourth judicial district, and in 1886 he was elected district judge, 
which office he now holds. October 29, 1873, he married Kate Pendleton, 
who died in 1S80, aged about thirty-six years. There were born to this union 
three children, named Albert Orin, Hiram Pendleton (deceased, 1882) and 
Bertha. 

Edwin Haakinson, pork and beef packer, Sioux City, was born in Ring- 
sager, Hedemarken, Norway, January 4, 1S44, and lived there till he was 
ten years old. In 1854, with his parents, Haakin and Ellene Amundson 
Haakinson, he came to America. The family settled in Winchester, Winne- 
bago county, Wis., and our subject finished his education in the common 
schools of that region. In September, 1861, he enlisted in the First Wis- 
consin heavy artillery, Company C, with which he served four years, being 
discharged in September, 1865. He took part in the battles of Chickamauga, 
Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Knoxville, thus seeing much hard 
service while yet a boy. After recpvering from an illness brought on by ex- 
posure (his frame was always slender), he was detailed as orderly on the 
staff of Gen. Lester, and while his command was stationed at Strawberry 
Plain, he acted for six months as courier and mail carrier. La the spring of 
1865, while carrying dispatches between his post and Gen. Thomas, at 
Warm Springs, N. C, he was surrounded by eight guerrillas, on a lonely 
mountain trail. Knowing that his life was the stake, he seized a moment 
when his captors, who relied on their number, were not alert, and urged on 
his thoroughbred horse, whose speed alone saved the rider's life. On 
delivering his dispatches to Gen. Lester, that officer complimented him on 
his skill in saving himself and the papers. Returning to Wisconsin, Mr. 



660 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Haakinson found employment in a ship -yard at De Pere, and subsequently 
took sub-contracts in ship building at Fort Howard. In 1870 he came to 
Woodbury county and opened a general store at Sloan. He at once took up 
a quarter section of land, and by purchase afterward became the owner of 
three additional farms. While conducting these he continued the mercan- 
tile business and engaged in the purchase of all kinds of produce and live 
stock, which he marketed in Chicago. Being successful in all his enter- 
prises, he soon felt the need of a larger field of operations. In 1883 he 
removed to Sioux City, and at once proceeded to organize the Union Stock 
Yards company, of which he has ever since been secretary. This was incor- 
porated during the following winter, and up to January 1, 1889, Mr. 
Haakinson was its superintendent. To this enterprise, founded by Mr. 
Haakinson's foresight and superior business capacity, Sioux City owes much 
of her present and prospective greatness. Three large pork-packing plants 
and immense beef -canning and sausage-making plants have been established 
by this means, and more are coming. March 1, 1889, the Haakinson pack- 
ing house began business, and one year later Mr. Haakinson became its sole 
owner. On the first of July, 1889, the beef -canning department was sold to 
the Sioux City Dressed Beef and Canning company, of which Mr. Haakinson 
is director, treasurer and manager. This has a capacity of 1,500 beeves, and 
the pork houses have an annual capacity of half a million hogs. These 
plants occupy ten acres of ground, of which the main buildings cover more 
than three acres. 

Mr. Haakinson is now the owner of 1,000 acres of Nebraska lands, and 
480 acres within the limits of Sioux City. He is one of the five men who 
organized and incorporated the Sioux City & Northern railroad company, 
and who built and now own one hundred miles of railroad under that name, 
which has proved a great advantage to Sioux City. He is also a managing 
director of the University of the Northwest, and a director of the Sioux City 
Eapid Transit Co. (Elevated road). Mr. Haakinson attends the Congrega- 
tional church with his family. He is a member of the G. A. B., and a 
straightforward republican in politics. While resident at Sloan, he served 
as township clerk, secretary of the school board, and resigned the post- 
mastership, which he had held six years, on his removal to Sioux City. In 
1885, he was elected county treasurer, which position he filled through the 
two succeeding years. In 1870 Mr. Haakinson married Miss Carrie Han- 
son, a native of Norway, who was brought by her parents to Wisconsin when 
an infant. This couple have been blessed with five sons and a daughter, the 
second of whom is deceased, named respectively : Emil H, Oscar, Carl E., 
William H, Frank A. and Ella Edvina. 

John Perht Allison, banker, Sioux City, was born in Peterboro, N. H, 
July 28, 1831, his parents being John and Abigail Perry Allison, the former 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 661 

a native of Dunbarton, and the latter of Rindge, N. H. He was prepared 
for college at Phillips Exeter academy and graduated at Harvard college in 
the class of 1854. In the fall of that year he entered the law office of Wells & 
Bacon at Exeter, N. H, and remained there till the spring of 1857, when he 
came to Sioux City and was admitted to the Sioux City bar soon after arriv- 
ing. He entered the bank of Henn, Williams, Cook & Co. as clerk, taking 
charge of same till they retired from business, when, forming the firm of 
Means, Allison & Co., they succeeded to the business of his late employers 
till 1860, when the firm consolidated with John H. Charles in the same busi- 
ness, under the firm name of Allison & Charles. On September 6, 1860, 
Mr. Charles retired, and Mr. Allison united with George Weare, who was 
conducting the only other banking and agency business in Sioux City, under 
the firm name of Weare & Allison, who have conducted a private banking 
business since. 

He was elected county judge of Woodbury county in the fall of 1859, 
and acted as such till January, 1861. He was appointed treasurer of Wood- 
bury county in the fall of 1859, and elected for three successive terms, clos- 
ing his service in January, 1886. He was a member of the school board for 
many years. He was a candidate on the democratic electoral ticket in 1880, 
and a candidate for congress on the democratic ticket in 1882 and again in 
1890. 

May 20, 1858, he married Miss Lizzie A. Thyng, a native of Brentwood, 
N. H, and four daughters have been born to them: Fannie A., wife of E. 
Myron Ferris, of Bozeman, Mont. ; Mary Olive, who died at the age of about 
one year; Hattie, and Mabel A., wife of A. J. More, of Sioux City. 

Okville J. Taylor, attorney at law, Sioux City, is numbered among the 
self-made men of this city of enterprising growth and phenomenal develop- 
ment. Born at Cuba, Allegany county, N. Y., he is the son of Jesse and 
Ephia (Bayles) Taylor, the former a native of Tunbridge Wells, England, 
and the latter of Vermont. When our subject was four years old, his par- 
ents removed to Middleton, Dane county, Wis., where they settled on a farm. 
There the son passed the next ten years of his life, and at the age of four- 
teen entered the State university at Madison. He worked his own way 
through the collegiate course of this institution, and graduated in 1871. A 
year later he graduated from the law department, and for the two years suc- 
ceeding, served as superintendent of schools for the western district of Dane 
county. In 1875 he came to Sioux City, and was associated with Capt. R. 
J. Chase for eight years in the practice of law. His firm enjoyed a very 
large practice, which was conducted with signal ability and success. Mr. 
Taylor was associated for a time with Mr. G. B. Healy, and later the firm 
became Taylor, Healy & Sherman. Since 1889 Mr. Taylor has been practic- 



662 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ing alone. For the last eight years he has been the attorney of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad company. He is an extensive real estate 
holder here and in Minnesota, California, Washington and Tennessee, and is 
interested in numerous Sioux City enterprises of magnitude and value. He 
organized the American National bank, of which he was for two years presi- 
dent, and is now a director, and is president of the National Bank of Sioux 
City, the largest bank in the state, also of the Iowa Safe Deposit and Trust 
company, and treasurer of the Northern Fire Insurance company. Mr. Tay- 
lor organized the Sioux City Street railway company, in which he held the 
controlling interest for some time, and later secured the charter of the Sioux 
City Electric railroad company, of which he is one of the incorporators. 
He is interested in a large wholesale and retail hardware establishment at 
Tacoma, Wash., and in a number of banking institutions in the county adja- 
cent to Sioux City, and manages to keep his numerous concerns in prosper- 
ous condition. Few men at his age have achieved such marked success. Mr. 
Taylor is a member of the Hawkeye club, a social organization, entertains 
liberal religious views and adheres to the anti-prohibition wing of the repub- 
lican party. October 23, 1878, he was married to Miss Eleanor S. Harris, 
who was born in Columbus, Wis. Three sons : King, Lewis and Orville, and 
an infant daughter comprise their offspring. 

George West Beggs, physician and surgeon, Sioux City, is of mixed 
English, Irish, Scotch and German ancestry, and a son of Rev. S. B. Beggs, 
author of '"Early History of Methodism in the West," and the first sta- 
tioned preacher in Chicago, 111. He was born in Plainfield, Will county, 
III, May 17, 1837. After passing three years in the Northwestern Univer- 
sity at Evanston, 111., and receiving the degree of A. M., he studied medicine 
in Bush Medical college, Chicago, 111., and graduated in 1862. He located 
in Naperville, DuPage county, 111., but in 1866 removed, and settled in Sioux 
City. In his practice, which embraces surgery as well as medicine, he has 
performed many of the more important operations with success. He is a 
member of the Sioux City Medical society, of the Fox Biver Medical 
society, of the Iowa State Medical society, and the American Medical asso- 
ciation. His contributions to medical literature consist of papers on "Influ- 
enza," "Progress of Medicine," etc., read before the county and state socie- 
ties, and a paper on " Meteorology and Epidemic Disease," published in the 
transactions of the State Medical society. During the war of the Rebellion 
he was surgeon of the One Hundred and Fifth Illinois volunteer infantry, 
and was promoted three times, and was with Sherman in his march to the sea. 
In 1865 he married Lilla A., daughter of J. Sims, Esq., of Plainfield, 111. 

George W. Felt is a son of George W. Felt, a merchant of Boston, 
Mass., and was born at Concord, N. H, July 27, 1838. He was educated in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 663 

the Boston schools, finishing at the English high school. When sixteen 
years of age he shipj)ed before the mast and made a voyage to San Fran- 
cisco, Cal., and from there to points in South America. In 1855 he went to 
Galena, 111., and fovmd employment as a clerk in the large wholesale house 
of L. S. Felt & Co., with whom he continued until the war of the rebellion 
broke out, when he enlisted as a private in Company G, Third Missouri cav- 
alry volunteers, Col. Glover commanding. With this regiment he saw much 
service of a minor kind, until it was removed from northeast Missouri to the 
southern border of the state. Meanwhile he had advanced through the 
lesser grades of rank, and was a first lieutenant and had passed through his 
first important engagement, Hartville, Mo. He was at the capture of Little 
Rock, and in the series of engagements preceding it, and in the long list of 
actions under Steele in his vain efforts to make a junction with Banks. 
Upon the muster out of his company he again took a position with L. S. 
Felt & Co., and remained with them until 186S, when he came to Sioux City 
and engaged in business. Mr. Felt enlarged his operations and established 
himself on the frontier, having large trading-posts among the Indians at 
various points on the Missouri river, at which he bought immense quantities 
of furs, pelts, buffalo robes and hides. During all this time Sioux City was 
really the center of his thought, and he was satisfied that there was a brill- 
iant future for it both from its situation and its men. He acquired, in 1881, 
about twenty-seven acres of land on the Floyd, now known as " Felt's Addi- 
tion," and the investment gave him large return, for it soon began to develop 
as choice railroad property. Meanwhile, Sioux City was growing rapidly, 
and its mercantile interests began to assume large proportions. There was a 
clamor for manufactories, as it was claimed that a permanent prosperity 
could not be looked for simply from the expansion of mercantile interests. 
Without stopping to debate the question, Mr. Felt, who was then the owner 
of a full section of land, remarkable for its beauty and level surface, aided 
in forming a syndicate, now known as the Leeds Improvement & Land Com- 
pany, which has taken upon itself the duty of encouraging and locating 
manufacturing interests in Sioux City. Mr. Felt retained a large interest in 
the company, and is now a director in it, and by his efforts and personal 
influence aided materially in securing the Daniel E. Paris stove works. This 
was a grand move in the interest of Sioux City, and to facilitate the trans- 
actions Mr. Felt purchased the country seat of Mr. Paris on the Hudson 
river. Mr. Felt was united in marriage, November 15, 1865, to Miss Anna 
E. Crooks, of Lexington, Ky., and has two children living: Anna E. and 
Ethel Adelia Felt. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a 
Mason of Knight Templar degree. The subject of this sketch has passed 
through many vicissitudes in his life, but is a man well preserved, and his 



664 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

active brain is yet likely to organize many movements of great benefit to the 
city of his home. 

Hon. William Hamilton Dent, banker, Le Mars, son of George and Com- 
fort (Ijams) Dent, was born at Magnolia, Putnam county, 111., in 1843. His 
parents were of English, Welsh, Irish and Scotch extraction, and his father, 
the late Hon. George Dent, held many positions of honor and trust, covering 
a period of forty years, and among others was at one time a member of the 
Illinois legislature. His grandfather, John E. Dent, was also a prominent 
politician of Virginia, and the father and grandfather of Mrs. Dent also fig- 
ured conspicuously as politicians of Maryland. 

W. H. Dent received an academic education in Illinois, and afterward 
passed several years in his brother's law office in Chicago, but not seeing so 
much promise of success in professional as in business life, and finding the 
office work too confining, we find him, in 1866, in connection with another 
brother, Henry Clay Dent, dealing in grain and stock at Leland and Minonk, 
111. December 6, 1871, he married Miss Cora, daughter of the late Silas W. 
Cheever, of Ottawa, 111., and grand-daughter of the late Jeremiah Strawn, 
also of Ottawa, and early in 1872 he became a member of the firm of Meir- 
hofer, Dent & Co., manufacturers of agricultural implements at Ottawa. In 
1875, however, he removed to Le Mars, purchased of William Rymers his 
banking interests, and became a private banker. In 1876 he erected the 
Dent block, now occupied by the Le Mars National bank, which was incor- 
porated in 1883, and of which Mr. Dent was made, and is still, jiresident. 
In 1886 he was elected to the Twenty-first general assembly, and in 1887 he 
was, by acclamation, tendered the nomination to congress, a position he de- 
clined, and in the following year declined nomination to the Twenty-second 
general assembly. The senatorial convention Was held later, and notwith- 
standing it was known he was to be in California throughout the campaign he 
received the nomination, and although there was a republican majority of 
1,000 to overcome he was defeated by but a few votes, and. had he expressed 
any desire for election, or had he been on the field the result would easily 
have been changed. In 1889 he was nominated by the democrats of Plym- 
outh county as candidate for state representative, and had a majority of 940, 
over a very wealthy and well-known farmer. He is interested in various enter- 
prises, and feels a lively interest in all matters of local importance. His busi- 
ness life having been successful, he is a cheerful and liberal contributor to 
everything having for its object the future growth and prosperity of his chosen 
place of residence, and the worthy poor find in him a friend and one whose 
sympathies do not end in wordy nothings. He has been urged by his friends 
to allow them to use his name as a candidate for congress, but has steadily 
declined, as his private business and his position as president of the Le Mars 




^t&&7*- 




GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 667 

National bank demands his entire time. He was not an applicant for the 
position of commissioner to the World's Columbian Exposition, at Chicago, 
but had the honor given him by Gov. Boies as a personal compliment, and 
because of his known capability. Mr. and Mrs. Dent have had two daughters 
born to them, namely: Harriette C, born February 7, 1873, and Edythe C, 
born April 1, 1875. In political matters Mr. Dent is a firm believer in the 
democratic doctrines, and has done much for that party. He is a Thirty- 
second degree Mason, and although not a member of any church, contributes 
regularly to the support of the Episcopal church in Le Mars. 

Geoege Weake is a direct descendant of Meshach Weare, one of the 
early governors of New Hampshire, and was born in Derby line, Vt., De- 
cember 3, 1834. His parents, John and Cynthia (Ashley) Weare, were both 
natives of New Hampshire. In 1836 they moved to Allegan, Mich., and 
twelve years later to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Here our subject began his com- 
mercial life as clerk in a store, at two dollars per month. He arrived in 
Sioux City, December 26, 1855, as representative of the land and banking 
firm of Greene, Weare, Graves & Co., in which his elder brother, the late 
John Weare, of Cedar Rapids, and himself are partners. This concern was 
dissolved after the panic of 1857, and the business was continued by George 
Weare, and on September 6, 1860, the present banking house of Weare & 
Allison was established. They first occupied the northeast corner of Sixth 
and Douglas streets, and subsequently moved across Douglas to the site of 
the city library. In 1862 they located at Third and Pearl, and twelve years 
later occupied their present building, on Pearl above Fourth street. Mr. 
Weare has the reputation of being a sound and conservative business man, 
and gives close attention to his own affairs. He was a member of the first 
city council and served as one of the early mayors. In politics he has always 
been an outspoken democrat. He is a member of the Masonic order and 
sustains the Episcopal church, in which his family are communicants. In 
1857 he married Mary, daughter of Gabriel Carpenter, a pioneer settler of 
Cedar Rapids. A son and three daughters have blessed this union, namely : 
Henry G., Susan H, Kittie C. (Mrs. John H. Nason) and Mary E. (Mrs. 
Howard G. Peirce). The son is engaged in cattle raising in Wyoming, with 
headquarters at Spearfish, S. Dak. 

William T. Ckaig, retired farmer, Sioux City, was born in Bracken 
county, Ky, January 24, 1818. He is a son of Whitfield Craig, who was a 
farmer of Virginia. His grandfather, Lewis Craig, was a Baptist minister 
and came to Kentucky in 1781. William T. spent his young days in his na- 
tive state and was reared on a farm, and agriculture has always been his 
principal occupation. He married Martha L., daughter of Thomas and A. 
W. (Whip) Worthington, of Mason county, Ky. To this union were born 



568 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

four children, one only now living (Mrs. C. C. Orr). Mr. Craig came to 
Sioux City in January, 1880. In 1883 he purchased his beautiful home and 
since then has added many conveniences to the already fine residence. He 
is a member of the Baptist church. In politics he is a democrat. 

Nicholas Tiedeman, retail groceryman, Sioux City, was born in Holstein, 
Germany, October 29, 1842, and is a son of Henry and Margarethe (Nagle) 
Tiedeman. The father died when our subject was but two years of age. The 
mother still resides in Germany. Mr. Tiedeman's education was received in 
the common schools at home, and he assisted his father at farming until he 
was twenty-three years of age. When he came to America, in the spring of 
1866, he farmed for a year in Scott county, Iowa, then removed to Wood- 
bury county, taking up a government homestead in Moville township, where 
he remained for six years, then came to Sioux City, and for one year he 
worked at common labor, after which he ran a hotel for a year. He then 
engaged in the grocery business, in connection with F. W. Anthon, which 
partnership existed for ten years, at the end of which time he purchased the 
interest of Mr. Anthon, and carried on the business alone. March 22, 1874, 
he married Anna Bremer, a native of Germany, whose parents are both 
deceased. To this union were born three children: Henry, deceased in 
infancy, born in 1875; John Albert, born January 9, 1877, and Edmund 
Henry, born December 3, 1879. Mr. Tiedeman's family attend the English 
Lutheran church. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 282, and 
an A. O. U. W. He was a member of the city council for one term, and 
politically, gives his support to the democratic party. 

Chables Gilmoee Culvek, merchant, Sioux City, was born near Cam- 
bridge, Washington county, N. Y., October S, 1840, and is the ninth of the 
twelve children of Nathan and Eliza (Gilmore) Culver, whose ancestors were 
Scotch-Irish. He remained until sixteen years of age on the home farm, 
attending the country schools and those at Cambridge, and then went to 
Sandwich, 111., where he was employed as clerk in a dry goods store until the 
outbreak of the Civil war. On the day succeeding President Lincoln's first 
call for troops, our subject, then in his twenty-first year, enlisted as a private 
soldier. His company was the first to report for duty at Chicago, and was 
assigned to the Eighth regiment, under Col. Dick Oglesby. This regiment 
was stationed at Cairo, and mustered out at the end of three months, the 
period for which it was enlisted. On September 2, 1862, Mr. Culver again 
entered the service, as second lieutenant, Company H, 105th I. V. I., and on 
December 17, following, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and was made 
captain of Company C,, in the same regiment, August 3, 1863. With his 
command he was mustered out June 7, 1865. Capt. Culver served with his 
regiment in the first brigade, Third division of the Twentieth army corps, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 669 

under the command of Gen. Benj. Harrison, in the army of the Cumberland. 
He was in command of part of the foragers who furnished the subsistence 
for Gen. Sherman's army in its famous march from Atlanta to the sea. It 
will thus be seen that Capt. Culver bore ho inconsiderable part in securing 
the success of a hitherto unprecedented military achievement — that of sus- 
taining a large army in the midst of a hostile people, with no established 
base of supplies. Among the engagements in which our subject figured may 
be mentioned those of Dug's Gap, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Cassville, Ack 
worth, Culp's Farm, Kenesaw, Lost Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, 
Savannah, Lantonville, Averysboro, Bentonville. Goldsboro and Raleigh. 
He was present at the surrender of Gen. J. E. Johnston and army, at the 
grand review in Washington, and was discharged at Chicago, June 13, 1865. 
Returning to his former home at Sandwich, in September, 1865, Capt. Cul- 
ver opened a dry goods store, which he conducted for three years, then sold 
out and removed to Watseka, 111., where he engaged in the same business 
for ten years, during which time he served as a member of the board of 
county supervisors and also as member of the republican state central com- 
mittee from the Eighth congressional district. As a member of the state 
militia he was quartermaster of the Ninth regiment, I. N. G., which position 
he resigned in 1880, on his removal from the state. In the last named year 
he became a resident of Sioux City, and engaged in the retail dry goods 
business on a large scale. In social and business life Capt. Culver is no less 
distinguished than as a soldier, and now occupies the finest store of its kind 
in Sioux City. He is one of the three to whom belongs the honor of having 
originated the Corn Palace idea, the outgrowth of which has already caused 
four of these "world wonder" exhibits to be erected in Sioux City, as a 
direct result of which the city has not only been given the name of the "Corn 
Palace City," but has also induced a large per cent of the capital required 
for the erection of the many magnificent business structures here, to come 
hither from Boston and other eastern money centers. He is a member of 
Tyrian Lodge, A. P. & A. M., Hancock Post, G. A. R., and Iowa Command- 
ery, Loyal Legion. With his family he attends the Episcopal church, and 
continues his allegiance to the republican party. On July 13, 1865, Capt. 
Culver was married, at Sandwich, 111., to Miss Marie, daughter of Ely 
Barnes, a descendant of an old French family, and to this union has been 
born one child, a son, Howard F. 

Allen Armstrong (deceased), prior to his death, was one of the leading- 
educators of the northwest. He was born in Belleville, Richland county, 
Ohio, July 21, 1838. The ancestors of our subject have lived in America 
about a century and a half, having originally come from Scotland, and his 
immediate ancestors and family, especially an uncle, were very prominent in 



670 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the educational world. The early education of Allen was conducted in 
Plymouth, Ohio, where his father and mother, George and Elizabeth Arm- 
strong, then resided. Graduating from the high school there in his sixteenth 
year he taught school for a time, after which he resumed his studies, and 
graduated from the State Normal school, at Lebanon, Ohio, and from Bald- 
win university, where he took a classical course. During the time of his 
normal course he was called home by the death of his father, where he re- 
mained for a year or two assisting his mother in settling his father's busi- 
ness, he being the eldest of eight children, sis of whom were then living. He 
then taught school in several places in Ohio, among them being Blanchester, 
Cadiz, Ripley, Columbus and Springfield, at which latter place he was super- 
intendent of the public school two years. One of the principal lady teachers 
under him at Springfield was Miss Mary Harrison, to whom he was married 
August 19, 1868, and with his bride he came west to Council Bluffs, where 
he assumed the superintendency of the public school, and his wife filled the 
position of one of the leading teachers. They remained there until 1876, 
at which time Sioux City, being in demand of a capable instructor, sent a 
committee in the persons of J. P. Allison and Dr. J. M. Knott, to seek such 
an one. One of the places visited by them was Council Bluffs, where they 
met our subject, and upon their return to Sioux City they sent him an invi- 
tation to come there. Mr. Armstrong accepted this position and filled it 
until his death, which occurred November 21, 1888. In Cincinnati, in 1858, 
the first meeting of the National Educational association was held, it 
having been organized in Philadelphia in 1857. Mr. Armstrong was in at- 
tendance, and was absent from but few meetings of that association, being 
present in Chicago in 1887, and feeling keenly disajspointed that ill health 
prevented his going to San Francisco in 1888. He became a life member of 
the association in Baltimore, in 1876, and was one of the number who met 
on the Centennial grounds in Philadelphia, in 1876, and enrolled themselves 
under the name "The International Educational Association." From the 
proceedings and addresses of the association at the meeting held at Nash- 
ville, Tenn., in the year 1889, under the head of Necrology, we take the fol- 
lowing: "Mr. Armstrong was ever ready to perform faithfully and earnestly 
every duty imposed upon him by the association or its officers, and those of 
us who knew him so well, can testify that it was his highest and greatest 
ambition to have all his work well and thoroughly done, and no man ever 
possessed a keener dislike for superficial work. He was ready at all times 
to raise his voice, in his plain but emphatic manner, against everything that 
even in the slightest degree verged upon professional discourtesy. The 
National Educational association has indeed lost a true friend, an earnest 
educator, and one of its most valuable members." Mr. Armstrong was a 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 671 

member of the Congregational church, and an ardent republican. He had 
no children, leaving only a widow to survive him. He was at one time presi- 
dent of the Iowa State Teachers' association, and during his twenty years' 
residence in Iowa, never failed to attend their meetings but once, and that 
was because it would have taken him from his family on Christmas day. 
Howard C. Teipp, editor of the Kingsley " Times," was born in Piano, 
111., April 4, 1861, the son of Charles and Fannie (Foster) Tripp, both na- 
tives of New York. The father is by occupation a farmer, and is engaged in 
farming in Stanton township, Plymouth county, Iowa, having moved from 
Steward, III, in 1881. Politically he is a republican. Howard C. Tripp was 
reared on a farm near Piano, and received his early education at the district 
schools, completing it at the Iowa State Normal school, which he attended 
two terms, after which he taught for five years. He learned the printer's 
trade at Cedar Rapids, and has been either associate editor or managing ed- 
itor of five successful country newspapers. March 11, 1889, he purchased 
the Kingsley "Times," which he has been conducting ever since. Politically 
he is an independent republican, and is well known and has the respect of all 
his associates. August 26, 1890, he married Miss Isabelle M. Steele, of King- 
sley, Iowa, Miss Steele was principal of the Kingsley high schools. Howard 
Carlton Tripp is also a poet and novelist, having published " Legends of 
Lemars," and " Ballad Blossoms," two volumes of poetry, and " The Grass- 
hopper Granger," a humorous novel. He is also a contributor, both in prose 
and poetry, to many leading literary periodicals, and is said to be, by those 
competent to judge, a writer of more than ordinary ability. The lines given 
below were by his pen: 

THE ENCHANTED HILL. 



An ancient legend, good or ill, 
Describes a fair, enchanted hill 
Whose summit, reaching to the skies, 
Contained a very precious prize 
For him who would ascend to find, 
Yet did not cast a look behind; 
One backward glance, aye, one alone, 
Would change the climber into stone! 

And he forever more would be 

A stony statue fair to see, 

And evermore in seeming pride 

Adorn the hill's enchanting side, 

A guiding star in future time 

For those who did attemp to climb — 

But all who tried the prize to find 

Somehow would cast one look behind. 



672 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Upon that hillside did a throng 
Of sirens sing an endless song. 
Its groves were beautiful to see, 
With shady dells, fair as could be; 
With blossoms that did charm the eyes 
Of all who clambered for the prize; 
With flowing streams like rills of wine, 
And fruits of Paradise divine. 

And many did attemp to climb, 
So says the tale of olden time, 
Until the hillside grew more fair 
With lifeless statues standing there, 
With lifeless statues gazing back 
Upon a former place or track, 
Where some fair siren in disguise 
Had tried to win them from the skies. 

Life is that fair enchanted hill, 
And heaven the prize, for good or ill, 
We climb the realm of Ood to find. 
Our vices make us look behind. 
Our vices are the sirens fair 
Who woo us backward to despair, 
Unto the sin-joys we have known, 
Till death shall change us into stone! 
Kinsgley, Iowa. 

Dr. Fkanklin Wixon was born in Steuben county, N. Y., January 17, 
1833, his parents, Daniel and. Deborah Wixon, having located in that vicin- 
ity at an early date. His early education was received in both private and 
public schools, and he entered college at Cleveland, Ohio, in the fall of 1852, 
graduating in the medical course in 1854. He returned home immediately, 
but remained for a brief time only, then came west, locating on the site that 
now is North Sioux City. In connection with his profession he carried on 
the real estate business, carrying on this business and his practice of medi- 
cine until 1863, during which period he was a regular contributor to the 
Sioux City "Kegister" and some monthly periodicals. From the spring of 
1863 until the spring of 1864 he was engaged during an Indian outbreak as 
army surgeon in Company B, First Dakota cavalry volunteers, under Brig.- 
Gen. Sully. His marriage to Mary I. B. Burnham, December 31, 1857, was 
the second marriage ceremony that was performed in Sioux City. In 1878 
Mr. Wixon was. appointed physician to the Rose Bud Indian agency at 
Yankton, Dak. He accepted this position, but a year later resigned on 
account of failing health, but returning, remained at Yankton until 1881, when 
he was taken seriously ill, and on May 14 he fell into that dreamless sleep from 
which there is no awakening- on this earth. There were left to survive him a 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 673 

widow and two daughters: Minnie, now of Chicago, 111., and Flora, of Mis- 
soula, Mont. He always took a very active part in politics, being a very 
stanch democrat, and his name is very prominently connected with the early 
official history of Sioux City, and with the development of the Masonic lodge 
there, in which he took a great interest. 

Geokge Douglas Pekkins, editor of the Sioux City "Journal," was born in 
Holley, Orleans county, N. Y., February 29, 1840. He is a son of John D. and 
Lucy F. (Forsyth) Perkins, natives, respectively, of Connecticut and New 
York, and descendants of old New England families. The father was an 
attorney by profession, and came west on account of failing health when 
George was six years old. After spending a year in Indiana and two years 
in Milwaukee, he located at Baraboo, "Wis., where he died in 1850. From 
this time on George began to exert himself for his own support, in the mean- 
time attending the public schools and receiving some private instruction. 
When sixteen years old he started to learn the printing business, his first, 
work at that trade being on the Baraboo " Republic." In 1860 George and his 
brother, Henry, removed to Cedar Falls, this state, where they established 
the "Gazette." In August, 1863, George enlisted as a private soldier, and be- 
came a member of Company B, Thirty-first Iowa infantry. At Helena, Ark., 
he was taken violently sick, and from the hospital there he was transferred 
to Jefferson Barracks, Mo., where, on January 12, 1864, he was discharged. 
The doctors said he was only going home to die. An abscess on the liver 
turned out to be his complaint, and he was long in recovering his health. 
In 1866 the brothers sold out the " Gazette" at Cedar Falls, and removed to 
Chicago, where George D. served for nearly three years as agent of the North- 
western Associated Press. In April, 1869, he bought the "Journal" of Mah- 
lon Gore, and removed to Sioux City, taking possession of the office on May 1 
of that year, and he has been continuously its editor since. In 1870, George 
D. having been joined by his brother Henry, established the "Daily Journal." 

The firm of Perkins Bros., with the exception of two years from the 
summer of 1S76, when George D. conducted the business alone, was contin- 
ued up to the time of the death of H. A., in November, 1884. The business 
was then transferred to a stock company, under the name of Perkins Bros. 
Co., with George D. as president and manager. He was elected to the state 
senate in 1873, and served one term. In 1890 he was elected by nearly 
1,000 plurality over the democratic, independent and prohibition candidates, 
to represent the Eleventh Iowa district in congress. During Gov. Gear's 
administration he was made commissioner of immigration, which office ex- 
pired by limitation of statute at the end of two years. He was appointed 
United States marshal for the Northern district of Iowa by President Arthur, 
and he was removed from that place by President Cleveland under a charge 



674 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of "offensive partisanship." Mr. Perkins was a delegate at large from this 
state to the national republican convention in Cincinnati in 1876, to the 
national convention at Chicago in 1880, and again to the national conven- 
tion at Chicago in 1888. He has been an active worker in the republican 
party since the Fremont campaign in 1856, and cast his first vote for presi- 
dent for Mr. Lincoln in 1864. He began business for himself when he was 
twenty years of age, and has been thus employed since that time. He was 
six years with the Cedar Falls " Gazette," and is now in his twenty-second 
year with the Sioux City "Journal." Mr. Perkins is a member of the G. A. 
E., and sustains the Congregational church, with which members of his 
family are united. In 1869 he married Louise E. Julian, a native of New 
York city. They have five living children, namely: Florence, Samuel, Clara, 
William and Thomas. 

John Hagy. The youth of our subject was spent in the rural districts of 
old Virginia, where his parents, Joseph and Susan (Warren) Hagy, were 
farmers in Washington county. John was born in that county August 15, 
1822, and at an early age was put under bonds to serve an apprenticeship of 
five years to a joiner. After the expiration of his term of service he worked 
at his trade in the immediate vicinity of his home until 1845. In the spring 
of that year he moved to Mahaska county, Iowa, and followed his trade there 
until 1855, when he came to Sioux City. In the summer of 1856 he returned 
to Mahaska county to get his family, having decided to make his home per- 
manently in Sioux City. They reached Sioux City in September of that 
year, and at once commenced to run a hotel, which they named the Hagy 
house. He conducted this until 1S65, when he was elected to the position of 
sheriff, which he filled for the next two years. Upon the expiration of his 
term of office he opened a private boarding house on Pierce street, near 
Fourth. Here he remained until 1887, when he sold out, built a neat and 
comfortable home on the same street between Twelfth and Thirteenth streets, 
and settled down to enjoy the fruits of his labors. Mr. Hagy was married in 
Pella, Marion county, Iowa, October 30, 1851, to Miss Mary Post, a native 
of Toronto, Canada. Five children have been born to them, namely: Char- 
lie (deceased), William, Matilda (deceased), Amelia (deceased) and Georgie. 
Mr. Hagy is a member of the Masonic Lodge, the I. O. O. F., and affiliates 
with the democratic party. In his religious views he believes the Baptist 
church, of which he is a member, to be the best exponent of Christianity. 

Charles K. Smith, state oil inspector, Sioux City, and one of the pioneer 
settlers, was born in Fort Plain, Montgomery county, N. Y., February 15, 
1835. He is the son of Moses and M. (Klock) Smith, natives of New York. 
Our subject attended the common schools in his native place until sixteen 
years of age, when he was sent to Governor Lawrence academy, where he re- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 675 

mained two years. He then engaged in the hardware business with his 
father until twenty years old when he went to Rochester, N. Y., and worked 
in a hardware store a year and a half. He then removed to Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, where he stayed until November, 1855, when he went to Sioux City, 
and there served as postmaster through James Buchanan's administration, 
having in connection with the postoffice a hardware store. He continued the 
hardware business until 1864, when he sold out and built a hotel, which he 
ran until 1871, when he sold that and moved to Merrill, where he built an 
elevator and store, which he operated until 1873. In that year he disposed 
of his holdings here and removed to Le Mars, where he was in business two 
years and a half, after which he returned to Sioux City, entering into the 
real estate and insurance business, which he still continues. He was ap- 
pointed state oil insrjector under Governor Boies. Mr. Smith was married in 
August, 1860, to Miss Annie, daughter of John and Abigail Kimball, natives 
of New York. Three children have been born to this union: Lizzie, Fred 
and Frank. In 1862, during the Indian troubles here, he formed an artillery 
company of twenty men, of which he was captain, to protect the frontier, and 
did very valuable service for the city as well as the state. In politics Mr. 
Smith is a democrat, and has served as mayor of Sioux City. He is identified 
with the Masonic fraternity. 

George Henkt Schuster was born in Callstadt, Rhenish Bavaria, Ger- 
many, February 26, 1818, the son of John and Helen (Kisel) Schuster, the 
former a native of Callstadt, and the latter of Weinheim, Baden, Germany. 
Early in life he devoted himself to the study of English, German and French, 
in all of which he is a very advanced scholar, but as years advanced he found 
it necessary to engage in some mercantile pursuit, so his study of literature 
was abandoned and he engaged in business as a grocer. He followed that 
business for some time, then went as clerk in a wholesale drug house. After 
clerking for a year he was engaged by the same firm as a traveling salesman, 
which position he held for about three years. He was then called upon by 
the German government to take his place in the army, but after serving- 
thirty days he hired a substitute, paying him a sum equivalent to $300 of 
United States money, to serve four years, while he was again engaged as a 
clerk. In 1S44 he had a desire to see some of the world outside his native 
land, so he took passage for Africa. While he was there, there was a call 
for men to join the French army, as that nation was then struggling for pos- 
sessions in Africa, so he enlisted and served until 1819, during which period 
he was wounded three times. He returned to Germany and it being the 
time of the revolution, he took part and was a major on the revolutionists' 
side. During an encounter he was dangerously wounded, and was taken to 
a hospital in France. During his confinement there he received word that 



676 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the government had forbidden his return to Germany, so, immediately upon 
convalescing, he set sail for America and settled in St. Louis, where he en- 
gaged in the fancy goods trade. He remained there until 1857, when he 
sold out and came to Sioux City, and in company with his brother-in-law, 
opened a general store. December 25, 1859, they were btirned out and lost 
about $11,000, but at once rebuilt, putting up the first stone, and brick in 
Sioux City, and their store being ready the coming fall, they put in a stock 
of general merchandise. In 1882 he sold the stock and rented the store, and 
is now enjoying the fruit of his labors. In 1855 he married Eadelina Maras, 
of St. Louis, and to them have been born five children, namely : Helen, Tilda, 
Mary, George and William. 

William B. Teedway is a grandson of David Tredway, a Connecticut 
farmer. His father, Bela R. Tredway, born in Colchester, Conn., went to 
New York, where he married Philatheta Marshall, a native of that state, and 
settled in Warren, Herkimer county. Late in life he engaged very success- 
fully in the practice of law. Our subject was born January 27, 1835, in 
Warren, and fitted for college at Oxford academy. He did not enter col- 
lege, however, but at the age of sixteen years went to De Kalb county, 111., 
where he taught school and read law. The second clay of January, 1856, found 
him at Sioux City, and in that year he pre-empted the southwest quarter of 
section eleven, township eighty-nine, range forty-seven, now a part of the 
city. Together with his brother and T. Bruguier, he engaged in freighting 
upon the Missouri river. The Tredway brothers accumulated 1,000 acres of 
land in the vicinity of William's pre-emption, which they used as a ranch 
for their cattle till 1866, when William settled thereon and engaged in farm- 
ing. He continued there until 1881, when, having acquired the Bruguier 
homestead at the mouth of the Big Sioux, now a part of Riverside Park, he 
moved to that location and continued farming till 1887. He then sold out 
and moved to Douglas street, near Eleventh, where he built a handsome 
residence in 1890. The sale of his real estate holdings netted a handsome 
competence, and he now enjoys the fruit of his industry and foresight. Mr. 
Tredway served several terms as county supervisor in early days, and was for 
two terms a member of the state agricultural board, having charge of the 
state college at Ames. He has always affiliated with the democratic party, 
and sustains the Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member. He is 
not himself connected with any kind of society. In 1872 he married Miss 
Thalia B. Bishop, of Bristol, Conn., and they have one son, Balph B., now a 
student in school. 

James Hutchins, Sioux City. The subject of this sketch was born in Bath, 
Somerset, England, November 19, 1831, and is the second son of James and 
Elizabeth (Manns) Hutchins, the former a native of the same county, and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 677 

the latter a native of Wiltshire, England. He can trace his ancestors back 
to his grandparents on the paternal side. Their names were William and 
Edith Hutching. His father was born in county Wilts, and baptized in the 
diocese of Sarem, March 2, 1788. Our subject's education was very limited, 
his school days ending at the age of eleven years, when he was put under the 
charge of a tailor, with whom he was to serve an apprenticeship until eight- 
een years old. With him he remained until September, 1851, when he set 
sail for America, landing at New York, where he engaged as a clerk for a 
clothing house and served until 1855. In that year he came west, with his 
brother, to Dubuque, Iowa, where his brother accepted a position as cutter, 
while James continued traveling until he reached Winona, Minn. Ter., where 
he took a position as cutter with Messrs. Shattuck & Newman. There he 
stayed until the following spring, when he took the first boat to Dubuque, 
where he remained but a short time, then went to Sioux City, where he took 
up his old trade as a tailor, and opened the first supply of cloth and tailor's 
trimmings in Sioux City, by a tailor. He pursued this business for some 
years, and sold out and engaged in the stove and hardware business, under 
the name of Collamer & Hutchins. He afterward sold out to Mr. James M. 
Bacon, since which he has not been actively engaged in business. October 
22, 1861, Mr. Hutchins was married to Rebecca H. Dennis, a native of New 
Jersey, of German-English descent. Her early life was spent in Ohio and 
Indiana, and she came to Sioux City with T. J. Kinkaid and family. Mr. 
Hutchins is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the lodge at Sioux City, 
and belongs to the Presbyterian church. In politics he is and has been a re- 
publican, and was one of Sioux City's first aldermen. He was also township 
clerk and assessor at an early day, and served in the fire department for over 
ten years, until the department was changed from a volunteer to a paid service 
department. 

Thomas Paeke Gere, civil engineer, Sioux City, at present, 1890-91, 
junior member of the firm of Hubbard & Gere, and manager of the Sioux 
City Linseed Oil Works, first visited Sioux City in 1871, as locating engi- 
neer of the Sioux City & St. Pard railway, and in 1881 was stationed here 
as superintendent of the Sioux City division of the Chicago, St. Paul, Min- 
neajDolis & Omaha railway company. He became impressed by the com- 
mercial advantages manifest in the location of the city, and upon retiring 
from railroad service as an occupation, located in Sioux City in 1883, and 
with Mr. E. D. Hubbard, began the construction of the large plant known as 
the Linseed Oil Works. This construction was completed in 1S81, under 
Mr. Gere's direct supervision, and he has since resided here as manager of 
the business. 

While in no way connected with real estate investments, he has usually 



678 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

been in the councils of the men who have, during these years, been the prin- 
cipal promoters of the enterprises to which is attributed so much of the 
growth and advancement of the city, notably, the securing of additional rail- 
road facilities; and he directed in their order, the engineering operations on 
the Sioux City & Des Moines (which resulted in the construction of the 
Manilla line of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and the extension to 
Onawa of the Maple River branch of the Chicago & Northwestern), the Sioux 
City & Denver (culminating in the Pacific Short Line), and the Sioux City & 
Northern railroad lines. 

The subject of this sketch was the youngest son of George Morgan and 
Sarah Champlin (Parke) Gere, and was born at Wellsburg, Chemung 
county, N. Y., September 10, 1842. On his father's side, the descent is 
traced to George Gere, born in the county of Devon, England, in 1621, who, 
with a brother two years younger, arrived in Boston in 1635, and who was 
also one of the early settlers of New London, Conn., where, in 1658, he 
married Sarah Allyn. 

Captain Rezin Gere, great-grandfather of Thomas, was killed at Wyom- 
ing, Pa., in the war of the Revolution. 

The mother's family was descended from Thomas Parke, of Wisbeck, in 
Cambridgeshire, England, 1618. Richard Parke settled in Cambridge, 
Mass., in 1636, where he owned 640 acres of land upon which Harvard col- 
lege now stands. Benjamin Parke, great-grandfather of Mr. Gere, was 
killed in command of a company at the battle of Bunker Hill. His son, 
Thomas Parke, with his wife, Eunice Champlin (a descendant of the Cham- 
plin family of Newport, R. I.), was the first settler of Dimock township, 
Susquehanna county, Pa., and their daughter, Mr. Gere's mother, was the 
first child born in that township (1802). ■ 

Mr. Gere's father, with his family, removed successively to Dimock town- 
ship, Pa. (October, 1842), Waukegan, 111. (May, 1850), Aliens Grove, 
Wis. (March, 1851), Winona, Minn. (July, 1852), and Chatfield, Minn. (July 
1854). Thomas attended such public schools as were available on the 
frontier, and was, later, a student six terms at the Chatfield academy, pay- 
ing for his tuition with money earned as a flagman in a surveying party sub- 
dividing government land on the headwaters of the Des Moines river, at the 
age of sixteen. Having finished the course afforded at that institution, he 
continued his studies at home until the breaking out of the war in 1861. 
Volunteering three times, before gaining the consent of his parents to his 
enlistment, he was mustered into the service as a private in Company B, 
Fifth regiment, Minnesota volunteers, January 17, 1862, at Fort Snelling, 
Minn. He was appointed first sergeant, March 5, 1862; second lieutenant, 
March 24, 1862. His company was stationed at Fort Ridgely during the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 679 

succeeding summer and lost thirty-two men, including its captain, in the 
Sioux Indian outbreak of that year. He joined the regiment in December, 
1862, at Oxford, Miss., and participated in the subsequent campaigns of the 
Fifteenth and Sixteenth army corps, Army of the Tennessee. Lieut. Gere 
was appointed first lieutenant, August 20, 1862; regimental adjutant, March 
20, 1863; brigade adjutant, March 7, 1864. He was slightly wounded at 
the battle of Nashville, Tenn., December 15, 1864, but captured a rebel 
battle-flag in the engagement of the following day, and was presented by the 
congress of the United States, through the Secretary of War, with a medal 
of honor, February 22, at Washington, D. C. He was mustered out of serv- 
ice April 5, 1865, by reason of expiration of term. Returning to Minne- 
sota he resumed his studies, in the fall of 1865 accepting a position in an 
engineering party engaged in 'surveying lines for a railroad from St. Paul 
down the Mississippi valley, now the River division of the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee & St. Paul, and his mind thus being directed naturally toward civil 
engineering, his studies from this time were most diligently directed to the 
acquirement of this profession. In the following April, 1866, he engaged as 
a leveler on the Northern division of the St. Croix & Lake Superior railroad, 
and in the fall of the same year, as assistant under General G. K. Warren, 
on the U. S. survey of the Mississippi river from Fort Snelling, Minn., to 
Hannibal, Mo. 

During the months of January and February, 1867, he was enrolling clerk 
of the house of representatives of the state of Minnesota. On May 1, 1867, he 
engaged as assistant engineer in the service of the St. Paul & Sioux City, 
then Minnesota Valley railroad, serving in that capacity during location and 
construction of the main line and branches, until January 1, 1873, when he 
was appointed chief engineer and placed in full charge of maintenance of 
way and structures. After holding this position seven years, on January 15, 
1880, his duties were increased by his appointment as assistant superintend- 
ent. Upon the consolidation of the St. Paul & Sioux City and West Wis- 
consin roads, under the title of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 
railway, he was, October 1, 1880, made superintendent of the St. Paul 
division. On June 1, 1881, he was appointed superintendent of the Sioux 
City division, with headquarters at Sioux City, and on January 16, 1882, was 
transferred to the superintendency of the Eastern and Northern divisions, 
again returning to St. Paul. In December of that year he was notified of 
his appointment as assistant general superintendent of the entire line, but 
upon the acquirement by the Chicago & Northwestern railway company of 
the ownership of the road, and the retirement of Mr. H. H. Porter from the 
presidency, the general superintendent, Mr. Chas. F. Hatch, also vacated 
his position, and Mr. Gere tendered his resignation, which was accepted to 
take effect April 1, 1883. 



680 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Believing that equal industry and attention applied to commercial busi- 
ness promised better results than could be obtained by salaried service for a 
corporation, Mr. Gere formed a partnership with Mr. R. D. Hubbard, of 
Mankato, Minn., and as above stated, commenced business in Sioux City in 
the summer of 1883. Mr. Gere, in addition to the private business in which 
he is engaged, is president of the Sioux City & Northern railroad company, 
vice-president of the Sioux City Terminal & Warehouse company, and a 
member of the board of directors of the Corn Exchange National bank. 

Mr. Gere married, January 1, 1868, at Howardsville, 111., Miss Florence 
I. Howard; who died May 12, 1871. On September 16, 1874, he married 
Miss Mary Emma Shepard, at Mankato, Minn. They have two daughters 
and two sons. 

Luthee Woodfobd, Se., farmer, Sergeant's Bluff, was born in Hartford 
county, Conn., in September, 1S07, a son of Aseph and Almira (Potter) 
Woodford, natives of Connecticut, of English and Irish descent, respectively. 
His father followed his vocation, that of a farmer, until his death. Our sub- 
ject remained on his father's farm until he attained his majority, receiving 
his education at a log schoolhouse in the district. When of age he went 
through the country selling Yankee notions, but finally devoted himself to 
selling clocks exclusively, and devoted six years to this, traveling with a 
horse and wagon through Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and 
Iowa. Upon reaching Agency City, Iowa, he engaged in merchandising 
there, and remained a year, when he sold out, and in the spring of 1855 
came to Woodbury county and entered 1,600 acres of land, in what is now 
section thirty-two, Woodbury township, paying SI. 25 an acre. He erected a 
log house, having a dirt roof and ground floor, and lived there a year, dur- 
ing which time the land office was opened and Sioux City was laid out, and 
many of the people who came stopped with him over night. The next 
spring he built a house of hewed logs, which he lived in four years, then he 
had Marcus Coombs build the house he now lives in. Mr. Woodford settled in 
Woodbury county when there was but one other settler there,. Mr. Crockwell, 
and has seen the wonderful development of the county and the transactions 
that have taken place since its organization, as recorded in the earlier part 
of this work. In 1833 he married Nancy Bell, and to them have been born 
eight children, viz. : Almira. Charles, Olive, Frank, Luther, Eli, Nancy and 
Mary. He and his four sons own about 1,400 acres, all adjoining and under 
a good state of cultivation. Mr. Woodford is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
a charter member of the Masonic Lodge at Sioux City, and in politics a 
republican, having been a whig when that party was in existence. He and 
his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Luther C. Sanboen, retired lumber merchant, Sioux City, was born in 
Chester, N. H., April 28, 1827. He is the son of Eufus and Betsey (Fitts) 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 681 

Sanborn, the father being a native of and a farmer in New Hampshire. 
Both parents were of English extraction. The father was engaged in farm- 
ing and operated a mill to quite an extent, and was very successful in that 
enterprise. He died at the age of seventy-four years, and his wife at seven- 
ty-nine years. Luther C. was one of a family of six children — four sons and 
two daughters. His early days were srjent on his father's farm, where he 
remained until twenty-seven years of age. As soon as old enough he began 
assisting his father in his work in the mill. He received a liberal education 
in the district schools and at the academy at Hampton Falls. It was in Feb- 
ruary, 1856, that he left his native state and came to Sioux City, then a town 
consisting of two boarding houses and about twenty people. He first worked 
here as a day laborer, but in April assisted in surveying the town, and later 
on was engaged by the Town Site company. He then leased a saw-mill, and 
formed a partnership with Joseph B. Flag, which continued up to the spring 
of 1857, when Mr. J. L. Follett succeeded Mr. Flag. For the first few 
years they engaged 'entirely in the saw- mill business, but during the con- 
struction of the Sioux City & Pacific railroad they began purchasing foreign 
lumber and owned the first lumber yard in the town. The firm still exists 
and looks after their business interests, but retired from active work in 1888. 

In the year 1861 Mr. Sanborn returned to his native state and married 
Augusta, daughter of Thomas Woodbury, of Summerville, Mass. To them 
were born two children, one of whom, Woodbury, is now a clerk in the 
Iowa Savings bank. Mr. Sanborn's first wife dying, he took for his second 
wife, Mary Helen, daughter of George Green, of Waltham, Mass. One child, 
now deceased, was born to them. Mr. Sanborn was a member of the first 
city council for eight or ten years, having first been appointed to fill a 
vacancy caused by the death of a member, and for ten years was a member 
of the school board. He is a deacon in the Episcopal church. In politics 
he is a democrat. 

Judson L. Follett, retired lumber merchant, of the firm of Sanborn & 
Follett, Sioux City, was born in Chenango county, N. Y., February 18, 1831. 
He is a son of Uzial Follett, who was a successful farmer of that county. 
He was married to Fannie Miller, and to them were born three sons, all liv- 
ing and of whom our subject is the eldest. Both his brothers are residents 
of New York state, one being a judge in the courts of the state and the other 
residing on the old homestead. Our subject spent his early life on his 
father's farm until twenty-one years of age. His educational advantages 
were confined to those afforded by the district schools and an academy. 
Mr. Follett came west in September, 1851, and taught school near Freeport, 
111., one term in the winter of 1851 and 1852. He traveled in Wisconsin, 
Iowa and Illinois the following spring and summer, then returned to Che- 



682 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

nango county, N. Y., in September, and worked a farm on shares and taught 
school until the fall of 1856, when he came to Iowa, and located in Sioux 
City, and in the next year engaged in the lumber business with Mr. San- 
born as a partner. The firm has continued since that time, and, although 
retired from active business, are still engaged in settling up many affairs, 
naturally incurred after a long and successful business career. Although 
engaged chiefly in the lumber business, this firm has been very successful in 
the buying and selling of real estate. In 1867 Mr. Follett was married in 
New York to Yiola Wilkwin, of Hamilton, N. Y. Their family consists of 
two children, J. L. Follett, Jr., and Mary. Mr. Follett' s success can be 
attributed to his practical knowledge of the lumber business and constant 
application thereto. He has held the office of mayor of Sioux City, having 
been elected on the republican ticket. 

W. H. Livingston is the oldest dry goods merchant of Sioux City. He 
was born in Grundy county, Mo. His young days were spent in his native 
county, and in 1860 he came to Sioux City. The following year he began 
business at this place, then a small village of 400 souls. His stock consists 
of a general line of dry goods and carpets. He now occupies a very fine 
four- story building and gives employment to some thirty or forty clerks. 
Mr. Livingston has also dealt in real estate. He is ■ the father of two sons, 
William H, Jr., and Harry. He is an adherent of democracy. 

Edwin Kuthven Kirk, postmaster, Sioux City, is a native of Ottawa 
county, Ohio, and was born April 17, 1834. His parents, Nathan and 
Catherine (White) Kirk, were natives of Cecil county, Md., descended from 
the early Quaker , residents of that county and Chester county, Pa., the 
former of Irish and the latter of English extraction. Our subject remained 
on the home farm until seventeen years old, attending the common schools 
and academy at Port Clinton. He was then employed in a store, at $100 per 
year and board, and at the end of two years this salary was doubled. He 
continued with the , same employer till his pay was increased to $400 per 
year. He then took a course of book-keeping and was tendered a professor- 
ship in a business college, but preferred private employment and entered a 
wholesale book house at Buffalo, N. Y., as book-keeper. After casting his 
first presidential vote for J. C. Fremont in 1856, he started for Iowa to join 
the famous John Brown expedition to Kansas. Being delayed en route by 
illness, he failed to overtake the party, and located at Sergeant's Bluff, 
where he engaged in farming and building. He removed to Sioux City in 
1858, and engaged in mercantile business here till 1873, with the exception 
of the four years of civil war, during which time he was sutler of the Twenty- 
ninth Iowa regiment in the field. In 1873 he organized the first paid fire 
department of the city, of which he was chief for two years. He was deputy 




Ptalc.ny Eeaelli. 



e) ^/l^L^- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 685 

county treasurer three years, and then served as deputy United States 
revenue collector until his appointment as postmaster in 1878. He served 
nearly eight years in this capacity, until removed by President Cleveland f or 
partisan reasons, and was reappointed by President Harrison in September, 
1889. He served one term in the city council, during which he was presi- 
dent pro tern. Mr. Kirk is a member of the Masonic order, of Knights 
Templar degree. He was married in 1859 to Mary P. Sawyers, a native of 
Giles county, Tenn. They have four living children, viz.: William A., Ed- 
win L., Prank E. and Mary. Charles E., the third child born to them, is 
deceased. 

William P. Holman, farmer, Sergeant's Bluff, was born in Union town- 
ship, Tolland county, Conn., February 20, 1813, and is a son of Eufus and Lucy 
(Eddy) Holman, both natives of Tolland county, but of English descent. 
Eufus Holman was a farmer while in Connecticut, but in 1833 he removed to 
Vermont, where he lived about ten years, and carried on the cooperage busi- 
ness, but upon his return to his native state he retired from active work. 

William P. Holman was reared on the farm in Connecticut, and received 
his education in the district school, the building being of logs, and the 
benches of slabs. At the age of eighteen he started to learn the blacksmith 
trade, which he followed four years. While in Vermont he went into the tan- 
ning and shoemaking business, which he followed four years. Upon returning 
to Connecticut, he followed the trade of a painter for about fifteen years. In the 
fall of 1855 he came' to Woodbury county, Iowa, making the trip by rail as 
far as Illinois, and from there to Independence, Iowa, by stage coach. At the 
latter place he bought horses and a wagon and started across the country to 
look for a good location. He located in Sergeant's Bluff, and erected, that 
fall, the first frame house built in the county. He returned to Connecticut, 
and in April, 1856, moved his family to their new home, and commenced keep- 
ing hotel and a stage station for the line of stages between Council Bluff's and 
Sioux City, operated by that pioneer company, the Western Stage company. 

He continued to keep this as a hotel until the railroads came through. At the 
same time he was conducting the hotel, he was engaged in farming and deal- 
ing in live stock, he having sold the first fifty steers that were shipped from 
his county to Chicago. He has seen the Indians, as well as the deer, elk, 
buffalo and wolves driven out to make way for civilization, as he was among 
the first nine or ten settlers in the western half of the county. He has wit- 
nessed the wonderful growth of Sioux City, as well as the whole county; 
since his settling here the railroads have been laid, the telegraph and elec- 
tric cars have been introduced, and the factories have been built and oper- 
ated, and he has done much toward making the county what it now is. In 
1837 he married Lois B. Grant, and of their five children three are now liv- 



686 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ing: Charles J., Albert M. and Ella. His first wife died in July, 1856, and 
in September, 1857, he married Caroline Mattison, and they have two children: 
Milton P. and Edward H. In politics Mr. Holman is a republican, and has 
held all the township offices. He was county supervisor four years, and 
was one of the three who were instrumental in buying the court-house site. 
He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Major J. T. Cheney, real estate dealer, is a native of New Hampshire, 
and was born in 1830. He is of purely American nationality, both parents, 
Person and Annie W. (Morrison) Cheney, being thoroughly American. He 
was educated at Newbury college, Vermont. In 1856 he left his native 
state, and settled in Dixon, 111., and made his home there until 1877. In 
1861, at his country's call he enlisted in Battery F, First Illinois artillery, 
and in 1863 was promoted to major, and in 1864 to lieutenant-colonel. In 
1865 he left the field, having gone through the Atlanta campaign, and 
served through the entire war. He then returned to Dixon, where he re- 
mained until 1877, when he came to Sioux City. For a number of years 
Mr. Cheney was identified with the Merchant's hotel, but is now half owner 
in the Booge hotel. In 1882 he purchased land at Morning Side, and has 
four additions in that suburb: Cheney's First Addition, Cheney's Second 
Addition, Morning Side Villa and Lakeport. He is married and has two 
children, and owns a beautiful home at Morning Side and 200 acres of land. 
He has been very successful through life, which success was due alone to 
his own integrity, honesty and labor. Mr. Cheney ranks among the ener- 
getic, pushing, business men of Sioux City. He is a member of the Uni- 
tarian church, the Masonic order and the G. A. B. ; a republican in politics. 

Captain Andrew Jackson Millard was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., 
May 23, 1834, and hence is fifty-seven years of age. His father's name was 
Daniel. His mother's maiden name was Henrietta Miller. Mr. Millard was 
the only issue of this union. His mother died when he was fourteen years 
old. He was educated in Saratoga county, where he resided until he was 
twenty-two years old, when he came to Sioux City, arriving here November 
22, 1856. During three years of his life in New York, he was a sailor on 
board the ocean fore-and-aft schooner, John Wesley, Capt. C. T. Sweet, aris- 
ing from able seaman to the honorable position of second mate. After these 
three years of life on "the wild waste of waters," Capt. Millard went to 
Ballston Spa, N. Y., where he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner with 
his uncle, James M. Miller, a noted builder. After the expiration of his 
term of service, and after becoming a thorough mechanic, young Millard 
worked at his trade at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., from whence he moved west- 
ward, halting at Sioux City, as above stated. He has resided here, except the 
four years that he carried arms in defense of his country, ever since. He 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 687 

enlisted in the state service, under Capt. Tripp, in the autumn of 1861, and 
served one year on the frontier. Then Judge Hubbard (under a special act 
of congress) ordered Capt. Millard to raise a company for a service of three 
years. In less than four weeks he had enlisted a full cavalry company, 103 
men, and was unanimously chosen captain, which position he maintained 
until the close of the war. He was honored with the command of his depart- 
ment about nine months and until relieved by Gen. John K. Cook, of Spring- 
field, 111., who was superseded by Gen. Alfred Sully. Capt. Millard, during 
his service, had command of his troops while engaged in the fight at White 
Stone Hill, D. T., and had the high honor of leading the soldiers who acted 
as special body-guard for Gen. Sully, his command including two companies 
and a battery of five guns. During this campaign Capt. Millard captured 
136 Indian prisoners, including the noted Sioux chief, "Big-Head" (the 
famous chief who committed the outrage upon the miners' "flat-boat," and 
who was one of the most blood-thirsty Indians known during the war). 

He helped to build Fort Sully, and drove the first stakes. In the fall 
of 1863 the Captain returned to Sioux City. In the spring of 1864 still 
another expedition was fitted out against the Sioux. The command of this 
expedition was entrusted to Gen. Sully, who named Vermillion, D. T., as his 
headquarters, from whence all military orders were issued. Capt. Millard 
was in command of the northwestern district. When Gen. Sully returned, 
Capt. Millard's command was mustered out, although the Captain himself, 
through some oversight, was not formally discharged. He then returned to 
Sioux City and re-established himself in his present business, that of under- 
taker and embalmer, at 822 Pearl street, residence 823 Douglas street. 

He came from a patriotic stock, a worthy son of worthy sires. His 
grandfather, Daniel Millard, was under the command of the famous Benedict 
Arnold, who led the terrible charge against the British troops in the battle 
of Bemis' Heights, commonly called the battle of Saratoga, wherein the 
British lines were broken and their army annihilated. The brother of Capt. 
Millard's grandfather, Basilie Millard, was captured with Ethan Allen at 
Ticonderoga, taken to England, and returned with his old commander, cov- 
ered with honors. In his domestic relations Capt. Millard has been singu- 
larly fortunate. October 22, 1861, he married Miss Mary Elizabeth, daugh- 
ter of John and Margaret Beeves, of Fort Edward, N. Y. The only living 
child of this happy union is Miss Annie C, who was born in Sioux. City, 
August 13, 187s. The Captain is still engaged in the business of undertak- 
ing at his place, 822 Pearl street, and welcomes his friends with a cordiality 
that comes straight from the heart. It is needless to add that the old pio- 
neer is universally respected, and that he has no enemies. He was made a 
Mason in 1861, and has attained the thirty-second degree, Scottish rite. He 



bOS HISTORV OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

has served four times as master of his lodge. For nearly thirty-five years 
he has been an Odd Fellow, and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. 

Thomas Jefferson Kink aid (deceased), whose pioneer life in Sioux City 
dates back among the fifties, was born in Monongalia county, W. Va., 
August 12, 1825. He was the youngest of eight children that made happy 
the home of David and Frances (Bowen) Kinkaid, natives of Ireland. His 
early education was received in the public schools of Monongalia county, 
which he attended until fifteen years of age, when he was left an orphan by 
the death of both of his parents. He was taken to the home of an uncle, 
where he remained one year and sis months, then came to Zanesville, Mus- 
kingum county, Ohio, and stayed there four years, during which period he 
worked at the carpenter's trade and attended evening school. In the sum- 
mer of 1845 he came to Cincinnati, where he continued at his trade but a 
short time, then entered a large business house, where he served as clerk 
until the spring of 1856, when he came to Sioux City. Here he started 
Sioux City's first lumber yard, bringing lumber by way of water from Cin- 
cinnati. He also had four frame houses so constructed in Ohio that when 
they arrived in Sioux City all that was necessary to make them ready to live 
in was to put them together. These were the first frame houses here, and 
are still to be found among the many residences that have been built in this 
most rapidly growing city. He continued business until 1869, when he sold 
out and lived a partly retired life until his death, which occurred April 2, 
1891. He has been connected with many other enterprises that have done 
their share toward the upbuilding of the town. He also dealt largely in real 
estate, having at one time upward of 2,700 acres in this vicinity, four of which 
are now in the heart of the town. Mr. Kinkaid was united in marriage, 
March 5, 1846, to Miss Mance Bowers, of Ohio, whose ancestors have lived 
in this country some generations. Three children were born to this union, 
namely: Francis and Susan, both deceased, and David N. Mrs. Kinkaid 
died December 11, 1887. 

Amos ~R. Appleton (deceased). Among the names of those who were 
connected with the early history of Sioux City and vicinity few were more 
highly esteemed or better known than that of Amos R. Appleton. He was 
born, December 23, 1819, in Elizabeth, N. J., a son of William and Margaret 
Appleton, both natives of the same state. His early years were spent in 
Geneseo, Livingston county, N. Y. and Toronto, Canada, at both of which 
places he attended school. His father died before they left New York state, 
and when he was about nineteen years of age he lost his mother, and was 
then obliged to abandon his studies and assist his elder brother in providing 
for the younger children. They moved to Michigan, where he took up the 
trade of a carpenter, at which he worked for the next six or seven years. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. .(589 

He then went to Toledo, Ohio, where he worked at ship-building for three 
years, then went to Peru, Ind., where he worked as contractor and builder 
until the fall of 1857. In September of that year he married Hannah Sar- 
ville, of Peru, and they settled in Sioux City, where he opened a drug and 
book store, which business he carried on until the spring of 1861, having 
been postmaster, as well, the last year. In the spring of 1862 he entered 
into the service of his country as a sutler, which position he retained until 
June, 1865, when he received his discharge and returned home. He engaged 
in the dry goods business, but carried that on for a year only, when he sold 
out and built the Floyd flour mills. This was the nucleus for Sioux City's 
large flouring mills and grain elevators of the present day. In the fall of 
1868 he was elected a member of the Iowa legislature on the republican 
ticket, so he sold his holdings here to Hedges Bros, and went to Des 
Moines, where he worked hard for his party. At the expiration of his term 
of office he returned to Sioux City, where he lived a retired life until 1876. 
He then went to Philadelphia and spent two months at the Centennial exhi- 
bition. His health being somewhat impaired he spent the winter in Florida. 
Upon his return to Sioux City in the spring he opened a commission house, 
which he continued until January, 1879, when he was taken sick with 
malarial fever. This brought on other diseases, from which his death oc- 
curred June 29, 1880. His wife survives him, and has devoted herself to 
the care of their three children: Oliver, Maggie and Sarville. In politics 
Mr. Appleton supported the views of the republican party. 

Theophile Beuguiee, farmer, P. 0. Salix, was the first white man to 
settle in Woodbury county. He is a son of Madrid and Elizabeth (Keep) 
Bruguier, and was born in Canada August 31, 1813. His father, who passed 
his life in Canada, was of French descent, and was engaged in farming at the 
time of his death, about 1839. His mother, who was of English descent, survived 
her husband until 1868. Both were members of the Catholic church. Theo- 
phile Bruguier grew to manhood on the farm in Canada, residing with his 
parents until twenty years of age, when he left home and started out to 
make his own living. He started for St. Louis, Mo., on October 14, 1835, 
and traveling by boat and stages reached St. Louis November 1, there being 
no railroads there then. On the nineteenth of the same month he was em- 
ployed by the American Fur Co., of that place, to go to Ft. Pierre, Dak., to 
trade with the Indians. He remained with this company for two years and 
a half, then went among the Indians and was engaged trading with them on 
his own account for the next fourteen years. He got to know them thoroughly, 
and it is said that he is the only living white man that ever dared whip an 
Indian and yet stay among them. After his fourteen years' experience on 
his own account he was engaged by the Fur Company again and remained 



690 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

with thein two years engaged in trading with the Indians. In 1849 he 
severed his engagement with the company, and came down to the mouth of 
the Big Sioux river, about three and a half miles above Sioux City, and took 
up a claim of 160 acres of land where Sioux City now stands. This he 
cleared and worked for two years, 1850 and 1851, then, as the population was 
increasing quite rapidly near him, he gave the land to Joe Leonais, a Cana- 
dian. 

He continued to reside on the farm at the mouth of the Big Sioux, engaged 
in farming for thirty years. He then came to where he now resides, section 
ten, Lakeport township, and purchased 118 acres of land, to which he has 
since added 400. This large farm he has under an excellent state of culti- 
vation, and stocked with a good grade of live stock of all kinds. Mr. 
Bruguier was twice married, his first wife, who died in 1857, bore him eight 
children, namely: Eugene, Bosa A., Julia, John, "William, Samuel, Mary and 
Selina. In 1862 he married Victoria Turnott, of St. Louis. Both are mem- 
bers of the Catholic church. The grand development of the country, the 
introduction of the railroads, the telegraph, and the wonderful growth of 
Sioux City, have all been since the settlement here of Mr. Bruguier. He 
was the first person to build a house in Sioux City, getting the logs and 
hewing them himself. In politics he is a stanch democrat. 

Thomas Green, brick manufacturer, Sioux City, is a son of Patrick and 
Ellen (Higgins) Green, and was born in Ireland in the year 1837. He im- 
migrated to this country with the other members of the family in 1849, and 
located at Taunton, Mass. His father, who was a farmer in the old country, 
desiring to get a farm of his own, moved to Dixon county, Neb., and took a 
claim on South creek, near Ponca, in the spring of 1857, six months before 
the land was surveyed by the government. The subject of our sketch stayed 
with the family, helping to open up the new farm, until the following spring 
when he left home to do for himself, little dreaming that he was bidding a last 
farewell to his father and mother. He went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he 
stayed about a year, thence to Natchez, Miss., where he remained another 
year, working at brickmaking in both places. About this time the war of 
the rebellion broke out, and, being carried away by the excitement of the 
times, he was induced to enter the Confederate service, in which he served 
until taken prisoner at Mission Bidge. The prisoners taken at that time 
were sent to Bock Island, 111. There were about 8,000 collected there in a 
short time, among them many whose sentiments were really with the north, 
and who never heartily sympathized with the rebellion. Erom this class was 
organized a regiment for service on the plains against the Indians, called 
the Third United States volunteer infantry. Mr. Green was a sergeant in 
Company B, in this regiment, and served until honorably mustered out in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 691 

the fall of 1865. Early in the following spring he went to Denver, Colo., 
and resumed his old business of manufacturing brick He, in partnership 
with a party named Watkins, made the first brick ever made in Boulder 
City, Colo. After a varied experience of successes and reverses he came to 
Sioux City in the spring of 1869, and went into the brick business at the 
suburb which is now called Greenville. The name was given to the place 
soon after he located there. May 2, 1876, he married Miss Helena O'Con- 
nor, daughter of Capt. O'Connor, of Homer, Neb. He has always taken a 
leading part in the brick business in Sioux City since locating here, being at 
the present time general manager and treasurer of the Sioux City Brick and 
Tile Works, the largest works of the kind in the state, and an institution 
which he was principally instrumental in putting in its present prosperous 
condition. Mr. and Mrs. Green have been blessed with a family of six 
children, all of whom are living except one: Ella C, born April 15, 1877; 
Cornelius F., bom July 6, 1879; Thomas W., born September 25, 1881; 
Charles E., deceased; Catherine M., born April 15, 1886, and Julia L., born 
September 1, 18S8. Mr. Green is a member of the Roman Catholic church, 
and in his political views upholds the principles of the republican party. 

Elisha Williams Skinnek, real estate dealer, Sioux City, is numbered 
among the most successful men of that thriving and progressive city. He 
was born in Lanesboro, Susquehanna county, Pa., September 8, 1834, and 
is a son of Jacob and Polly (Winters) Skinner, the latter a native of Susque- 
hanna county, of English descent. The paternal ancestors of our subject 
were among the earliest English settlers of Rhode Island. Thence the 
family spread to Connecticut, and Israel Skinner, grandfather of Elisha, was 
born in Orange county, N. Y., in 1776. He had an elder brother and other 
relatives who served as Revolutionary soldiers. Jacob Skinner, above men- 
tioned, was also a native of Orange county. He was admitted to the bar in 
Pennsylvania, and removed, with his family, to Palmyra, Wis., in 1847, where 
he practiced his profession. Thence he removed, in 1858, to Webster City, 
this state, where he died in 1SS2, aged seventy-three years. 

Elisha W. Skinner received his education in the public schools, except 
one term at the Wisconsin State university. In February, 1849, he entered 
the Watertown (Wis.) " Chronicle" office as apprentice, and four years later 
became owner of a half interest in that journal. In 1855, in company with 
D. J. Powers, he purchased the Wisconsin " Farmer," which they published 
three years at Madison, raising the circulation from three thousand to eight 
thousand copies. Mr. Skinner then purchased the Mendota Agricultural 
works, which he operated for fourteen years, part of the time having a part- 
ner, for the manufacture of sorghum mills, reapers and other machinery. 
He established an agency at Sioux City in 1870, and two years later removed 



692 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

here with his family. He conducted an extensive machinery trade here till 
1878, since which time he has engaged exclusively in real estate operations. 
He handles only property which he owns wholly or in part. Besides other 
valuable tracts in city and country, he owns six thousand acres in one body 
on the Missouri bottoms, lying in Woodbury and Monona counties. In 1890, 
he opened a ditch one and a half miles long, with an average width of thirty 
and depth of eight feet, conveying the waters of Wolf creek into the channel 
of West Fork, thus draining and improving much valuable land. He is a 
stockholder in Sioux City banks and railroad companies, a director of the 
Hornick Drug company, and Inter-State Building and Loan Association. 
For many years he was secretary of the Sioux City Board of Trade, and is a 
life member of the Wisconsin State Agricultural society and State Historical 
society, having been long a curator in the latter. Politically he is a repub- 
lican, and was but once a candidate for office, when he was defeated by four- 
teen votes for alderman in the first ward of Madison, which then had 150 
democratic majority. During the Civil war he was active in caring for 
soldiers' families, and in various ways sustaining the national government. 
In one year he paid over $12,000 in taxes for this purpose. He is a member 
of the Hawkeye club, and trustee of the First Congregational church. 

Mr. Skinner was married December 7, 1858, to Miss Clara G. Turner, 
who was born in Adams, Jefferson county, N. Y., and is a daughter of Hon. 
Peter H. Turner. The latter settled in Palmyra, Wis., in 1844, and was a 
member of the first constitutional convention of that state, and a member of 
its first state senate. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Skinner includes two sons 
and two daughters, all of whom reside in this county. Jessie G., the eldest, 
is the wife of Will. D. Turner, of Sioux City. Dwight H. married Catherine 
I., daughter of ex-Lieut. Gov. J. M. Bingham, of Wisconsin, and dwells on 
the Skinner ranch, in Willow township. Allan W. and Fanny L. reside with 
their parents, the former being his father's assistant in business. 

James P. Wall, contractor and builder, Sioux City, was born in Lowell, 
Mass., March 14, 1839, and is the eldest son of Thomas and Mary (Sullivan) 
Wall, natives of Ireland, the former of whom came to America in 1828, and 
the latter in 1822, she being then but three years of age. Mr. James P. 
Wall came to Sioux City May 16, 1866, and has ever since been engaged in 
contracting and building; his first job was laying the foundation of Post- 
master Kirk's residence. He did the mason work on the Hotel Garretson, 
First National bank, Academy of Music, and the residences of Geo. Weare 
and H. A. Jandt, also on the Silberhorn and Haakinson packing plants. In 
ten months, beginning June, 1887, he laid fourteen million brick. He built 
entire the plant of Heller & Sons, and the Sioux City Dressed Beef and Can- 
ning Factory, also the fine residence of D. T. Hedges. His most difficult 




a. 




GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 695 

contract, as well as his most successful one, was the remodeling of the old 
Hubbard house, into the present Hotel Booge, without interrupting for a day 
the business of that hostelry. In 1872 he built the shops of the C, St. P., 
M. & O. railway. In 1879 he was employed by the government in erecting 
buildings at Ft. Assinaboine, Mont., and in 1888 his present fine home was 
erected. 

In all his extensive operations there has never been an occasion for the 
intervention of the law in settling his accounts. He is the owner of five 
houses and numerous lots throughout the city. His success is due to his 
great industry and skill as a builder. He is a director of the Sioux City & 
Northern railway, Northern Land company, Rathbun Wheel Scraper Manu- 
facturing company and Home Savings bank, and has served as township 
trustee, was seven years a member of the city council and three years chief of 
the fire department, and takes a deep interest in all that tends to build up 
the city. He is a member of the A. O. H., of which he was president four 
years, and of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church. Politically he is a repub- 
lican, despite which fact he served in the council from a democratic ward, 
' and in -March, 1891, was elected alderman at large. Mr. Wall was married 
May 1, 1864, in Pekin, 111., to Miss Mary Brady, who was born in Ireland, 
and came to America when eight years old. A son and five daughters have 
blessed this union, all, save one, now living, viz. : John P., Mary Helen (wife 
of D. P. Magner), Catherine Louisa (deceased), Hannah Cecelia, Lizzie Vic- 
torine and Alice. His son is a mason builder, and resides next door to his 
parents. Mr. Wall has been the architect of his own fortune financially, and 
politically, few men in Sioux City are more popular than James P. Wall. 

Morris Leach Jones, merchant, Smithland, is one of the earliest settlers 
resident in Woodbury county, and has been a tax-payer since its first assess- 
ment list. He was born in Marathon, Cortland county, N. Y., September 4, 
1832, and is the third of eleven children born to Thomas and Hannah 
(Adams) Jones, both natives of Cortland county. The father passed his 
entire life in Marathon, dying within sight of his birthplace. His grand- 
father, James Jones, was born within four miles of Boston, and was the son 
of a Welshman, who settled there at a very early period. The mother of 
our subject was a descendant of Samuel Adams, of Massachusetts. 

Morris L. Jones is descended from very long lived families, and of the 
ten children in his father's family who grew to maturity, nine are now liv- 
ing (May, 1890). Soon after attaining the age of eighteen years, young 
Morris bought his time till his majority of his father, after the custom of 
those times, and worked eight months on a farm, at twelve and one-half dol- 
lars per month, to earn the requisite $100 for payment. He spent the 
winter succeeding his majority in Illinois, and came to Iowa in the spring of 



696 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1854. After spending the summer on the Missouri, he settled at Smithland. 
His first farm was in Liston township, and was retained until recently. In 
1857 he removed to St. James, Cedar county, Neb., and two years later to 
Colorado, where he remained eight years, chiefly engaged in farming. For 
eight years he kept a hardware store at Tamaroa, Perry, county, 111., and 
returned to Smithland in 1876. He is now operating the largest general 
store in the town, and is interested in other local establishments, beside be- 
ing the possessor of valuable lands. He has experienced many hardships of 
frontier life, and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor. He is a master 
Mason, and leans toward Universalism in religious faith. He acts "with the 
republican party, and has been called upon to serve the public in various 
capacities, viz. : town clerk, justice of the peace, and county supervisor. Mr. 
Jones has been thrice married, and has one child as the result of each union. 
The first wedding occurred in 1857, the bride being Louise Smith, who died 
in 1865. Two years later he married Jerusha Spencer, nee Webster, a 
native of the same township as himself. She died here in 1869. Mr. Jones' 
present spouse, to whom he was joined in 1880, was Miss Eva Harris. Fol- 
lowing are the names of his children: Francis M. (the first white child born 
in Cedar county, Neb.), Grace and Myra. 

N. Despabois, retired contractor, Sioux City, is of French extraction, and 
was born in 1845 at Montreal, Canada. His education was received in the 
public schools of his native city. Mr. Desparois was largely engaged in the 
construction of railroads until a few years ago. He was engaged on the 
Northwestern system and on the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley. He 
first came to this place in 1867, but located here permanently in 1872. In 
1888 he built the Metropolitan block, one of the handsomest in the city, a six- 
story brick and terra-cotta structure. Mr. Desparois has been a very suc- 
cessful man, and has made valuable investments, although they were made 
with no thought of speculations. In 1876 he married Mary Conlon, of San- 
dusky, Ohio, of Irish parentage, and to them four children have been born — 
three sons and a daughter. Mr. Desparois is a member of the Roman Catho- 
lic church. 

Capt. B. F. Betswokth, Le Mars, was born in Somerset county, Md., 
May 27, 1817, and was the third child of B. F. and Rebecca (Wilson) Bets- 
worth. His father was reared in Baltimore and was by trade a shoemaker, 
and his mother's people were natives of Maryland and among the pioneers 
of that state. She was one of eight children — four boys and four girls. 
Capt, Betsworth received only a limited education, and when seventeen years 
of age became an apprentice in the ship calker's trade, and three years later 
he was engaged principally in the oyster and fruit trade, and was owner of 
the schooner of which he was captain for fifteen years. His home had been 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 697 

at Bergen Point, opposite New York city, but in 1856 he came to St. Charles, 
Kane county, 111., and became a farmer, working 353 acres of land. In 1866 
he came to Le Mars and became the first settler of what is now the city of 
Le Mars, broke the first ground, and built the first log house and the first 
two frame houses, one of which is now owned by David Gribbs and located on 
Franklin street; the second was built for Amos Marvin, but was destroyed by 
fire. It was located near where the St. Joseph Catholic church now stands. 

When the route of the Illinois Central railroad was surveyed through here, 
Mr. Betsworth owned the southwest quarter of section nine, and was induced 
by the corporation to exchange his farm for another tract, receiving from 
them 240 acres in section seventeen, for his 160 acres. He removed to this 
place, where he remained until 1887, devoting his time and energy to agri- 
cultural pursuits, but during the latter year he erected a handsome and im- 
posing residence in Le Mars, which he has since made his home. The Cap- 
tain also erected the first school house here, and his eldest son was the first 
teacher in it. December 28, 1839, he married Alvira Dorothy, of Somerset 
county, Md., and to them fifteen children were born: John, Cinderella (now 
Mrs. Henry Cummickel), Mary E. (now Mrs. H. Hammond), Gertrude (now 
Mrs. D. P. Hammond), Joshua, Benjamin, Stephen, Anthony, William, Jas- 
per, Laura (now Mrs. David Prescott), Lorin (Laura and Lorin were twins), 
Ira, Allen and Warren. Of these Joshua, Benjamin and Lorin are deceased, 
while the rest are nicely located and enjoying a fair proportion of this world's 
goods. Mr. and Mrs. Betsworth are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and now in their declining years, having by their own energy suc- 
ceeded in securing to themselves a handsome competency, have retired from 
active business life, and nothing pleases the Captain more than to recount 
his early experiences. 

William Smith, justice of the peace, Danbury, is a native of England, 
born at Newcastle, IJnderhyne Staffordshire, September 5, 1834. His grand- 
father, John Smith, was a hatter at Newcastle. In 1848 his parents, Will- 
iam and Edna (Rowley) Smith, came with their family to America and set- 
tled in Columbia county, Wis., where the father soon died in his forty-fourth 
year. His widow passed the balance of her days there, dying in 1884 at 
the age of seventy- six. Our subject is the second of their five children who 
grew to maturity. He remained on the farm with his mother till 1856, when 
he married and began farming on his own account. His wife, Catharine, 
is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, and a daughter of Francis and Bose (Hoy) 
O'Neil, of Irish and Scotch birth, respectively. In 1865 Mr. Smith removed 
to Franklin county, this state, and to Monona county a year later. He took 
a homestead in Cooper township, and five years later sold this and bought a 
farm on section twenty-two, Liston township. From 1875 to 1879 he carried 



698 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

mail between Danbury and Denison. He was appointed postmaster at Dan- 
bury under the Cleveland administration in June, 1885, and held that posi- 
tion till September, 1889. For fourteen years he has served as justice of 
the peace, being twelve years consecutively in that position. He has also 
served as secretary of the Liston district school board for many years. He 
has always affiliated with the democratic party, and is a member of the 
Masonic order. In religious faith he is a Universalist. Of his thirteen 
children, nine are living, viz. : William John, Samuel E., Jessie Naomi, Henry 
Percy, Kate A., Agnes M., Charles A., Eylfa Maud and Ruth. The second, 
Rose E., died at the age of nineteen, and Frank, the fourth, at seventeen. 

O. C. Tredway, attorney, Sioux City, son of B. E. Tredway, was born at 
Warren, Herkimer county, N. Y., in 1829. His father was a large land 
holder and practiced law in the lower courts, and his son naturally adopted 
the legal profession. O. C. Tredway received a common-school education in 
Herkimer county schools, after which he attended the Oxford academy in 
Chenango county, N. Y. He graduated from Union college at Schenectady, 
N. Y., in 1853. Among the corps of instructors were many of the noted 
educators of the day, and he read law with Judge Graves and Charles A. 
Burton, the latter of whom was associated in the practice of law with Eos- 
coe Conklin, Francis Kernan, Philip Gridley and others of a national repu- 
tation. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1855, and practiced at Her- 
kimer till 1857. In the spring of that year he moved to Sioux City, arriv- 
ing, May 4, at his present home, where he has since been engaged in the 
practice of his profession. He received in one case the largest fee ever paid 
an attorney in Iowa, $87,000, it being a contest over a quarter section of 
land. He was also chief counsel in the Haddock-Ormsdorf case, one of the 
most important ever tried in Iowa, and he won his client's case against the 
combined power of church and state. He is one of the pioneers of Sioux 
City, and feels much interest in all pertaining to its prosperity. He is 
closely identified with the Sioux City Automatic Eefrigerator company, and 
is interested with W. H. Livingston in the dry goods business. On December 
24, 1862, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Homer Bishop, of Cedar Eap- 
ids, one of the founders of that city, and at one time owner of one-third of 
the town. 

A. V. Larimer, ex- judge and capitalist, was born in Belief onte, Pa., 
in 1829. He attended Allegheny college, read law with ex-governor Curtin 
of Pennsylvania, and attended Judge McCartney's Law school at Easton, 
Pa., for. one year, being admitted to the bar in 1852. He removed to 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, in March, 1854. In the fall of 1854 he was elected 
prosecuting attorney, and upon the resignation of the county and probate 
judge became judge for two years. In 1857 he was elected to the state leg- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 699 

islature and practiced his profession at Council Bluffs until 1876, when he 
engaged in the stock business in Wyoming territory. In 1886 he invested 
in Morning Side real estate, at Sioux City, with A. M. & J. A. Jackson, also 
in West Sioux City property with F. T. Evans. Mr. Larimer is now a resi- 
dent of Sioux City. He belongs to the Masonic order, and has always been 
a democrat in politics. 

Hon. H. C. Cubtis, president of the Security bank, Le Mars, was born 
on a farm near Albion, Orleans county, N. Y., on the fifth day of December, 
1841, a son of Newman and Maria Curtis, the former of Scotch and the lat- 
ter of Dutch descent. He was reared a farmer's boy, and lived and worked 
on a farm until he was about twenty- seven years old. When he was twelve 
years of age he came with his parents and the other members of the family 
to Iowa, settling on a farm in Buchanan county, near Independence. His 
father died in 1859, and Mr. Curtis, then having a very meager education, 
had to go to work on a farm by the month to get money with which to go to 
college and educate himself. In the fall of 1860 he began school at the 
Fayette university, in Fayette county, Iowa. In order to pay his way, he 
rang the college bell for $12 per term, chopped wood nights, mornings 
and Saturdays, and in this way could barely meet his bills and continue his 
education. 

In September, 1861, while at the university, he enlisted in Company C, 
Twelfth Iowa regiment, to go to the front and help put down the rebellion. 
He continued in the war, re-enlisting as a veteran, from that time till he was 
mustered out in February, 1866. During the war he was a private, and was 
among the prisoners at Shiloh. He, with his company and regiment, partic- 
ipated in many of the great battles of the war, from Fort Donelson to Span- 
ish Fort. After the war Mr. Curtis resumed school at Fayette university, 
continuing farming during the summers, till the spring of 1868, when he 
began reading law with Senator Hart of Independence. He showed an apt- 
ness and remarkable talent for the law, especially in the preparation and 
trial of jury cases. Soon after beginning to read law, he was very successful 
in the trial of cases, winning on an average three out of four cases. In the 
spring of 1870 he was admitted to the bar of the state by Sylvester Bagg, pre- 
siding judge of the then circuit court in and for Buchanan county. After his 
admission to the bar he went into practice, where he was admitted, and con- 
tinued in practice there until May, 1872, when he came to and began the 
practice of his profession at Le Mars, Plymouth county, Iowa. He contin- 
ued a successful practitioner of the law there till the fall of 1S88. when, on 
account of failing health, he was compelled to give up a large and lucrative 
practice. 

Mr. Curtis is what may be called a self-made man, and has been most sue- 



700 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

cessful in every undertaking of life. He is and has been a persistent and 
determined worker, full of courage, ambition and hope. Honest to a penny, 
but wanting his own, a man of splendid judgment, keen foresight, he is a great 
judge of men and human nature. It is said that from 1874 to 1886, he 
worked in his law office and out of it, on an average of fifteen hours per day, 
and many times until twelve o'clock at night. He would sacrifice everything 
for a client. In politics he is a conservative republican, has held the posi- 
tions of county attorney and member of the house of representatives of his 
state, and has been quite prominent in politics for many years. He has 
been financially successful; has made money and saved it. He is one of the 
largest land-owners in his county. He is president of the Security bank, of 
which institution he is a half owner. On November 14, 1872, Mr. Curtis 
married Addie Griffith, and to them was born one child, Florence M. They 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

John S. Ellis, an old settler now residing in Kingsley, Plymouth county, 
Iowa, was born in Clinton county, Penn., May 30, 1828, and is a son of John 
and Ann (Strawbridge) Ellis. Both parents were natives of Pennsylvania, 
the father of French descent, and the mother of English descent. The father 
was by occupation a miller, but spent the latter part of his life in farming, 
which pursuit he followed in Clinton county, Iowa, having moved there from 
Pennsylvania in 1856. He died in 1865, and his wife in 1876; both were 
members of the Methodist Erjiscopal church. 

John S. was born and reared in Clinton county, Pa., where he received 
a common-school education. When he left home he went to Jefferson county, 
Pa., where he engaged in the tailoring business, and later was appointed 
sheriff of the same county, which office he held three years. He continued 
to reside there until 1855, when he came to Iowa, and located in Clinton 
county, where he engaged in farming, grain and mercantile business until 
1872, when he came to Woodbury county, and resided in Correction ville 
until 1883, when he came to Kingsley, his present residence. Mr. Ellis is 
now engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business. He married 
Margaret Barr, of Brookville, Pa., December, 1848, and they have had 
eight children born to them, five of whom are living: Ann (wife of J. F. 
Varner, merchant, Kingsley); Robert B., Kingsley; Augustus L., attorney, 
Gettysburg; Minnie (wife of Rev. George W. Kliver, who resides in North 
Dakota); Thomas H, and three deceased — an infant, Mary and Willie. Mr. 
Ellis and wife are members of the Methodist EpiscojDal church, and are well 
known and respected by all. He was the first mayor of Correctionville. 
Politically, he is a republican. He was a member of the I. O. O. F., of 
Brookville, Pa., and also of a lodge at De Witt, Iowa. He is a justice of 
the peace, which office he has held since January, 1889, and to which he was 
re-elected in 1890. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 701 

J. Henry Morf, the first notary public of Plymouth, county, was born 
June 8, 1832, in Nanikon, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, and is a son of Con- 
rad and Elizabeth (Pfister) Morf, of the parish of Uster. He was reared on 
a farm, attending the schools of his native parish till eighteen years old, when 
he went to the city of Zurich to finish his education. In 1851 he came to 
America, and after spending two years in southwestern Wisconsin, he was 
employed for two years as a store clerk in Chicago. Thence he proceeded to 
St. Louis, St. Joseph and Omaha, and arrived in Sioux City June 17, 1860. 
Here he accepted any employment that offered until October, 1861, when he 
enlisted in Capt. A. J. Millard's independent company, which was after- 
ward attached to the Seventh Iowa cavalry as Company I, and with this com- 
pany he served over three years in defending the northwestern frontier from 
Indian attacks, holding the rank of company sergeant. On his return to 
Sioux City, Mr. Morf opened a store, and in the fall of 1867 he removed his 
business to Melbourne, Plymouth county, where he was the first postmaster. 

In the last named year he was elected treasurer of Plymouth county, which 
position he filled for six years, and during the last four years of this time he 
also held the office of recorder. In the spring of 1869 he removed to Plym- 
outh Center, where he was also the first postmaster. This place was one 
mile above Merrill. Here he built a large residence, which was burned, 
through a defective chimney, December 19, 1873. The following spring he 
moved to Merrill, where he had previously built a grain elevator, and here 
he conducted a grain and coal business till the fall of 1880, when he sold out 
and retired to his large farm west of Merrill. In 1SS8 he removed to Seattle, 
Wash., where he made investments and now resides. He still owns, at 
this writing (October, 1890), eleven hundred acres of valuable land in Plym- 
outh county. When he arrived in Sioux City, he was poor and friendless, 
and his prosperity and personal popularity are the result of his own persever- 
ance, and integrity. Mr. Morf has always been a straightforward business 
man and an independent thinker. He retains his membership in the church 
of his fathers — Evangelical — and affiliates with the republican party politic- 
ally. He was a charter member of Floyd Valley Lodge, No. 208, 1. O. O. F., 
at Melbourne, of which he was the first K. G., and was also a charter mem- 
ber in the Masonic lodge at Le Mars. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. En- 
campment and Royal Arch Masonic Chapter in Sioux City. While a resi- 
dent of Merrill he served as postmaster and retained his notarial commission 
throughout his residence in Plymouth county. In October, 1865, Mr. Morf 
married Miss Bridget Gaugharn, a native of Ireland and member of the 
Roman Catholic church. Their six children, all residents of Seattle, Wash., 
are named in order of birth as follows: Mary E. (Mrs. W. J. Alden), John H, 
William R., Charles J., Milton J. and Leopold Gottlieb. 



702 HISTORY OF "WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Frederick Clark Hills, general manager of the Sioux City &-Northern 
railroad company, was born in Bethersden, county of Kent, England, January 
22, 1842, and came to America with his parents in 1S49. They settled in 
Oneida county N. Y., stopping for a short time at Oriskany and Whitesboro, 
but the following year located at Vernon, where his parents have since died 
and are both buried. His father, James Hills, was a resident of Tenterden, 
and his mother, Harriett Tappenden, of Kennington, when married, March 2, 
1835. They were both descendants of families of those names, who trace their 
genealogies many generations back in Kent, England. 

F. C. received an academic education in the Vernon academy, working on 
the home farm until fifteen years of age, when he served a regular appren- 
ticeship at the carriage trimmer's trade, after which, and while working at 
his trade in Rome, N. Y., he took a commercial course in the Rome Commer- 
cial college, following his trade until 1862. At the first call for 3,000,000 
men, the Gansevoort Light Guards of Home, of which he was a member, de- 
cided to volunteer but being recommended to enlist in new regiments then 
forming, most of them did so, Mr. Hills enlisting in Company E, One Hun- 
dred and Seventeenth New York infantry, under Col. William K. Pease, and 
was appointed second sergeant of that company. The regiment was sent to 
Washington at once, but within three months he was discharged at Ft. Alex- 
ander for physical disability. 

March 19, 1864, he married Lucy C. Rippey of Spafford, Onondago coun- 
ty, N. Y., and came to Sioux City the same spring, driving from Marshall- 
town, the end of the railroad, with a yoke of cattle, and went to Yankton and 
Bon Homme, Dak., but returned to Marshalltown, Iowa, in July the same 
year, and commenced working for the Chicago & Northwestern railway pil- 
ing wood in the woodshed, but soon after accepted a clerkship in an office at 
the west end of the road at Colorado, moving to Nevada in August, 1864, 
where he was appointed cashier by D. C. Dodge, vice-president of the Den- 
ver & Kio Grande railroad, who was at that time pioneer agent for the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern railway. He moved to Boone, Iowa, July 15, 1S65, when 
the road was opened to that point, and when extended beyond was appointed 
local agent. Mr. Hills was sent to Missouri Valley Junction to open that 
station for business in December, 1S66, and after serving as pioneer agent 
for one month, was sent to Denison, Iowa, and appointed agent at that sta- 
tion. All the freight for Sioux City was hauled by wagon from "Denison at 
that time. When the Sioux City & Pacific railroad was completed to Sioux 
City, March 7, 1868, Mr. Hills was appointed station agent, and served in 
that capacity until September, 1870, when he was appointed general freight 
agent of the company, and in June, 1871, general ticket agent, afterward, 
was also appointed superintendent, and later on the titles were consolidated 




/^/ 



^^z^?4^^ 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 705 

Tinder the head of general traffic manager. Mr. Hills resigned this office 
August 31, 1881, on account of ill health. During the time he was with this 
road it constructed and operated the P. E. & M. V. " railroad " to O'Neill 
City, Neb. 

From 1881 to April, 1888, Mr. Hills was engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness in Sioux City, but at the latter date he sold out his business and accept- 
ing a position with the new railroad organization in the interest of Sioux 
City, and resigned the position of assistant to General Manager Donald Mc- 
Lean of the Wyoming Pacific Improvement Co., constructing the Pacific Short 
Line, in October, 1889, to accept his present position of general manager of 
the Sioux City & Northern railroad, which was organized in 1887, and of 
which company he has been secretary since its organization. 

Mr. Hills has served three years as a member of the school board, one 
year to fill vacancy in city council, belongs to the Grand Army and Masonic 
orders, having been master high priest, and commander of the different 
bodies, and is a thirty-third degree member of the Scottish Rite. He is a 
republican in politics. 

Horace Newell Maevin, M. D., Sioux City, is the son of a physician, 
Dr. Harvey Marvin, a native of Vermont, who was educated in the old school 
and became one of the first honiceopathists in America. Dr. Harvey Marvin 
practiced chiefly in Buffalo, and removed in 1866 to Whitehall, Mich., where 
he died in 1872, aged sixty-six years. His widow, Aurelia Marvin, nee Tall- 
man, still survives at the age of seventy, and resides in Grand Rapids, Mich. 
She is a descendant of Roger Williams, who was banished from the Plym- 
outh colony. Her father, Elijah Tallman, removed in 1S12 from Connecticut 
to New York, and served in the war which broke out in that year. 

Dr. H. N. Marvin was born in Wellsville, Ohio, September 17, 1845. He 
was educated in the Buffalo schools and Fredonia academy. After assisting 
his father in the care of 300 small-pox patients he turned his attention to 
medicine. He began practice in Erie county, N. Y., in 1866, and in 1868 
entered Hahnemann Medical college, Chicago, from which he graduated two 
years later. He came to Sioux~ City in 1878, where he has a successful prac- 
tice. He is a member of the Hahnemann Medical association of Iowa, and 
the Woodbury County Homceopathic society, and contributes to the " Medical 
Courant," " Era " and " Investigator." He entertains liberal theological 
views, and is a republican politically. In 1868 he married Hannah, daugh- 
ter of John Fletcher, a prominent figure in the Canadian Patriot . war. Dr. 
and Mrs. Marvin have two sons: Harvey and Howard. 

Gipson Bates, the first settler in Liberty township and among the first in 
Woodbury comity, now engaged in farming and stock-raising on section two, 
was born in Windsor county, Vt., in January, 1835, and is a son of Moses 



706 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and Eose Ann Bates, both natives of Vermont, the former of English or 
Scotch descent, and the latter of Irish descent. Moses Bates was a farmer, 
and came to Indiana, thence to Black Hawk county, Iowa, in 1849, where he 
farmed until his death, in 1854, his wife having died in Indiana. 

Gipson Bates was born and brought up on a farm, and received his edu- 
cation at the district schools. He continued to reside with his parents until 
their death, and in February, 1855, came to Woodbury county, and located 
in Sergeant's Bluff, where he built a log house and a blacksmith shop, which 
he worked in until the fall of the same year, when he came to where he now 
resides in Liberty township and built a cabin. The following year he 
entered 320 acres of land. He continued to live in the log cabin and worked 
to get his land under cultivation until 1866, when he erected a large dwell- 
ing, and now has his farm all under a good state of cultivation and well 
improved. The first year he had to drive to Council Bluffs, a distance of one 
hundred miles, with oxen, to do his trading and milling. In 1856 a store 
was started in Sergeant's Bluff. Mr. Bates has been identified with the 
county since its infancy, has witnessed all the improvements in it, and has 
seen the growth of Sioux City from the first building; has seen all the wild 
lands cleared and transformed into fertile farms and comfortable homes. He 
has witnessed everything that will be found in the historical chapters of this 
work. His business has been farming and stock-raising and practicing medi- 
cine for about twenty years. Politically he is a republican and has held 
several of the township offices. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, 
and both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 
1860 Mr. Bates was married to Elizabeth Clarke, of Woodbury county, and 
their children are Nancy J., Maggie, Eosie, Willie, Lena, Flora, Nellie, 
Smith, Lizzie and Eobey. 

W. E. Higman. Among the thoroughgoing business men of Sioux City, 
none stand higher in point of excellence and general public favor than the 
gentleman of whom we now write. He is a leader, not alone in the financial 
circles of the place, but also of the society in which he moves. Ever since 
he has been a resident of the city, he has manifested a well-disposed interest 
in all that goes toward the upbuilding of the social; moral and religious ele- 
ments, as well as the secular and purely financial interests. Such a man is 
a blessing to any city. Mr. Higman first became identified with Sioux City 
in 1880, and before going into further detail regarding his career as a prom- ■ 
inent business man here in the West, it man be well to touch briefly on some 
of his earlier life, his ancestors, etc. He is a native of Corning, Steuben 
county, N. Y., born June 5, 1846. His parents were John and Clarissa Hig- 
man, natives of England and America, respectively. Our subject's father 
followed farming for a livelihood, and educated W. E. in the common schools 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 707 

of his native town. His first biisiness experience was that of banking. From 
that calling he drifted into the wholesale grocery business, which he followed 
at Sioux City from 1880 to 1884. He then engaged in the real estate busi- 
ness, in which calling he was quite successful. In 1890 he was one of the 
organizers of the National Bank of Sioux City, and was at once elected its 
president. When one considers that this is the largest banking house in 
Iowa, and has a capital of one million dollars, it will be readily understood 
that the position that Mr. Higman holds, as its chief officer, is one of no 
small importance, responsibility and trust. Indeed none but good men can 
occupy such positions. Though still a young man, Mr. Higman, per force 
of his character, ranks high in business and social circles of the great north- 
west. In the line of real estate he is well known, owing to the fact that he has 
made nine additions to Sioux City, viz. : " Higman' s Addition," "Higman's 
Second Addition," " Higman's Pierce Street Addition," "Higman's Park Addi- 
tion," "Vine Place," "Lowell Addition," "Grand View Addition," "Hig- 
man's Boulevard Addition" and "Higman's Second Boulevard Addition." 

Mr. Higman was united in marriage September 15, 1873, to R. Adel Hoke, 
of Chemung county, N. Y. Her parents were Dr. Geo. E. and Adeline Hoke, 
natives of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Higman are the parents of six children: 
William E., Anna C, Nellie A., Brown, Jerome M. and Margaret H. Polit- 
ically Mr. Higman is a firm believer in and supporter of the republican party. 
Both he and his estimable wife are consistent members of the First Baptist 
church, and he is an active worker in the Y. M. C. A., of which he is now 
president. 

Squibe Wood Haviland (deceased) resided on section thirty-four, 
Liberty township, and was a native of New York city, born in September, 
1829. He removed to Chicago, 111., at the age of twenty, where he engaged 
in the livery business until 1855, when he came to what was then a little 
hamlet in Woodbury county, Iowa, but which is now Sioux City, and there 
engaged in the livery business, also buying and selling stock. He also did 
butchering business and furnished meat for the steamboats. He, in com- 
pany with others, purchased some land north of Sioux City in the valley, and 
stocked it up. During the winter the river, gorged with ice, overflowed and 
killed all the stock, the men barely escaping with their lives. This mis- 
fortune stripped Mr. Haviland of every cent he had. He then took employ- 
ment for about three years, when he again engaged in butchering in Sioux 
City until 186S, when he purchased 160 acres of land where his widow now 
resides. He farmed and raised live-stock, and owned 360 acres of land, all 
under a good state of cultivation, at the time of his death. Politically he 
was a democrat, and took an active part in politics, serving one term in the 
legislature. In 1867 Mr. Haviland was united in marriage with Mary C. 



708 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Beers, of Monona county, Iowa. Of the sis children born to them, two are 
deceased; those living are Squire Beers, Mary, Edna and Henry W. The 
father of these children was called to his final rest November 8, 1887, and 
was interred in the cemetery at Salix, Woodbury county, Iowa. Mrs. Havi- 
land still resides on the homestead, which her husband provided for her, and 
continues to have the farm operated. She is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Mr. Haviland was identified with the history of the 
county from its infancy, was a public-spirited man, and did much toward 
the upbuilding of the county in which he lived. He was a member of the 
Masonic order. 

Adelbert J. Weeks, M. D., also a dealer in drugs and a prominent man 
now residing in Correction ville, was born in Wyoming county, N. Y., October 
6, 1845, and is a son of Joseph and Fidelia (Brayton) Weeks, both natives 
of New York. Joseph Weeks was by occupation a miller, which pursuit he 
followed in Michigan, having moved there in 1855. In 1873 he moved to 
Chicago, where he resided until 1885, when he came to Iowa, and spent the 
remainder of his days with his son Adelbert J., and died in February, 1889. 
His wife is still living and resides with her daughter at Fremont, Neb. Nine 
children were born to this couple, five of whom are living, viz : Eugene, liv- 
ing in Chicago ; Nellie, wife of Rev. L. Bradford, of Huron, Neb. ; Jennie, 
wife of H. Campbell, who was a member of the Kansas legislature in 1885, 
and resides at Great Bend, Kas. ; Adelbert J., our subject; Frances, wife of 
Charles Beveridge, of Fremont, Neb. Adelbert J. received his education at 
the University of Michigan. He enlisted in 1862, at the age of sixteen years, 
in Company H, Merrill's Horse regiment, Michigan battalion. He served 
three years with the exception of eighteen days. He participated in the Bed 
River expedition, and in the battles at Iron Mountain and Little Rock, also 
several minor battles. He faithfully discharged his duties and received an 
honorable discharge at Nashville, Term., September 19, 1865. He then 
returned to Battle Creek, Mich., and began the study of medicine with Smith 
■ Rogers, with whom he remained until 1867, when he commenced his first 
course of lectures at the University of Michigan, and graduated in March, 
1869. He practiced medicine in Battle Creek, Mich., until the fall of 1871, 
when he moved to Correctionville. In 1873 he purchased a drug-store and 
has conducted the business ever since, in connection with his practice. Dr. 
Weeks owns considerable real estate in town, including a nice residence. He 
has been quite successful in life, which is due to his own efforts. December 
1, 1870, he married Jerane E. Rogers, of Battle Creek, Mich. ; their first 
child, Nellie, is living at home, the second died in infancy. Politically he is 
a republican, and has always supported the principles of that party. He is 
at present alderman of Correctionville, which position he has held about 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 709 

nine years, or four terms. In 1880 he was elected a member of the county 
board of supervisors, for three years, and during the last year he was chair- 
man. He was coroner of Woodbury county for three terms, and has served 
as a member of the school board several terms. He is a member of the fol- 
lowing fraternal societies: Masons, I. O. O. F., K. of P. and G. A. E. 

August Richard Gendreau, retired farmer, was the first resident settler 
in Correctionville. He was born in Cap St. Ignace, Islet county, district of 
Quebec, Canada, August 28, 1825, and is a son of Charles and Constance 
(Fournien) Gendreau, also of Canadian birth and French extraction. His 
father was a carpenter, and died from the effects of a fall from a building, at 
which time August was nine years old. On reaching the age of twenty- 
three years, our subject set out for the United States, and worked eight 
years for a farmer near Chicago. In 1855 he came to Iowa, spending a 
year in Franklin and Hardin counties. In 1856 he came to Sioux City, and 
next year settled on section six, Rock township, where he has ever since fol- 
lowed farming. His residence is in the town of Correctionville, to which he 
has made two platted additions. He has served as township trustee, and 
was many years school treasurer; has always adhered to the democratic 
party, and the church of his fathers — the Roman Catholic. Mr. Gendreau has 
been twice married, the first time at Eldora, in January, 1858, to Elizabeth 
Huntley, a native of New York. She died in 1870, leaving four daughters 
and two sons, of whom five are living, viz. : Eugenia Janette (wife of T. B. 
Ross), Luella (Mrs. Mike Cabeen), Harriet (wife of George Workman), Amy 
(Mrs. William Barto), and Richard. Charles, the second, died at the age of 
two years. His present wife is Elbertena (Risner) Gendreau, of German 
descent. He has three children by the last wife, viz. : Lova, Nora and Eugene. 

C. C. Orr, capitalist, Sioux City, was born in the northern part of Ireland 
and was educated in his native country. He came to America when nineteen 
years of age and settled in Louisville, Ky., where he remained for fifteen 
years. He then removed to New Orleans, and remained there five years, and' 
came to Sioux City in 1857. Ambitious and persevering, Mr. Orr, while 
beginning at the foot of the ladder, worked his way upward and met with 
great financial success. He at one time owned 50,000 acres of land, lying 
in sixteen counties of Iowa, four counties in Nebraska and three in Missouri. 
He was joined in marriage to Carlotta, daughter of William T. Craig, of a 
fine, hospitable southern family, now a resident of Sioux City. One son, 
William C, was born to this union, who makes his home with his parents in 
Sioux City. They are members of the Baptist church. Mr. Orr has now 
retired from active business. 

J. S. Lynch, retired contractor, Sioux City, is a native of Peterboro 
county, Canada, and was born in 1844. He was educated in his native 



710 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

county, and came to the United States in 1866, and located in the Pennsyl- 
vania oil regions. In 1867 he came to Iowa, and for a number of years was em- 
ployed as a contractor on the Sioux City & Pacific railroad, the Fremont, 
Elkhorn & Missouri Valley railroad, the Chicago & Northwestern and its 
branches, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad. He has resided 
in Sioux City permanently since 1869, and is now engaged in buying and 
selling real estate. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and a 
democrat in politics. Mr. Lynch was married at Council Bluffs, Iowa, 
April 7, 1875, to Miss Isabel Carlow, a daughter of George and Anna (Car- 
veth) Carlow, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of England. 
Our subject's family consists of the following children: James C, Albert J., 
Walter C, William G. and Edith L. 

Hon. Geoege W. Kellogg, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born on a 
farm near Oberlin, Lorain county, Ohio, June 6, 1835. He is a self-made 
man, having received only a common-school education, and removed with 
his parents at the age of eighteen years to Dubuque county, Iowa, where he 
continued to labor on a farm for ten years longer. June 6, 1859, he mar- 
ried Miss Elinor E. McMillan, of Farley, Dubuque county, Iowa, and in 
1863 removed with his wife and two children to Sioux City. His earthly 
possession then consisted of a cow, a yoke of oxen and a wagon. In October 
of that year, he settled on a piece of government land seven miles from Sioux 
City, in Union county, D. T. He built a cabin of logs, which was covered 
with poles, hay and dirt, making a comfortable, if not an architecturally 
imposing shelter. In the fall of 1864, he was elected on the democratic 
ticket, to the house of representatives in the territorial legislature, and was 
re-elected in 1865 and 1866. In 1867 he was elected for two years to the 
territorial council or senate. In 1868, at the request of a legislative 
committee, Mr. Kellogg wrote an article on the products and resources of 
Dakota territory, and his forecast for that fruitful region has been amply 
fulfilled, a testimonial of his sound judgment and foresight. 

In 1870 he was elected territorial auditor by a large majority, and served 
two years with credit to himself and constituency. He was again offered 
the nomination for auditor in 1872, but refused to accept. On November 
18, 1872, he was caused to mourn the loss of his wife, leaving him with six 
children, three of whom died the following year. On March 14, 1874, 
he married Mrs. Mary A. Lent, of Yankton, D. T., and as a result of this 
happy union, two bright little girls were added to his prosperous 
home. In the fall of 1877 he was elected district attorney of Union county, 
D. T., for the term of two years, and retired from politics at the close of his 
term. He had commenced reading law in 1865 and was admitted to the 
bar in 1870. For fifteen years he has given his attention chiefly to the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 711 

practice of his profession and the care of his farms. He is the owner of a 
large tract of valuable land in Union county, S. T>. , also a valuable piece of Sioux 
City real estate, on which he moved in 1882, and on which he now resides. 
In 1886 Mr. Kellogg was retained as one of the attorneys in defending John 
Arensdorf, who was charged with the murder of Rev. George C. Haddock, 
August 3, 1886, in Sioux City. After a hard legal fight, in which Mr. Kel- 
logg distinguished himself, his client was acquitted. As a gentleman, Mr. 
Kellogg is noted for his honesty and integrity, and socially he is congenial 
and affable. 

Robert Oertel Major, retired merchant, Sioux City, was born in Memel, 
Prussia, October 19, 1821, and is a son of Kobert Alexander and Louise 
(Von Oertel) Major. His father was the eldest of eight sons of John Major, 
of Gloucestershire, England, and became a merchant at Memel, where our 
subject was educated. The mother was a native of Ansbach-Beireuth, Ger- 
many, and was educated in St. Petersburg, Russia, being a classmate of 
Queen Louise, of Prussia, who was her friend. Kobert A. Major's mother 
was a daughter of Admiral Forsyth, of the British navy, and both families 
have been long established in England. 

In 1811 K. O. Major, then a youth of eighteen, was sent, on account of his 
delicate health, to Naples, Italy, where he became thoroughly proficient in 
the silk industry in the establishment of an uncle. After residing ten years 
in Italy, he went as the representative of a large silk-house to Shanghai, China. 
It was the intention to teach the Chinese the Italian method of producing 
silk, but this was abandoned on account of the hostility of the Chinese gov- 
ernment, and Mr. Major became a public silk inspector, and later, an 
extensive silk merchant. He was twice in action during the Tasping rebel- 
lion, fighting, against overwhelming odds, the Chinese imperial army in 
defense of the English settlement at Shanghai. After ten years' residence in 
the Orient, he retired from business and went to England, where he built a 
fine residence between Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne, in Sussex. He 
became a member of the Reform club, the liberal political club of England, 
and spent twenty years of leisure in the land of his fathers. He was a 
liberal supporter of the established church until the high church tendencies 
drove him from it. By the American panic of 1873, he suffered great losses 
on his railroad securities, and at the same time his Chinese interests under- 
went a great depreciation, and he resolved to remove to the new world to 
recuperate his fortunes. Having disposed of his English property, he crossed 
the Atlantic in 1881, and came at once to Sioux City. He purchased a sec- 
tion of land in West Fork township, and shortly built three houses on Pierce 
street, at Twenty- second. One of these houses he still retains, and in addi- 
tion to the land above mentioned, which is now a finely improved farm, he 



712 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

holds 560 acres in Perry, Plymouth county. In 1889 he built the handsome 
block bearing his name at 1010 Fourth street. The appreciation in value of 
this property, which is clear of incumbrance, has placed him in easy circum- 
stances. Mr. Major was married in China, April 29, 1S58, to Matilda 
Martha Vacher, of Bedfordshire, England, of whom death robbed him ten 
years later. Their only child, Charles Oertel Major, who was born in Shang- 
hai, is now traveling for the Standard Oil company, with headquarters at 
Portland, Oregon. 

Rev. Wilmot Whitfield, D. D., president and chancellor of the Uni- 
versity of the Northwest, Sioux City, was born in Eastport, Maine, May 9, 
1840, a son of Thomas and Rebecca (Rideout) Whitfield. His father was 
born in London, England, and his mother in Fredericton, New Brunswick, 
Canada. His grandfather, John Whitfield, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, was, in 
early life, a leading actor in Drury Lane theatre, where he attracted the at- 
tention of the Prince Regent (afterward George IV.) who became his patron. 
He was a first cousin of George Whitfield, the celebrated evangelist. His 
wife, Anna Healy, was descended from ancient English ancestry. Thomas 
Whitfield, who was a younger son, came to America in 1821, and was em- 
ployed in book-keeping for some time, after which he taught school. Our 
subject spent the early years of his life in the east, where he attended 
school until eighteen years of age, when he went to Ohio to attend Oberlin 
college. The noted Dr. Finney was then the president of this institution. 

Mr. Whitfield graduated in medicine in 1861, and went to a small town in 
Ionia county, Mich., where he practiced for the next three years, serving a 
short time in the hospitals of the "Union army. In 1866 he came to Hardin, 
Clayton county, Iowa, where he followed his profession until 1868. August 
19, of that year, he married Isabel Glass, a native of Ohio, and they then 
settled in Butler county, Iowa, where he practiced for the succeeding four 
years. He then gave up the practice of medicine and entered the ministry 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, as a member of the Northwest Iowa con- 
ference. He was stationed at Lake City, Calhoun county, for one year, then 
transferred to Storm Lake, Buena Vista county, where he remained two 
years. He was then appointed to the First Methodist Episcopal church at 
Sioux City, over which he presided nearly three years, leaving at the end of 
that time, that he might take a trip to Europe for rest and recuperation, as 
well as to visit the scenes of the Holy Land. During his trip, which lasted 
sixteen months, he visited Rome, Italy and Cairo, Egypt, and Palestine, 
and returning, much improved in mind and body, he assumed his pastoral 
duties as presiding elder of the Dakota district, which was soon after con- 
verted into the Dakota mission conference. This included all the territory 
in South Dakota, except the Black Hills. He was superintendent here for 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 713 

two years, then by his special request was released and appointed pastor of 
the first M. E. church, at Yankton, Dak. After serving here ten months he 
was recalled to take the superintendency of the Dakota mission, by Bishop 
Foss. After fourteen months' labor here Bishop Simpson called him to be 
pastor of the First M. E. church at Sioux City. After a year's pastorate 
here, Bishop Andrews assigned him to the position of presiding elder of the 
Sioux City district. This station received his services for the next six years. 

September 20, 1S90, Bishop Fowler, with the consent of the Northwest 
Iowa conference, appointed him chancellor of the University of the North- 
west. Mr. Whitfield has had four children, namely: Mabel Jane, Wilmot 
Gladstone, Kobert Glass and George McCabe, all of whom are living except 
the first named. While not a politician, Mr. Whitfield gives his support to 
the prohibition party. He was a delegate of the general conference held in 
New York in 1888, and is a delegate elect to the ecumenical conference of 
Methodists to be held in Washington, in October, 1891. Dr. Whitfield's 
degree of D. D. was conferred by the Northwestern university, of Evanston, 
III, in June, 1890. 

George Eisentraut was born in the rural districts of Coburg, Germany, 
February 14, 1814, the son of Christian and Eleanora (Kaiser) Eisentraut, 
natives of Germany. His early education was acquired in the town schools 
of Koenigsberg, in Coburg, which he attended until his fourteenth year, when 
he commenced to work for his father on the farm. 

In the spring of 1860 he came to America, settling in St. Louis, from 
there he went to Chester, 111., where he engaged in cigar making. He 
remained there until the fall of 1861, when he enlisted in the Twentieth Illi- 
nois regimental band, and served with them about six months, when they 
were disbanded. April 5, 1862, he returned to Chester, 111., where he re- 
mained until 1863, where he removed to Jackson county, Iowa, and engaged 
in mercantile business, and later on went to Idaho and spent four years 
among the mountains engaged in various occupations. He then returned 
to Iron Hills, Jackson county, Iowa, where he carried on the mercan- 
tile trade until 1870, when he took up 160 acres as a homestead in Wolf 
Creek township, Woodbury county, on which he carried on farming and gen- 
eral stock-raising until 1890, at which date he left his farm, and moved to 
Sioux City, so as to enable his children to enjoy a better opportunity of 
receiving a thorough education. He has built a beautiful home in Sioux 
City's most delightful suburb, Morning Side, where the University of the 
Northwest is located, and of which he is a director. When fourteen years of 
age he united with the Lutheran church. He and his wife both joined the 
M. E. church in 1870. In 1879 Mr. Eisentraut became greatly interested in 
Sunday-school Avork, and has been secretary of the County Sunday-school 



714- HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

association most of the time since its organization, and this work, which has 
been of great benefit to his soul's happiness, has caused him to be known 
throughout the county as a Sunday-school worker. 

Mr. Eisentraut was united in matrimony with Miss Eliza Oberholtzer, a 
native of Welton, Clinton county, Iowa, April 5, 1869, and to this union six 
children were born, of whom four are living. Their names are Laura Irene, 
Bernhard (died September 7, 1873), Jacob, Dora Alice, Emma Frances, and 
Ealph Harry (died January 24, 1886). Every one of the family are members 
of the M. E. church, of which the father has been Sunday-school teacher for 
the past twenty years. In his politics he is a republican, and by this party 
was elected to several offices in the township from which he recently moved. 

Benjamin Fbanklin Albright, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is descended from 
the early German colonists of Pennsylvania. He is the eighth of fourteen 
children born to Emanuel and Catharine (Watts) Albright, and was born in 
Greenwood, Juniata county, Pa., January 18, 1835. After spending a 
year in Ohio, and another in Whiteside county, 111., his parents settled in 
Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa, about 1842. 

Here our subject attended the common school, and remained at home 
until of age. He has always engaged in farming, and came to Plymouth 
county in 1871, taking a homestead on section thirty, Grant township, where 
he now resides. The estate now includes 320 acres, and he gives much 
attention to stock-raising, his specialty being Polled Angus cattle. He has 
been a life-long democrat, and has served as school director (having organ- 
ized the first school in the township), justice of the peace, town clerk and 
trustee, being now in the third term of the last office. He entertains liberal 
religious views, while his family is associated with the Boman Catholic 
church. 

In 1858 he married Mary, daughter of Peter and Julia Sophy, of 
French and Irish extraction. The father and mother of Mrs. Albright were 
born in Ontario, Canada, which was her native place. Mr. Albright's chil- 
dren are named in order of birth: Ann Jennette, John Franklin, Minnie T. 
and Edwin Peter, all save John at home. 

Eliphalet B. Crawford was born in Yates county, N. T., May 20, 1830, 
a son of Benjamin and Laurena (Hatch) Crawford, and is a direct descend- 
ant of Lord John Crawford, of Ayrshire, Scotland. Our subject attended 
the common schools in Yates county, N. Y., until he was twelve years old, 
then for the succeeding four years he went to the public schools in Waterloo, 
Seneca county, N. Y. When sixteen years old he entered as an apprentice 
to a tailor, and worked with him until 1852, when he moved to Madison, 
Wis. Here he established himself in the clothing business, which he con- 
ducted until 1869, when he sold out and came to Sioux City, and here opened 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 715 

the largest clothing house in the state, known as the Oak Hall clothing- 
house. 

In 1885 he was appointed postmaster by President Cleveland, so he sold 
out his business that he might give his entire time and attention to the office. 
He served as postmaster until 1888, and since then has been in no active 
business, though occasionally investing in real estate. The following clip- 
ping from Collins' History and Directory of the Black Hills for 1878 and 
1S79 may be of interest to his many friends. " About this time (1871) Mr. 
E. B. Crawford, a prominent clothing merchant of Sioux City, had just 
returned from a visit to the Whetstone Indian agency, and while at the lat- 
ter place had been shown several fine specimens of gold quartz, by J. M. 
Washburn, then Indian agent there, stating that he had received them from 
the Indians of his agency, who claimed to have found them among the Black 
Hills, Dakota. Of these several specimens, three were presented to Mr. Craw- 
ford, who brought them to Sioux City, where he had them on exhibition in 
his store. Mr. Collins, then editor of the "Times," with the permission of Mr. 
Crawford, took them to Washington and showed them to the Secretary of the 
Interior, explaining to him their history, hoping that he might receive some 
help from the government in making further discoveries. These were the 
first specimens of gold-bearing quartz from the Black Hills ever shown in the 
east or west. As soon as their history was made known, there immediately 
went from Sioux City, Iowa, Chicago and other points, men in search of the 
valuable metal, this being the opening of the Black Hills, and ever since, the 
developments have been astonishing, making that region one of the most 
prominent in the west." 

December 15, 1850, Mr. Crawford married Pamelia F. Graves, a native 
of New York, and to them have been born two children : Laurena and Lilly. 
In politics he is a democrat. 

James Alexander Sawyers. Among the prominent early residents of 
Sioux City, who have moved onward with the star of Empire, the subject of 
this sketch stands foremost. He was born near Pulaski, Giles county, Tenn., 
December 16, 1824, and is a son of Allen and Martha L. (Stinson) Sawyers, 
the former a native of Rockbridge county, Va., and the latter of North Caro- 
lina. He remained on the home farm until twenty years old, when he en- 
listed as a soldier and served one year in the Mexican war, then came to 
Iowa, settling in Davis county, where he engaged in mercantile business. 

In 1S57 he visited Sioux City and built a store, and the following spring- 
he brought his family and opened up business, and in the fall entered into 
partnership with E. R. Kirk. In 1861 he enlisted in the Sioux City cavalry, 
and was in the United States army for three years. He was elected first 
lieutenant by the members of the company, and served in that capacity until 



716 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the Minnesota massacre. He then resigned upon the request of Gov. Kirk- 
wood, and took charge of the Northern Border brigade, and built a line of 
stockades from Sioux City to Chain Lakes, Minn. He subsequently became 
associated with D. T. Hedges in the cattle and freighting business. In 1865 
and 1866 he was engaged in building the wagon road for the government, 
between Sioux City and Virginia City, Montana, known as the Niobrara 
route. Afterward he built the ferry-boat, Undine, which was the first steam 
ferry at Sioux City, with the exception of the temporary use of an old river 
boat. Later he built the steamboats Sioux City, and Tiger. The "Undine 
is still doing service at Yankton, S. D. 

September 5, 1848, Col. Sawyer married Miss Margaret E. Woods, who 
passed from earth in 1869. In 1870 he married Miss Jennie E. Bell, of Ne- 
braska City, Neb., and in 1878 they moved to Leadville. In 1887 they went 
to Oregon, where they remained until 1890, when they settled in Santa Cruz, 
Cal., where they still reside. 

F. J. Lambert (deceased) was born in Saarbricken, Prussia, April 10, 
1829, at which place he r'eceived a common-school education, after which he 
removed to Metz, where he received a thorough college education in all its 
branches. He came to America in 1848, taking up his abode in Cleveland, 
Ohio, at which place he remained two years, and then returned to his old 
home across the sea ; but the American spirit had captured him more completely 
than he had thought, and he shortly returned to Cleveland, where he estab- 
lished himself in the dry goods business, in which he continued until 1856, 
when he started west. 

In July, 1853, he was united in marriage with Christine Beich, whom he 
won while in the Ohio city. To them were born three children: Laura, 
Charles and Louis, all of whom, with their mother, survived him at his death, 
which occurred February 23, 1888. He had been a continuous resident of 
Sioux City since his first arrival here, which was in May, 1857. He brought 
his family here by boat, journeying from St. Louis via the Missouri river, 
and the boat on which they traveled sank before reaching this port, depriv- 
ing them of everything except the clothes they wore. He was a congenial 
and kind-hearted man, and it was not long before he was known as one of 
the most popular men in the county. 

His first occupation here was to act as clerk in the United States land 
office, then under the supervision of Mr. Cassady. In 1859 he was elected 
sheriff of this county, which office he held until 1864, when he resigned to 
succeed Joseph N. Field in the offices of clerk of the courts and county 
auditor. After three terms of service in these offices he acted as deputy 
recorder under A. Gruninger. He was afterward connected with the treas- 
urer's office, and later placed most of his possessions in the Citizens' National 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 717 

bank, and when that institution went to the wall (which was about three 
years after the organization of the same), the greater part of his wealth was 
swept away in the disaster. 

He then became township assessor, also filled a term or two as township 
clerk, after which he was elected to the office of city assessor, which office he 
held up to the time of his death. 

Hon. Thomas L. Gkiffey, more familiarly known as Judge Griffey, one 
of the earliest pioneers of the Upper Missouri valley region, has won, through 
his forty years' eventful career, a place in the history of Woodbury county, 
especially as he was appointed by the legislature to organize the county, 
which he did, and also located the county seat. Having been conspicuous in 
early county matters, his name appears throughout the history proper; but 
some personal mention should be made of one who has not slipped noiselessly 
through the years, but on the contrary has been an active and thoroughgoing 
member of the legal profession. 

He was born June 28, 1827, in Campbell county, Ky., the son of Will- 
iam and Elizabeth Griffey, who were of Scotch, English and Welsh extrac- 
tion. The father of our subject was a successful farmer and horse dealer. 
Thomas L. was one of a family of four sons and four daughters. He ob- 
tained the most of his education in the county of his nativity, and left home 
at the age of sixteen years, coming to Kanesville, Iowa (now Council Bluffs), 
in 1850. He remained in that vicinity until 1852, when he came to Wood- 
bury county. Five years later he took government land in Floyd valley, 
which is now within the limits of Sioux City. In 1857 he transferred his 
interests, and a year later removed to Dakota county, Neb., where he still 
owns several thousand acres of the finest, most valuable farming lands in 
the country. He made his home across the Missouri until the spring of 
1889, when he again took up his residence in Sioux City. 

While he has for many years been an extensive land owner, and gained a 
liberal competency from the products of his well-improved farms, he has 
followed his chosen profession, that of a practicing attorney, in which he 
has been successful. His good judgment, knowledge of the law, and general 
popularity, caused him to be elected to several public positions, among 
which may be mentioned the following: He served as a member of the terri- 
torial council of Nebraska two terms ; was United States commissioner for 
many years, and in 1875 was elected as judge of the district court in the Sixth 
(or Northern)district of Nebraska. He filled all these positions to the entire 
satisfaction of his constituents, by reason of his sound judgment and unpredju- 
diced mind, which seldom fails to be duly appreciated in the selection of public 
officers. Being of a patriotic turn, he served in both the Mexican and Civil 
wars. Politically he is a democrat, and well posted on all the great issues 



718 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

that have been before the country. In religious faith he is a Methodist. He 
is an honored member of the Royal Arch degree of Masonry. 

He was married to Mary I. Brown, August 7, 1853, at Council Bluffs. 
By this union four daughters were born, only one of whom survives, and is 
the wife of Will S. Jay, of Sioux City. His wife died in 1885, and for his 
second wife he married Mrs. Tealie Barklay. They were married October 
23, 1888, at Joplin, Mo. 

Coming to this section while the Indians were yet occupants, and before 
a mile of railroad or telegraph line had been constructed west of Chicago, 
he is thoroughly posted regarding pioneer hardships and successes back in 
the fifties. Being a close observer and great reader, he is quoted as au- 
thority on many historic matters in the three states cornering at Sioux City 
— Iowa, Nebraska and Dakota. In his manner he is easy, full of friendship 
and a most excellent conversationalist, and impresses one with the thought 
that he is in the presence of a true gentleman, both by nature and cultivation. 

David Milan Mills was born in Dunbarton, Merrimac county, N. H., 
December 31, 1832, and was the youngest of the eleven children born to 
John and Hannah (Church) Mills, both natives of New Hampshire, the former 
born in Dunbarton and the latter in Weare. When our subject was quite 
young his parents moved to Barry county, Mich., and there he attended the 
common schools until he was fifteen years of age, at which time he took one 
term at the Ann Arbor college. When nineteen years old he went, to San Fran- 
cisco, where he remained a year, then went to Santa Rosa, where, as superin- 
tendent of a ranch, he spent another year. Then he took a trip to South 
America, visiting many important places, including the Sandwich Islands, 
spending eight months on the trip. Upon his return he remained in Santa 
Rosa until the spring of 1855, when he went to Champaign, 111., where he 
spent one year with a brother. 

On March 15, 1856, he started for Sioux City, where he remained for two 
years, and during which time he took a 160-acre pre-emption claim in Sioux 
township, Plymouth county, on which he moved and remained one year, and 
which is part of his present farm. He next went to Dakota and took a claim 
of 320 acres, and built a house upon it, and this was the first house built on 
ground now within the city limits of Sioux Falls. He remained here but seven 
months, when he sold out and returned to Sioux City, where he remained 
until 185S, when he returned to his pre-emption in Sioux township. After 
spending a year there he moved on a 160-acre farm which he had bought, 
and which adjoined his on the east. 

In 1864 he moved to Elk Point, Dak., and there was elected a member of 
the legislature, which position he held for two years, when he resigned to 
take a position as collector of internal revenue. He held that position three 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 719 

years then was landlord of the American hotel which he conducted for two 
years. In 1871 he returned to his farm in Sioux township, on which he has 
since lived, carrying on farming and stock-raising on his farm, which now 
contains 1,140 acres. 

In June, 1861, he married Sarah, daughter of John Robinson, of Elk- 
hart, Ind. To them were born six children: Alice, Flora and Agnes, who 
are deceased, and David, Frank and George. Mr. Mills was twice married. 
His first wife died in 1881, and in 1884 he married Jennie, widow of a Mr. 
Homer, of Tipton, Iowa. George was drowned in the Sioux river in April, 
1890. Mr. Mills is a strong democrat and his religion is comprised in the 
golden rule, " Do unto others as you would that others should do unto 
yon." 

Aaeon Halseth, contractor, Sioux City. The rapid growth of Sioux 
City has necessitated much building, and consequently has brought many 
contractors here. Among the more successful and prominent ones is Aaron 
Halseth. He was born in Norway, in 1845, and came to America in 1869. 
In the same year he came to Sioux City and engaged in his trade, carpenter- 
ing and contracting. 

Mr. Halseth had the contract for the Union Depot, the High school, the 
Haakinson residence, John Pierce's residence, the Lerch block, the Unitarian 
church, the Baptist church, the Schulein block, James Spaulding's, M. L. 
Sloan's, Ed. Spaulding's and M. B. Davis' residences, the Silberhorn pack- 
ing houses, the Union Stock Yards, the Exchange bank, and many other 
buildings throughout the county and state, giving constant employment to 
forty men. Mr. Halseth is sole proprietor of the Sioux City Fuel company, 
and is president of the Sergeant's Bluff and Sioux City Terra Cotta, Tile and 
Brick company. He is also president of the Scandia Building and Loan 
Association. Mr. Halseth has met with success in his business career. 

He was married in Sioux City, October 15, 1870, to Miss Sigri Hoxeng, 
a native of Norway, and to this union eight children have been born, six of 
whom are now living, viz. : Mary, Hakon, Inga, Oscar, Simon and Amelia ; 
the youngest child bears the same name as a deceased child. Mr. Halseth 
is a member of the I. 0. O. F., the F. & A. M., the K. of P. and Druids. He 
and wife are members of the Lutheran church. Politically he has always 
affiliated with the democratic party. 

J. F. Peavey, president of the Sioux City Street railway company, Sioux 
City, was born at Eastport, Maine, December 15, 1856. His father was 
Albert D. Peavey, who was a ship-chandler and broker of that city. Our 
subject was but three years old at the time of his father's death. He was 
educated at the public schools of Eastport. 

He came to Sioux City in 1871, and with his brother, F. H. Peavey, en- 



720 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

gaged in the agricultural implement business until 1881, when he entered 
into the wholesale hardware business, in which he remained until 1888. . In 
that year he became the purchaser of the entire interest of the Sioux City 
Street railway company. For a young man Mr. Peavey has been very suc- 
cessful in his business undertakings. He is a director of the Corn Exchange 
bank, president of the Chamber of Commerce, and a director of the Dubuque 
& Sioux City railroad company. He is a member of the organization of the 
Knights of Pythias. 

James E. Booge, Sioux City. The original spelling of this name was 
Booge, pronounced with the sound of o as in move, but is now generally 
spelled Bogue, with the long sound of "o" and always with the "g" hard. 
It was not until 1823 that a change was made in the spelling of the name. 
Aaron Jordan Booge, who was the oldest son of Ebenezer Booge, desired the 
change in the spelling, owing to the fact that it was so often mispronounced. 
In this all his brothers agreed except Harris, who, throughout his life, re- 
tained the original spelling of the name as all of his children also have done. 

John Booge, the father and ancestor of this family, was a native of Scot- 
land, and was born and reared in the city of Glasgow. He was a tobacconist 
by occupation. Being of a religious turn of mind, as well as a man of dis- 
cernment and enterprise, in early life he concluded that in the colonies (now 
the United States) he could enjoy civil and religious liberty, and at the same 
time possess landed property, thereby enabling him to better lay a founda- 
tion for the support of himself and family. 

In the year 1680 he came to the colonies and settled in Connecticut, in 
the town of Haddam, now called Hadlyme. He was the fifth settler in this 
town, and five years passed before a yoke of oxen even was owned in the 
place. "When a church was organized in this village he was chosen elder, in 
which capacity he served throughout his life. When the town became en- 
titled to a representative in the legislature, he was frequently chosen as one 
of the representatives. Such was his good conduct that throughout the 
colony he was known as " Goodman " Booge. He was joined in marriage to 
Rebecca Walkley, and seven sons and three daughters were born to this 
union: John, William, Richard, Daniel, Stephen, James, Ebenezer, Sarah, 
Hannah and Rebecca. 

Ebenezer Booge, of whom our subject, James E. Booge, is a descendant, 
was the seventh son born to John and Rebecca Booge. Bound out at the 
age of fourteen years to learn the carpentering trade, he served his appren- 
ticeship. He was married to Damaris Cook, of Wallingford, Conn., and five 
sons and two daughters were the result of this union. 

Oliver, grandfather of our subject, was the third son of this marriage. 
He was a farmer by occupation, which calling he followed throughout his 



"*#^ 





GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 723 

life. He was a Revolutionary soldier, as were many of his brothers. He 
was married to Lucy Derrin, who became the mother of eleven children. 

Harris, their third son, father of James E. Booge, was born in Connecti- 
cut in 1784. When but four years of age, his parents removed to Pittsford, 
Vt., where he grew to manhood and where he remained until 1843. He was 
married to Laura Hubbell, of Connecticut, and to them were born thirteen 
children. In 1843, with his wife and family, Harris removed to Canada. 
He was a farmer by occupation. He was a man of fine ability and generous 
disposition, and a leader among his fellow-citizens in the town of Pittsford, 
and was familiarly called "Captain Harry" by them. He died in 1856. 

James E. Booge, our subject, was born in Pittsford, Vt., April 14, 1833, 
and there he remained until his parents moved to Canada, were he spent 
the next six years of his life. The following six years were passed in Indiana. 
His education was obtained in his native state, in Canada, and in Indiana, 
but on account of the inferiority of the school of that time, it was necessarily 
limited. He began life as a farmer, assisting his father in the summer and 
taking his ax into the woods in the winter, helped to clear the forests. 

In 1854 he went to California, and there engaged in mining until the 
spring of 1858, when he removed to St. Louis, Mo., and was there employed 
as a solicitor for the Wabash railroad, until he came to Sioux City, which 
was on October 11, 1858. He came to Sioux City on a boat laden with 
flour, apples and whisky. Sioux City was then a western village of 500 in- 
habitants. He at once entered into the mercantile business here, in which 
he remained twenty years. In the meantime he also engaged in the pork- 
packing business in a building eighteen by thirty feet, at the rear of the 
building now occupied by Ludlow & Clark, on Fourth street. During the 
first year he was engaged in the pork-packing business 870 hogs were killed, 
and were sold throughout the surrounding country. He then erected a 
building on Perr}^ creek, which he occupied two years, during which time 
5,000 hogs were killed. In 1873 he built a three-story building, fifty by 
one hundred and ten feet, at the corner of Fifth and Water streets, and at 
first killed from 12,000 to 13,000 hogs per year, but the number since in- 
creased to 123,000 per year. Feeling the need of a more commodious build- 
ing, in 1881 Mr. Booge erected his present pork-packing houses, covering 
ten acres of land, and the killing capacity has now reached 1,600 per day in 
winter, 800 per day during the summer months. One-half the products of 
the business are sold in the Liverpool and London markets, and the balance 
in the United States. 

He was one of the corporators, and is vice-president, of the Union Stock 
Yards company; was a corporator and is director of the National bank of 
Sioux City, and is a director of the America^ National. . He was a cor- 



724 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

I 

porator of, and is one of the five men who built and own, the Sioux City & 
Northern railroad. 

Mr. Booge was twice married, his first wife being Annie M. Hubbell, and 
by her were born two sons: Harris D. and James F., both of whom own one 
quarter interest in the business, the firm name being James E. Booge & 
Sons. They are both promising young men with fine business capacities, 
thoroughgoing and reliable. Miss Lucy B. Robinson is the second wife, 
and to this union were born two daughters : Laura E. and Josephine H. 
Mr. Booge's success in life has been due to his integrity, perseverance and 
judgment. He has not at any time aspired to political honor, but is a prom- 
inent citizen, and has always been ready and foremost in furthering any 
interests for the upbuilding of Sioux City. In his prosperity Mr. Booge 
does not forget the unfortunate and poor, and is a very benevolent and char- 
itable man. He is a democrat in politics, and, while not a member of any 
church, he contributes largely to the support of the Unitarian church, of 
which his family are members. 

Geokge Whitefield Young, ice dealer, Sioux City, was born in Medford, 
Mass., April 2, 1846. He attended the common schools of the time, attend- 
ing only eight years then, but in 1861-62 he took a further course of study 
at the Mount Carroll seminary, in Carroll county, 111., having moved with 
his father to Will county, 111., in the fall of 1851. August 3, 1863, he en- 
listed as a private in the Sixteenth United States infantry, Capt. Crofton 
commanding. He served until mustered out, August 3, 1865, when he re- 
turned to Will county, HI, where he remained but one year, then moved to 
Sioux City, where he spent the next year. 

October 17, 1869, he married Miss Julia A., daughter of Prof. J. W. and 
Amanda M. Earle, of Sioux City, and they removed to Le Mars, where he 
engaged in business, handling lumber and agricultural implements, besides 
conducting a livery business. The same year he erected the first dwelling- 
house built in that city. He continued in business there until 1872, when 
he returned to Sioux City, where he engaged in expressing, and also ran a 
general dray line. He continued in that business until 1882, when he suc- 
ceeded his father in the ice business, in which he has made quite a pro- 
nounced success. He contemplates removing his ice plant to the banks of 
the Big Sioux river in the spring of 1891, that he may perfect his plans for 
procuring purer ice. 

He says that Le Mars received its rather odd name in quite an unique 
way. A number of ladies were invited to take a ride over the new railroad, 
which was constructed in 1869, and upon their arrival at the embryo city, 
the question of a name came up, which was settled by taking an initial 
from each lady's name. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 725 

E. D. Chassell, editor and manager of the Le Mars semi-weekly 
" Sentinel," was born at Holland Patent, N. Y., in 1858, where he lived until 
1867, when he came to Iowa Falls, Iowa, with his parents, William and 
Frances A. (Jones) Chassell, who still reside there. Mr. Chassell is of 
Scotch descent on his father's side, his grandfather, the Eev. David Chassell, 
D. D., for many years principal of Fairfield seminary at Fairfield, Herki- 
mer county, N. Y., having been born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 178S. He 
came to America with his parents in 1796 and located in Vermont, and 
received his education at Dartmouth college early in the present century. 

Mr. E. D. Chassell was reared amid pioneer scenes on a wild prairie farm, 
and began teaching at the early age of nineteen. In 18S2 he graduated 
from the Iowa State Normal school, at the head of his class of thirty-two. 
He became principal of the schools at Stacyville, and later at St. Ansgar in 
Mitchell county, remaining two years, when he became identified with the 
Osage " News " at Osage, Iowa, and soon became editor and business man- 
ager, besides being one of the proprietors. In 1888 he was elected assistant 
secretary of the Iowa senate, serving one term. 

He bought a half interest in the Le Mars semi-weekly " Sentinel " of 
State Printer Eagsdale, as well as the bindery and job printing office con- 
nected therewith, in February, 1889, and has since been its editor and man- 
ager. Politically he is an active republican, and in 1890 became secretary 
of the state central committee. He is a Knight Templar Mason, being a 
member of Coeur de Leon Commandery, No. 19, K. T., of Osage, Iowa, also 
a charter member of Occidental Chapter, Eoyal Arch Masons, of Le Mars, 
and a Knight of Pythias, belonging to Zeus Lodge, of Le Mars. 

George H. Phelps, president of Kingsley bank, was born in Crown 
Point,' Essex county, N. Y., May 4, 1833. He is a son of Harvey and 
Martha (Peabody) Phelps, both natives of New Hampshire and of English 
descent. Harvey Phelps was a large lumber dealer in New York and also 
operated a saw-mill. He owned a large amount of land in Essex county, 
which he had operated as a farm with hired help, besides attending to his 
lumber interests, which he carried on until his death in 1843. His wife 
lived until 1880. They were both members of the Congregational church. 

George H. completed his education at the Shoreham academy, Vermont. 
After the death of his father he engaged in farming and various occupations, 
including boating on Lake Champlain. In 1865 he came to Illinois and 
farmed in Ogle county until 1S67, when he came to Iowa and was employed 
on a farm in Cedar county two years, thence going back to Vermont, where 
he engaged again in boating for two years. He then came to Red Oak, 
Montgomery county, Iowa, where he shipped grain one year, and then farmed 
quite extensively in Cedar county until 1883, when he located in Plymouth 



726 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

county, where he purchased 352 acres of land in Garfield township, 
which he proceeded to cultivate. He also owns 240 acres in different parts 
of the county. 

When Kingsley was platted he purchased lots, and engaged in the lumber 
and coal business until 1888. In April of the following year, he purchased 
a half interest in the Kingsley Bank, which he has conducted ever since. In 
July, 1854, Mr. Phelps married Mary M. Brooks, of Crown Point, N. Y., a 
daughter of John and Phoebe (Reynolds) Brooks, the former a native of 
New Hampshire and the latter of Vermont. Mr. Phelps and wife are the 
parents of four children: Ellen P., Alice M., John B. and Frank G. 
(deceased). 

John Brooks was a farmer in the early part of his life, and the latter part 
was spent in loaning money in Crown Point, N. Y. , where his death occurred 
May 17, 1888; his wife is still living at the old home in Crown Point, 'N. Y. 
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are supporters of the Congregational church. The 
principles of the democratic party are the ones that seem the nearest right 
to him. 

Richard Henky Lottcks, druggist, Danbury, is a grandson of John Loucks, 
a Revolutionary soldier of German descent, and was born in Little Falls, N. 
Y., May 10, 1841. His father, Adam Loucks, was born in the same house 
at Little Falls. His mother, Jane M. Loucks, was a daughter of Richard 
Collier, also a soldier in the Revolution, who came of English ancestry. In 
1846 Adam Loucks removed to Michigan, and nine years later to Albion, 
Iowa. He engaged in farming and brick-making, and still resides at Albion. 

Richard was educated in the Albion seminary. In August, 1866, he 
came to Smithland, and taught school in the Maple valley the following win- 
ter. In 1867 he became a partner of Dr. R. C. Rice in the drug business 
at Smithland, and sole proprietor in a little over three years. He continued 
in business until 1873, he then sold out. He settled in Danbury in 1878, 
opened up a drug store, and is still in business. He has dealt in real estate 
successfully, and is still the owner of land and lots in both Iowa and Ne- 
braska. Mr. Loucks holds the faith of the Congregational church, and has 
always affiliated with the democratic party. He is now a member of the 
Danbury school board. November 21, 1872, at Smithland, he married Margie 
Ann, daughter of Alexander Buchanan, of Scotch-Irish descent. Mrs. Loucks 
is a native of Indiana. Her living children are named Alice, Grace and 
Richard Collier. 

Andrew Black, one of the oldest settlers in Plymouth county, now resid- 
ing on section six, Garfield township, was born in Scotland, August 10, 1830. 
His parents were William and Mary (Riddle) Black, both natives of Scot- 
land, who came to America in 1832, and were 114 days in making the pas- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 727 

sage from Leith, Scotland, to Montreal, Canada. William Black farmed 
until his death, which occurred February 4, 1882, his wife surviving him 
until February 11, 1890; both were members of the Presbyterian church. 

Andrew Black went to Canada with his parents when he was about two 
years of age, and resided there until he was twenty-one years old. When 
he attained his majority he went to Michigan, and worked in the freight de- 
partment of the Michigan Central railroad. In May, 1857, he went to Dodge 
county, Wisconsin, and engaged in farming. In November, 1858, he went to 
Minnesota, and purchased a farm in Freeborn county, and was engaged in 
farming three years. 

August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, Tenth Minnesota infantry. 
He was with Gen. Sibley's expedition against the Sioux Indians during the 
summer of 1863. In April, 1864, he was promoted to hospital steward of his 
regiment, and took part in the battles of Tupelo, Nashville and the siege of 
Spanish Fort, and was mustered out August 19, 1865, at Fort Snelling, 
Minn. He then returned to his farm in Freeborn county, where he resided 
until the following year. In June, 1866, he sold his farm in Minnesota, and 
came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and took up a homestead in America town- 
ship, where he remained until 1881; he then purchased 177 acres in Garfield 
township, where he has since been engaged in farming and stock-raising. 

Mr. Black was united in marriage with Margaret J. McCurdy, October 3, 
1867, and they have six children: Mary J., Fannie B., Myra A., William A., 
Zella E. and Maggie A. In politics he is a republican, and was a member of 
the board of supervisors of Plymouth county, Iowa, three years; is township 
trustee, which office he has held four years, and has also been secretary of 
the district ever since the township was organized, and road supervisor two 
terms. He is a member of Gen. Bell Post, No. 332, of the G. A. R. 

Leighton Wynn, cashier of the Iowa Savings bank, Sioux City, is a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania, and was born in 1833. He was educated at Freemont 
academy and at the State Normal school at Millerstown. Beared on a farm, 
it was but natural he should follow his father's vocation, which he did when 
young, and also engaged in teaching school. He came to Sioux City in 
1868 and engaged in civil engineering and the real estate business. He then 
removed to Yankton, Dak., where he was engaged in the banking business 
up to 1883. In that year he returned to Sioux City, and organized the Iowa 
Savings bank, with Eri Richardson, D. T. Hedges, William L. Joy, A. S. 
Garretson and himself as directors, starting with a capital of $25,000. 

Mr. Wynn has occupied the position of cashier of this bank since its or- 
ganization. The capital of the bank was increased to $50,000 and afterward 
to $100,000. In 1887 the surplus capital was divided among the stockholders 
and the capital was increased to $250,000. The surplus capital has now 



728 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

reached. $60,000. The bank occupies a handsome structure, 75x100 feet, seven 
stories high, built of Berea (Ohio) stone. Mr. Wynn has been a thorough- 
going, pushing man, and has been very successful in his operations, and has 
exercised that judgment and tact necessary to financial success. He is a 
trustee of the Landscape company, and owns an interest of 400 acres in that 
company. He is a member of the Baptist church. 

Walter Strange, dealer in wool, hay, etc., Sioux City, is the son of Al- 
fred Strange, who was a merchant. Walter Strange is a native of England, 
and was educated at a private school of that country. It was in 1872 that 
he came to America. He spent one year in New York city, and another year 
in Chicago, where he was engaged in buying and selling wool. From there 
he moved to Des Moines, and remained there two years, and in 1876 came to 
Sioux City, and engaged in his present business in which he has since con- 
tinued. 

Mr. Strange takes large government contracts. In 1883 he received the 
contract for 13,000 head of cattle for the Indian department of different 
agencies throughout Dakota, Montana and Nebraska, and supplied a contract 
for 17,040 tons of hay for Wood Custer, Montana. This is the most exten- 
sive shipping firm throughout this section of the west, their business amount- 
ing to $650,000 per annum. The firm name is Strange Bros. Joseph is 
the eldest and came here in 1876. He now has charge of the firm's Chicago 
house. Fred is the youngest, and superintends the outside work. Walter, 
our subject, has charge of the Sioux City house, and the direct business man- 
agement of the firm falls to him. Our subject is county commissioner of 
Woodbury county. 

Edwin C. Peters, a capitalist and prominent business man of Sioux City, 
was born on a farm in Chester county, Pa., October 23, 1836, and is a son of 
Bobert P. and Elmira (Gregg) Peters. He attended the district school and 
a local academy until fifteen years of age, when he entered the Pennsylvania 
State Normal school at Millersville, Pa., where he remained for two years, 
when he commenced the study of law and graduated from the National Law 
school at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., when but twenty-one years old. He then re- 
moved to Niagara Falls, and after a year spent in the law office of A. P. 
Floyd, he engaged in the law and insurance business in partnership with H. 
N. Griffith, then district attorney. 

In 1861 he was appointed by President Lincoln, deputy United States 
marshal, for the arrest and detention of persons of known notorious disloyalty. 
After a few months Secretary Seward revoked the order for this special service, 
and he was commissioned deputy collector of customs at Niagara Falls, and 
held this office until the spring of 1870, when he sold his law and insurance 
business, resigned his government position, and came to Sioux City, Iowa, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 729 

entering the banking house of Weare & Allison, taking a working interest in 
their insurance business. About a year and a half later, with George 
Murphy, he bought out this branch of their business, and in connection there- 
with organized the first savings bank in the city, of which Mr. Peters became 
vice-president, A. S. Garretson and his friends, two years later, bought a 
controlling interest in this bank, and merged it into the Sioux National bank. 

About this time our subject received an injury to his head which unfitted 
him for office work for nearly four years. Recovering in 1877 he went to 
the Black Hills, having been appointed the first treasurer of Pennington 
county, Dak., and was afterward commissioned probate judge of the comity. 
The second year after coming to Sioux City, he bought a large tract of land 
about a mile and a half to the southeast of the city limits, and, with others 
who had come with him from Niagara Falls, started a settlement, to which 
he gave the name of Morning Side. 

Upon his return from the Black Hills in 1878, he again made his home 
at Morning Side, and has devoted much of his time since to furthering the 
interest of this now beautiful suburb. In 1888 the Sioux City Bapid Transit 
company was organized and a motor line built, connecting Morning Side with 
the street-car line of the city, and of this company he became president, In 
1S90-91 this company constructed a mile and a half of connecting elevated 
ailroad, at a cost of about four hundred thousand dollars, thus enabling the 
company to run from Morning Side to the center of the city. Upon the or- 
ganization of the University of the Northwest, at Morning Side, Mr. Peters 
was made vice-president and chairman of the executive committee. He is 
one of the directors of the Northwestern National bank of this city. 

November 17, 1864, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah P., 
daughter of Benjamin B. and Lucy (Hill) Scott, both of whom were natives 
of Hornscastle, England. His wife was born in New York city. She is a 
cousin of Sir Gilbert Scott, who designed the Prince Albert memorial monu- 
ment. The fruit of this union was ten children, four of whom are living, viz. : 
Lula White, Merritt Chesbro, Pierre Hugo and Hope Scott. Mr. Peters be- 
came a Mason at Niagara Falls many years ago, but took out no demit, and 
has not connected himself with any lodge since coming west. 

Thomas Malone, retail groceryman, Sioux City, was born in Oneida 
county, N. Y., August 18, 1846. He is a son of Richard and Mary (O'Don- 
nell) Malone, who were of Irish extraction. In 1852 the family removed to 
Dubuque, Iowa, and engaged in farming, and the son remained there until 
fifteen years of age, attending the public schools and assisting his father on 
the farm. At this time he began learning the trade of blacksmithing at Du- 
buque, where he remained until 1868, when he removed to Manchester, 
Iowa, at which place he followed his trade for two years. 



730 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In 1870 he came to Sioux City, and soon after coming formed a partner- 
ship with a Mr. McCarty in the blacksmith business, under the firm name of 
McCarty & Malone. This partnership continued for five years, when Mr. 
Malone sold his interest to his partner and engaged in the same business for 
himself, which he conducted the following two years. 

In 1877, during the Black Hills excitement, he removed to that country 
and remained there until the fall of 1879, when he returned to Sioux City. 
From this time until the spring of 1882 he followed his trade, working for 
Dineen Bros. In 1882 he embarked in the grocery business at 507 Pearl 
St., which place he has successfully conducted until the present time, 1890. 

Mr. Malone was elected councilman at large by the democratic party, 
which party always has his support. He is chairman of the public library 
committee, and he, as well as his family, are members of the Roman Cath- 
olic church. January 16, 1871, he was united in marriage with Mary Jane 
Kevill, whose parents were of Irish extraction, and whose family came here 
in 1856. Mr. Malone's family consists of five girls and three ,boys, viz.: 
Mary, Nellie, Maggie (deceased in infancy), Annie, John, Thomas, James and 
Alice. 

Frederick F. Beck, contractor and builder, is one of the self-made men 
of whom Sioux City can boast so many. For the last twenty years he has 
been engaged in constructing some of Sioux City's finest public and private 
buildings, among which may be mentioned the Hotel Gordon, Grilman block, 
the Marks-Joy block, and the residences of G. W. Wakefield, D. T. Gilman, 
Ed. Haakinson, C. B. Marks, J. D. Hoskins and many others. He is now 
constructing the woodwork of the University of the Northwest. 

F. F. Beck was born at Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire, England, August 8, 
1844. His father was a carpenter, and he early began to receive lessons in 
the art of building. In the summer of 1850 he left his native land and 
went to Canada, where he remained until 186S. In the last named year he 
came to Iowa, locating for a time at Dubuque, but in 1870 he settled in 
Sioux City, and was employed for one year as a journeyman carpenter, but 
since that time has been engaged in contracting as above indicated. Mr. 
Beck is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. In politics he affiliates with the republican party. He is in accord 
with all progressive ideas, and gives cordial co-operation to every move tend 
ing to build up his home city, the state and nation. At Fergus, county 
Wellington, Canada, March 20, 1866, Mr. Beck was joined in the holy bonds 
of matrimony to Miss Catherine Hughes, who was born in Elora in that 
county, where her father, a Welshman, still resides. Their family includes 
five sons and a daughter, namely. Luke Edward, born April 16, 1867, died 
July 20, 1867; Thomas Eichard, born June 7, 1868; Carrie Ann, born 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 733 

April 23, 1872; Frederick Hughes, bora June 24, 1875; Wilbur Clarke, 
born October 16, 1880; Ralph Osborne, bom October 2, 1885. Thomas R. 
has charge of the Osmond State bank, at Osmond, Neb. 

Jokx Rochel, brick manufacturer, was born in Germany, December, 
1843, and on reaching his majority he immigrated to America and settled at 
Davenport, Iowa. He came to Sioux City in 1866, and for four years was 
employed as a day laborer in a brick yard. He then purchased of Col. 
Sawyers eleven lots on Perry creek, near Eleventh street, upon which he 
established a brick manufactory. This he has continued to operate ever 
since, and now gives employment to twenty men, personally superintending 
every detail of his business. Through his own energy, industry and good 
management he has achieved more than ordinary success, and commands an 
exclusively wholesale trade. Mr. Rochel is a member of the Uniform Rank 
Knights of Pythias, and gives his allegiance to the democratic party. 

In 1869 Mr. Rochel was married to Miss Mary Anna York, and to them 
have been born six children, of whom four are now living, viz. : Helen Marie, 
Amanda Louise, Edmund Andeas and Rosa Antoinette. Mrs. Rochel's par- 
ents are Mathias York, a Prussian who has been in this country fifty-four 
years, and Helen (Geyer) York, a native of Bavaria, who came to America 
with her father in 1846, being then twenty-two years of age. This couple 
now reside in Sioux City. 

John Jacob ScHXAWia, Sioux City. In the picturesque city of Thuses, 
Canton of Graubunden, Switzerland, February 27, 1831, there was born to 
one of the oldest families in that historic country an only son, the subject of 
this sketch, John Jacob Schlawig. His ancestry was prominently identified 
with the political history of Switzerland, and took an active part in the de- 
fense of their land against the invasion of other powers; and a grandfather 
fell in the gallant defense made against the French army in the battle of 
Richenan. His early education was acquired among his native hills, where 
he learned to love the freedom of his Fatherland, and despise the serfdom 
and oppression of neighboring monarchies. At the age of eighteen he re- 
moved to Chur, where he learned the trade of a carriage-maker. There he 
met and wedded, September 20, 1853, Miss Ursula Haag, the daughter of an 
old citizen of that city. For some years thereafter he followed his trade, 
but all the while longing for the greater possibilities offered in America to 
industry and integrity. 

In 1857 the dream of his youth was realized when he embarked for this 
country, taking with him his young wife and two children. On reaching 
America he pushed westward, believing that that region promised better 
opportunities to willing hearts and ready hands. He first stopped in Du- 
buque for a few months, then crossed the state overland by team to Sioux City. 



734 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

On this trip the second daughter, a child of two years, sickened and died, which 
well nigh discouraged him and his young wife, but they journeyed on, reach- 
ing Sioux City, then a frontier village, September 19, 1857. He immediately 
set to work to procure for himself and family a home. He erected a crude 
shop and worked at his trade, making and repairing wagons, and built the 
first wagon made in Sioux City. At the outbreak of the Civil war he offered 
himself as a volunteer in the defense of his adopted country, and served 
from 1861 to 1864 in the Seventh Iowa cavalry, Company I. He was with 
Gen. Sully in his famous expedition against the hostile Sioux, and took part 
in the battle of White Stone Hill and other engagements. At the close of 
hostilities he received his honorable discharge, and re-engaged in the wagon - 
maker's trade in this city. 

In 1875 he was one of the pioneers of the Black Hills, S. D., country, 
where he prospected extensively, and located several silver mines at Galena, 
which he afterward consolidated into the Washington Gold and Silver Min- 
ing company, of which company he is the principal owner and president. 
He also owns the Sula mine, at Lead City, S. D. His mining property is 
well located, and among the best and richest mines in that wonderfully pro- 
ductive mineral region. In the summer of 1890 he platted what is known 
as Sunny Side addition to Lead City, and a large part of which he still owns. 

His family consists of two sons and three daughters. The oldest son, 
John J., is a rising young physician, while the younger, William, is now in 
college, preparing himself for the practice of dentistry. Two daughters, 
Anna and Marie, are still at home, the other, Christina, is the wife of Dr. 
R. E. Conniff, of this city. Mr. Schlawig has always had abundant faith in 
the future of Sioux City, and has seen it grow from a frontier village to a 
city of nearly 40,000. He, with other old settlers, endured many of the pri- 
vations of the early history of Sioux City. His industry and abiding faith 
in the future of the city have been rewarded by material prosperity, and we 
find him in his old age surrounded by the comforts of life, and with a compe- 
tence that jjlaces him above want and secures for him that ease that his 
industry deserves. Mr. Schlawig is still a man in robust health, of a jovial, 
kindly disposition that makes and keeps friends, and is respected and 
esteemed by all that know him. 

Matthias Wukth, proprietor of the Le Mars " Globe " and the Le Mars 
"Herold," was born in Vianden, grand duchy of Luxembourg, January 26, 
1842. He lived with his grandparents, in Dippach, Luxembourg, from 1861 
until after their death, which occurred in 1872. In March, 1873, he immi- 
grated to the United States, and came directly to Le Mars. On a trip 
through Marion and Fredonia townships he decided to locate there, and pur- 
chased of Stanley & Welliver, land agents for the Iowa Land Co., the north 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 735 

half of section twenty-nine in Fredonia, and the same year had 100 acres 
broken, the next year he became a farmer. In December, 1875, he returned 
to Germany, and in 1876 married Miss Barbara Wolff, his present wife, and 
brought her to this country. 

In 1884 he quit farming, and with his family removed to LeMars, bought 
the Le Mars " Herold," of J. P. Kieffer, who started it in June, 1882. In 
October, 1884, he, with other leading democrats, started the Le Mars " Globe," 
daily and weekly, at the time the only democratic organ in the county. 
Through the effective work of the " Globe " and " Herold " the democrats 
earned their first victory in Plymouth county, and scored a majority for Grover 
Cleveland of seventy-five. In 1885 he obtained entire control of the " Globe." 
He has had five children — three girls and two boys ; the first born, a girl, died 
soon after birth, and another girl also died in infancy. Those living are 
John Peter, born May 25, 1879; Nicholas, born July 27, 1881, and Theresa, 
born August 30, 1887. 

John A. Dewey, attorney, Kingsley, and one of the oldest settlers in 
Woodbury and Plymouth counties, was born near Rochester, N. Y., January 
27, 1847. His parents were Joseph and Maria (Eanney) Dewey, both na- 
tives of New York, the father being of English and his wife of Scotch- 
English descent. Joseph Dewey spent the early part of his life in farming. 
After acquiring somewhat of a competency, he gave some attention to poli- 
tics, and has been a member of the N. Y. legislature, a judge on the bench 
two terms, was also a member of the Excise commission and of the board of 
supervisors a number of years. He owned a finely improved farm within 
three miles of Rochester, N. Y., until his death, which occurred February 
27, 1890, at the age of eighty-eight years; his wife died in the fall of 1889, 
aged eighty-seven years. 

John A. came to Woodbury county, in the spring of 1865, and located in 
Correct ion ville, where he taught school. In different localities in Iowa, for 
the next fifteen years, this was his regular occupation, daring which time he 
commenced to study law. He finally moved to Marshalltown, where he com- 
pleted his studies and was admitted to the bar, and formed a jmrtnership 
with Frank Pillsbury, and commenced the practice of his profession in 
Union, Iowa. After one year's practice he returned to Correctionville and 
taught school. He owned a farm in Woodbury county, which he sold, and 
moved near the Plymouth county line, where he squatted on 160 acres of 
land. He was sent to Des Moines as a lobbyist, by what was called the 
Squatters' Union, to help get the bill passed authorizing the Governor to re- 
convey 25,000 acres of land in Woodbury and Plymouth counties to the gov- 
ernment, which he succeeded in doing. He was then sent to Washington to 
obtain the passage of a forfeiture bill of 85,000 acres, which, through a lack 



736 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of about three hours' discussion, failed to pass. The Secretary of the In- 
terior afterward declared 25,000 acres forfeited. This experience led to 
quite a large practice before the interior department in contested claims, 
which line of practice he has since been engaged in. 

Mr. Dewey was united in marriage with Clara Nelson, of Adams county, 
111., in September, 1S70, and there have been five children born to them: 
Gra, Ruby, Dean, Zo and B. He formerly was a republican, until the cam- 
paign of Cleveland and Blaine, in 1S84, when he became satisfied that the 
democratic party was the one he could best sympathize with and give his 
assistance to. He is secretary of the school board and city assessor, and is 
a member of the I. O. O. F. 

William H. Buens, cornice manufacturer, Sioux City, is the second child 
of Thomas and Margaret (Rochford) Burns, who were natives of Dublin, Ire- 
land, and was born in 1850, in Oneida county, N. Y. His parents came to 
America in 1850, and settled in Oneida county, where his father still resides. 
His mother died there in February, 1888. Their family consisted of eight 
children, four of whom are now living. At the age of nineteen our subject 
had learned the tinner's trade, which he followed until his removal to Chi- 
cago in 1872, where he learned cornice-making. He came to Sioux City in 
1876, and was employed in that business for five years by A. Grovinger, and 
then for three years by the latter's successor, F. C. Hills. 

In 1884 Mr. Burns purchased the business and has since conducted it. 
His work is shown on the county court-house, A. S. Garretson's residence, 
and in the slate and copper work for D. T. Hedges, T. P. Gere and on the 
Hotel Garretson; also tin and skylight work on the Iowa Savings bank build- 
ing, the United bank building, Boston Investment company's building, and 
several of the other prominent buildings throughout the city. His success is 
due to the fact that he gives his undivided attention to business. February 
17, 1878, he was married at Chicago, to Miss Josie Mullen, whose parents 
came from Ireland and now reside in Harvard, 111. This union has been 
blessed with one daughter, Elizabeth, who was born January 26, 1880. Mr. 
Burns and family are communicants in the Roman Catholic church. He is a 
member of the A. O. H, and has always supported the democratic party in 
politics. 

L. F. Wakefield, civil engineer, Sioux City, was born in Scott county, 
Iowa, in 1852. His father was a native of Vermont, and his mother of New 
York state. When quite young he left his native county and went to Clin- 
ton. He was educated at Mount Vernon college, this state, and chose engi- 
neering as his profession. He came to Sioux City in 1880, and for one year 
was employed by the F. E. & M. V. R. R. Co. In 1882 he opened an office 
in Sioux City, and for three months was engaged on government work. He 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 737 

was appointed city surveyor in 1883, which position he held until the spring 
of 1887, when he resigned. He was then employed by the Sioux City & 
Northern railroad company, and afterward by the Pacific Short Line com- 
pany. 

Mr. Wakefield was city engineer at the time the water works were built, 
and deserves much credit for his management of affairs at that time. He 
was appointed chief engineer of the Sioux City & Northern railroad in Feb- 
ruary, 1891, and beside his duties on that road is also senior member of the 
engineering firm of Wakefield, Vincent & Johnson. He was twice married, 
first to Mary Alice Newbern, October 2, 1S80, and she having died, February 
14, 1889, he married Jennie Wilson. 

P. F. Dalton, banker, Le Mars, son of Matthew and Catherine (Kinney) 
Dalton, was born in Longford county, Ireland, in 1838, and when a boy of 
twelve years of age, with his parents, came to America, locating in Livingston 
county, N. Y., and in 1855 removed to Sandusky county, Ohio, where he 
remained until 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hun- 
dred and Eleventh O. V. I. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1864, and at 
the close of the war, having participated in all battles in which his command 
was engaged, was mustered out in July, 1865. 

The family in 1866 removed to Iowa, and in 1873 our subject came to 
Le Mars, where he became interested in handling coal and grain, and in 1875 
became identified with the Plymouth County bank, now known as the First 
National bank, of Le Mars, it having been organized as such in 1882, and of 
which he is now president. He is also president of the Plymouth Roller 
Mill company, and is owner of the Opera house, and interested in the Union 
hotel, is treasurer of the Western Investment company, and vice-president of 
the Le Mars Building and Loan company. He was a member of the first 
city council, and was at one time a candidate for member of the legislature. 
He is a member of Giblem Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 322, and is a Royal Arch 
Mason. He married Mary, daughter of Paul Tew, an extensive farmer, of 
Sandusky county, Ohio, and has two children, Edwin and Ralph. 

Andrew Little Hogle, retired, Le Mars, was born in Cobleskill, N. Y., 
April 18, 1796, and is the second and only one living of nine children born 
to Elisha and Susanna Hogle. His paternal grandfather, John Hogle, was a 
native of New York, of Dutch descent, and his maternal grandfather, Andrew 
Little, born in New Jersey and of English ancestry. Andrew Hogle was 
reared on a farm in Sharon, Schoharie county, N. Y., and attended the sub- 
scription schools of his day. 

July 16, 1817, he married Hannah Reed, daughter of Jesse Reed, who 
served through the Revolutionary war as a soldier. Soon after his marriage 
Mr. Hogle settled in Scott, Chautauqua county, N. Y., where he worked five 



738 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

years in a saw-mill, and subsequently engaged in farming and other occupa- 
tions. In 1844 he removed to Potosi, Grant county, Wis., where he bought 
a farm. In addition to the tillage of his farm, he did some carpenter work 
and also blacksmithing. His home is now with his youngest daughter in 
Le Mars, where his wife died February 24, 1890, aged ninety years and four 
months. During nearly their entire wedded life they were identified with 
the Free-Will Baptist church. Mr. Hogle was a whig in the days of that 
party and subsequently voted with the republicans. 

Of his sis daughters, Susan, wife of Abram Vedder, resides in Beetown, 
Wis. ; Lydia (Mrs. Eussell Smith), at Pomfred, N. Y. ; Betsey (Mrs. Nelson 
Oleson), Liberty, Grant county, Wis. ; Mardana (Crouch), Hettie (Crow), and 
Hannah Jane (Duncan), Le Mars. The only son and youngest child, Andrew 
James, died in California in 1864, aged thirty years. 

Josephus Duncan, retired, Le Mars, was born in Lawrence county, Tenn., 
January 14, 1820. His parents, Melcher and Sarah Duncan, were natives of 
Robertson county, Tenn., and Russellville, Ky., respectively. His paternal 
grandfather, John Duncan, came from Scotland, and his maternal grand- 
father, John Irvin, from London, England. In the fall of 1829 our subject 
removed with his parents to Pike county, Mo., where he was reared on a 
farm, and where his parents died at the respective ages of eighty-two and 
eighty-five years. Of their ten children, Josephus is the seventh child. 
When seventeen years of age he began learning the blacksmith trade. In 
1845 he went to Grant county, Wis., and mined lead for four years. He 
then bought a farm, and besides tilling it worked at building. 

In October, 1861, he enlisted in Bissell's regiment of engineers, later 
known as the Western Missouri engineers. He served eighteen months in 
the blacksmith detail, and was discharged on account of injuries received in 
being thrown from a railroad train. He came to Le Mars in 1877, and after 
farming one year, bought a hotel, which he conducted eight years as the 
Duncan house. He is a member of the Free- Will Baptist church and the 
G. A. R., and has always been a republican. In September, 1850, he mar- 
ried Hannah J., daughter of Andrew Hogle, a native of New York. They 
have three living children, viz. : William James, John Colby and Melcher 
Jerome. George Alma, the second, died in November, 1881, aged twenty- 
eight years. 

Joseph Snowden Shoup, superintendent of schools, Sioux City, was born 
in Freeport, Pa., February 28, 1841. His great-grandfather came from Ger- 
many and his grandfather, Abram, and father, Henry Shoup, were 
natives of Pennsylvania. His mother, Ann Jane (McCain) Shourj, was also a 
native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish descent, and a daughter of 'George 
McCain, of Ireland. In 1852 our subject removed with his parents to Illi- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 739 

nois and passed several years on a farm near Galesburg. He graduated in 
1859 at Cherry Grove university, near Abingdon, 111. 

June 21, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Forty-second Illinois volun- 
teer infantry, with which company he served as a private three years, subse- 
quently serving one year in the Forty-seventh Illinois, and was mustered out 
September 17, 1865. He served in Fremont's and Grant's armies, and was 
under Gen. Sherman at the battle of Mission Ridge; besides this engage- 
ment he also participated in those at Belmont, Island No. 10, Farmington, 
Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga, Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. Dur- 
ing much of his service he was detailed in the adjutant's office, and per- 
formed the duties of nearly every officer in the regiment, although only a 
private. At the close of the war he bought a cotton plantation in Marengo 
county, Ala., which he owned for several years. He tilled this for a time, 
when he was elected probate judge, and served one year, resigning this 
position to accept the principalship of McKinley academy, Alabama, with 
which he remained one year. 

In 1870 he came to Iowa, and was elected to an important position in the 
Council Bluffs high school. He resigned this position at the end of three 
years to become superintendent of schools at Belleview, Neb., where he 
remained two years. After a year of school work at Onawa, Iowa, he was 
for three years principal of the Smithland schools in Woodbury county, 
subsequently filling the same position at Danbury, until his election, in 
1883, to the office of county superintendent; he served four years in this 
capacity, and after conducting normal classes at Smithland for two years, he 
was again elected superintendent, his present term beginning with 1890. 

Prof. Shoup has been a member since its formation of the educational 
council of the State Teachers' association. He was president three years, 
and has always been one of the most active members of the Northern Iowa 
Principals' and Superintendents' Association, and is a member of the board 
for State Teachers' reading circle. He is prominent in the State Normal 
institute work, and is an able writer on educational and other subjects. For 
the past two years he has published the " Woodbury County Teacher," a 
practical and popular monthly for the help of teachers. Prof. Shoup is a 
Boyal Arch Mason, and is present senior vice-commander of B. F.. Smith 
Post, G. A. R. He accepts the Presbyterian religious faith and democratic 
political teachings. 

In 1867 he married Miss Mittie E. Eaves, a native of Alabama, and a 
graduate of South Chester college, S. C. They have eight living children, 
viz. : Lena E. (Mrs. Calvin Dix, of Concord township), Nona Glendenning, 
Joseph P., Mittie E., Gordinna B., Dick, Mattie Belle and George. 

John Brennan, attorney and real estate dealer, Sioux City, so well and 
favorably known in all western Iowa, but especially in the vicinity of Sioux 



740 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

City, is an illustrious and living example of what the most humble foreigner 
may achieve, when once he becomes an adopted citizen of the United States. 
And it may be said that no one more highly appreciates the liberties and 
benefits of American institutions, than does the man of whom this brief notice 
is written. Coming as he did from the Old World with its despotic rule, and 
becoming an influential and prosperous citizen among the people of this 
country, he perhaps more highly prizes our form of government, as held in 
contrast with that of England, than does the average native-born American. 
Mr. Brennan was born at Elphin, county Eoscommon, Ireland, July 14, 
1845. In his own language: "A full-blooded Celtic Irishman, a Catholic of 
Catholic stock. 

'Kindly Irish — of the Irish, 

Neither Saxon, nor Italian,' 

the son of a butcher, educated in the national (common) schools of his native 
town." He immigrated to the United States in 1865, worked as a farm hand, 
porter, railroad grader and ox-team driver, the first four years after coming 
to America. In 1869 he became a newspaper reporter on the Sioux City 
"Daily Times," and has been a resident of this place ever since. He held the 
position of reporter for five years, was justice of the peace six years, member 
of the city council one term, and city attorney three years. He was formerly a 
democrat, but left that party on the free-trade issue, and has since been a 
strong republican and protectionist, and bore a very conspicuous part in the 
national campaigns of 1884 and 1888. 

In 1889 he declined an aprjointnient to Spain, which was tendered him 
through Secretary James G. Blaine. He is a self-educated man, starting in 
life as a day laborer ; worked as a railroad laborer at the age of twenty-three, 
and in turn became a successful journalist, politician, lawyer and public 
speaker. Faithful to the traditions of his native land and mother church, 
yet is he passionately an American in sentiment and practice. In religious 
matters he is extremely liberal, ready to encourage Catholic schools, but a 
stanch defender of our American public-school system, ever ready to raise his 
voice to warn his fellow countrymen against interfering with the school system 
of this country. 

Mr. Brennan was united in marriage in January, 1870, to Annie Fleming, 
at Sioux City, by which union there were no children. After a lingering ill- 
ness of many months, the beloved wife and companion passed from earthly 
scenes, her death occurring October 20, 1890. In justice to Mr. Brennan, it 
needs to be added, that while he is a positive man in all his convictions, yet 
he has but few personal enemies, and has won a peculiar and universal friend- 
ship among all classes, who honor him because of his candor and true manli- 
ness. As a public speaker, journalistic writer and financier, he has made a 
praiseworthy record, such as it is possible to make only in a country so 





-rf^ J^yi^tz^exlj 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 743 

free and ready to acknowledge true worth, regardless of one's former station, 
as in our own country — America. 

Melancthon Hilbekt, physician, Le 'Mars, was born in Harrison county, 
Ohio, July 17, 1841. He came to Iowa at the age of fifteen, and settled at 
Fairfield, where he lived until July, 1863, when he entered the army as hos- 
pital steward of the First Arkansas cavalry, in which position he served until 
January 1, 1S65, when he was promoted to second lieutenant and appointed 
acting adjutant of his regiment, which place he filled until the close of the 
war. 

He attended medical college at Ann Arbor, Mich., during the winter of 
1865, after which he practiced medicine in Clarke county until the winter of 
1869, when he graduated at the Rush Medical college, Chicago, and in the 
spring of 1870 removed to Le Mars, becoming its first physician, and contin- 
uing in the practice of his profession there till 1873, when failing health 
compelled him to abandon his profession. He was elected and served six 
years as county recorder, during which time he prepared a set of abstract 
books of his county, and laid the foundation of his present business. He has 
served as mayor of Le Mars and in other important official positions. 

Edwabd Cook Palmer, mayor of Sioux City, was born in Grloversville, N. 
Y., April 25, 1844. His parents, Edward and Melinda (Devereux) Palmer, 
were natives of that state, of English and French lineage, respectively. Syl- 
vanus, father of Edward Palmer, and grandfather of our subject, was early 
left an orphan. He became a preacher in the German Reformed church, 
and did missionary work nearly all his life among the Indians about Roches- 
ter and Buffalo. 

"When he first visited those settlements, they contained only six white fam- 
ilies each. He continued to ride and preach with the aid of an interpreter till 
eighty-seven years old, and died at the age of eighty-eight. He was widely 
known and beloved, and his funeral procession was over a mile long. He 
mastered eight languages, including several Indian tongues. 

His wife was a member of the Van Rensselaer family, and they reared 
eleven sons. The last of these, the father of Mayor Palmer, now resides at 
Clarissa, Todd county, Minn., aged eighty years. In 1847 he moved from 
New York to Janesville, Wis., where his wife died in 1854. Our subject 
then entered the store of his uncle, Andrew Palmer, to learn the drug bus- 
iness. In 1863 he went with his uncle at Janesville, where he continued the 
occupation of druggist. He came to Sioux City in 1878, and bought the 
wholesale grocery business of H. D. Booge & Co., which he sold, after con- 
ducting it nine years, to the Tollerton & Stetson company. For the last 
three years he has been at the head of the firm of Palmer, Willey & Co., 
wholesale dealers in dry goods. 



744 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mr. Palmer built and is the chief owner of the Sioux City & Nebraska 
pontoon bridges, and is president of the Citizens' bank of South Sioux City, 
and director of the Commercial National bank of Sioux City. He is also 
extensively interested in several additions to Sioux City and South Sioux 
City, and is a large land owner in Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa. In 
1890 he grew over 1,700 acres of crops in the last named state. 

In 1885 he was the democratic candidate for member of congress from 
the Eleventh district, and was elected mayor of Sioux City in 1890, being 
the first democrat elected to tha,t office on a partisan ticket. Mr. Palmer is 
a Knight Templar Mason, and a member of the Protestant Episcopal church, 
the A. O. U. W., and Hawkeye club. In 1867 he married Miss Louise T. 
Lightbody, an English lady, who died in 1883, leaving two sons; Charles E., 
the elder, is assistant city engineer, and William B. is employed in the 
National Bank of Sioux City. Mr. Palmer was again married in 1885, this 
time to Mrs. Kate C. Elliott, and the fruit of this union is a four-year old 
daughter, named Ethel E. 

William Gordon, capitalist, Sioux City, is one of the succesful young 
men whose energy and ability have built a marvelous city on the founda- 
tions laid by its noble pioneers. He was born in Enniskillen, county Fer- 
managh, Ireland, on May 24, 1857, and is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth 
(Parke) Gordon, natives of the same county. His great-grandfather, Will- 
iam Gordon, also a native of Ireland, was an intimate friend of John Wesley, 
and one of the fathers of Methodism. Both the Gordon and Parke families 
went from Scotland to Ireland near the close of the seventeenth century, to 
settle upon grants made by Cromwell in return for military service. 

Our subject was reared in his native town, and educated in the National 
Model school and Portora college. When fourteen years old, he went to Bel- 
fast, and was employed in the office of William Gregg & Son, extensive iron 
merchants. After spending a year in Liverpool, in the employ of a large 
building furnishers' establishment, Wm. Dawbam & Sons, he went to Lon- 
don as its representative, and there remained three years, during which 
time he was very successful, and was advanced very rapidly by his employers. 
In March, 1882, he came to America, on his way to, Australia. After spend- 
ing some time in New York, and in traveling through the south and west, 
he decided to settle in America, and resigned his mission to Australia. 

He came to Sioux City March 25, 1883, and was first employed as book- 
keeper by Davis & Wann, grain merchants. He was subsequently employed 
in the Security National bank, and later took charge of the books of F. H. 
Peavey & Co., grain buyers, at Minneapolis, Minn. In the spring of 1885 
he returned to Sioux City, and engaged in the insurance and real estate 
business, and two years later turned his entire attention to operations in 
real estate. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 745 

He had invested in realty immediately after his arrival in Sioux City, 
and he very soon became identified with many leading interests and enter- 
prises. He is secretary of the Sioux City Rapid Transit company, secretary 
and treasurer of the Leeds Improvement and Land company, the Daniel E. 
Paris stove company, and is a director in the Sioux City Land company, and 
the Northern Land company, and holds an interest in the Sioux City & 
Northern railroad company. Upon the organization, in February, 1891, of 
the American Security and Trust company, he was made its president. 
This institution is incorporated in both Massachusetts and Iowa, with an 
authorized capital of five million dollars. It represents a controlling inter- 
est in the stock of several land syndicates in the Floyd valley, and will en- 
gage in general banking when its land stock is disposed of. This arrange- 
ment, which bodes so much for the welfare of Sioux City, is largely due to 
Mr. Gordon's foresight and executive ability. 

While he is a naturalized American, Mr. Gordon eschews politics as de- 
moralizing to a business man. He is a. member of the Masonic order, and 
sustains the Presbyterian church. He was married, June 4, 1884, to Miss 
Stella Blanche, daughter of S. T. Davis, whose biography will be found 
elsewhere in this volume. Two daughters and a son complete Mr. Gordon's 
family, named, respectively, Elizabeth, Jeannie and William Davis. 

Matthew Lawrence Flinn, contractor, Sioux City, was born in Hartland; 
McHenry county, 111., June 15, 1849, and is the third of the eleven children 
of Bernard and Catherine (Mulhall) Flinn, the latter a native of West Mead, 
and the former of Mead, Ireland. Matthew remained on the home farm 
till nine years old, when he went to Chicago and attended the city schools 
for seven years. He was then employed for some time in hotels — the Tre- 
mont and Briggs — and in 1868 came with his parents to Sioux City, where 
they now reside. He soon found employment as brakeman on the Sioux 
City & Pacific railroad, and, while serving the C, St. P., M. & O. road in that 
capacity, lost his left arm in 1873. He was then employed at the Sioux City 
shops of the latter road as operator and time-keeper for five years, and two 
years as chief clerk, having charge of all the accounts. For nearly two years 
he kept a meat market, and later engaged in the real estate business. 

In 1888 he took extensive contracts from the city for building sewers and 
paving streets, and has continued successfully in that line since. Among the 
streets paved by him are East Fourth, Jackson, Pierce, Water, West Third, 
Sixth, Seventeenth and Twenty-seventh. Mr. Flinn has witnessed the 
growth of Sioux City, and took an active part, before he thought of contract- 
ing, in securing its improvement. The plans proposed by him and others in 
the city council for public improvements met with much opposition, but were 
finally victorious. As an evidence of his success, it may be mentioned that 



746 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

he is the owner of lands in Plymouth and Woodbury counties and in Nebraska 
and South Dakota, as well as valuable city property. 

Mr. Flinn and family are communicants in the Roman Catholic church, 
and he helps maintain the principles of the Democratic party. In 1881 he 
was elected alderman at large. He has served two years as assessor, was 
three years chairman of the county board of supervisors, and acted for four 
years as United States marshal, under President Cleveland. 

In 1876 Mr. Flinn married Mary Emma Wilkins, a foster daughter of 
James Puck, whose biography will be found in this volume. Mrs. Flinn is 
a native of Arkansas, and is the mother of four children, named respectively : 
Grace Margaret, Frank Matthew, Alice and Edward Bernard. 

W. I. Buchanan. The subject of this sketch is a representative type 
of the younger class of men, who to-day are intrusted with a large share of 
the commercial and jyublic responsibilities of this country. Fifty years ago 
none but old men were deemed to have mature judgment enough to hold 
positions as officers of banks, railroad officials, county and state officers, while 
to-day the country is operated largely, financially and officially, by young 
and middle-aged men. In no state do we find more fitting examples of 
what young men can accomplish than in Iowa, whose most brilliant con- 
gressman is the youngest member of the house. 

Mr. Buchanan was born September 10, 1853, near Covington, Miami 
county, Ohio. His parents were George Preston and Mary (Gibson) Bu- 
chanan, of Scotch iescent. He spent his early life on his grandfather's 
farm near Covington, his parents both dying before he was nine years old. 
He afterward learned the trade of an edge-tool maker, and worked at that 
for some years in and near Rochester, Ind., later in life he took tip mercan- 
tile business, which he has followed since. He came to Sioux City in 1882, 
from Dayton, Ohio, as a member of the firm of J. K. Prugh & Co., jobbers in 
crockery, and has also managed the Peavey Grand Opera house since its 
opening, and is known throughout the country among theatrical jDeople. 

In 1878 Mr. Buchanan married Lulu Williams, an accomplished lady, 
daughter of the well-known artist, J. Insco Williams, of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
They have two children, Florence and Donald I. He was appointed by Gov- 
ernor Boies, in 1890, one of the two commissioners from Iowa of the World's 
Columbian commission, and at the second meeting of that body was made 
chairman of the committee on agriculture, and in December, 1890, was ap- 
pointed by Director General Davis, as chief of the Department of Agricult- 
ure of the Columbian Exposition. The Departments of. Live Stock and For- 
estry were both placed temporarily in his charge, and were organized by 
him. He is an Elk and a member of the Knights of Pythias, and a stanch 
democrat. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 747 

Eei Richaedson, retired farmer, Sioux City, was born in New Hampshire 
in 1827. His father was a farmer of that state and reared a family of ten 
children — sis sons and four daughters — all of whom grew to maturity in 
their native state. The sons engaged in railroading, and soon after the 
death of their father all scattered to different and new scenes. Eri, who 
appears herein, commenced his career in the railroad business with pick and 
shovel, and by perseverance ended as a contractor. He assisted in the con- 
struction of the Hudson River railroad. 

It was about the middle of this century, in 1854, that Mr. Richardson 
came to Delaware county, Iowa, having previously been married to Eliza 
Thurston in New Hampshire. To this union were born sis children. Mr. 
Richardson purchased a farm in Delaware county and remained there sis 
years. At the end of that time he removed to Indiana, and afterward to 
Ohio, where he remained twenty years. During this time he longed to be 
back in Iowa, and in 1881 came the second time to this state, where he has 
since remained, being engaged in stock-raising and farming in an extensive 
way. He is also engaged in the real estate business. 

Mr. Richardson has met with wonderful success in business. He first 
came here poor, with an ox team, and by hard labor, frugality and industry, 
soon began to advance up the ladder of fortune. He is now president of 
the Iowa Savings bank. He owns 3,000 acres of land in Woodbury and 
adjoining counties. After a business career of thirty-five years Mr. Richard- 
son has now retired from active business. He is a member of the Unitarian 
church. 

James Biebell Nicholson, farmer, Le Mars, was born at Annan, Scot- 
land, August 12, 1861, and is a son of Benjamin and Sarah Janet (Birrell) 
Nicholson. His grandfather, John, was a son of Benjamin Nicholson, all of 
Dumfrieshire, Scotland. The father of our subject is a large ship builder 
and lumber dealer at Annan, and is also an extensive railroad owner, his 
attention being chiefly given to the latter interest. 

In 1880 he visited Plymouth county, and purchased two sections of land 
in Washington and America townships, on which the son settled in 1883. 
The farm is chiefly devoted to the breeding of shorthorn cattle and Poland 
China swine. James B. Nicholson was educated at a public school in Edin- 
burg, and was married in 1883 to Georgina Laing, a native of Liverpool, 
England, and daughter of Scotch parents, George and Ellen Laing. The 
family affiliates with the Presbyterian church, and includes four children, 
viz. : Benjamin, Elsie, Sarah Janet and James B. Mr. Nicholson gives strict 
attention to the cultivation of the farm, and does not trouble himself with 
public concerns or those of his neighbors. 

Timothy P. Mukpht, attorney at law, Sious City, ranks to-day among the 
foremost and most prominent attorneys in the state of Iowa. He was born 



748 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

in Boston, Mass., September 28, 1842, and is the son of Timothy and Jerusha 
(Shattuck) Murphy. Timothy, the father, was born in county Cork, Ireland, 
and was a hatter by trade, and came to America in 1826. The mother was 
born in New Hampshire, and her parents were among the earliest settlers of 
Massachusetts. 

Timothy, the subject, was one of the youngest of ten children, and was 
reared in his native state until four years of age, when with his parents he 
removed to Waupun, Wis., where they remained eight years. Timothy 
attended the public schools of Waupun, and had mastered the third arith- 
metic and fifth reader when his parents moved to this state and located in 
Iowa county. The father purchased a farm in that county, and remained 
thereon until his death. Young Timothy worked on his father's farm during 
the summer and attended school in winter until 1860, when he entered 
the State university at Iowa City. He remained there three years, taking 
an irregular course in sciences and languages, having in view the study of 
law, that being his own wish as well as his father's. 

In 1863 he went to Marengo, Iowa, and studied law for two years with 
Jeremiah H. Murphy, his eldest brother. He was admitted to the bar Feb- 
ruary 15, 1865, and a partnership was formed with his brother, which con- 
tinued from 1865 to 1867, when a branch office was opened at Davenport, 
Iowa, and Jeremiah took charge of it, while our subject remained at Ma- 
rengo until 1870, when the partnership was dissolved. For a year Mr. 
Murphy practiced alone. In 1871 he formed a partnership with Capt. 
Hedges, who has since become judge of the district court. This partnership 
existed until 1875. From 1875 to 1880 Mr. Murphy remained in business 
alone at Marengo. He served as mayor of that place from 1870 to 1 876, 
having been elected on an independent ticket. 

In 1880 Mr. Murphy came to Sioux City. For the greater part of the 
time since then he has been practicing alone. For three years he was in 
partnership with Mr. F. M. Fort, the firm name being Murphy & Fort. 
Mr. Murphy's practice has extended throughout many counties of this state. 
In 1885 he was appointed United States district attorney for the Northern 
district of Iowa, by President Cleveland, which position he held until Feb- 
ruary 10, 1890, when he resigned it. 

Mr. Murphy was married at Davenport, Iowa, June 8, 1870, to Miss 
Sarah Holcomb, of Illinois. Their family consisted of five children, only three 
of whom are now living, the oldest child, a son, having died when sixteen 
months' old. He is a member of the Order of Elks. While reared in the 
faith of the Roman Catholic church, Mr. Murphy is not identified with any 
denomination. Mrs. Murphy is a member of the Congregational church. 
He is a member of the democratic party, as his father was before him, and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 749 

has taken an active part in politics. Mr. Murphy has devoted his entire 
life to his profession, and has won merited success. 

Jacob W. Myers, banker, Le Mars, was born December 15, 1833, in 
Trumbull county, Ohio, a son of John and Matilda (Warren) Myers. He 
received a common-school education in Ohio, and completed it at the Alle- 
gheny college at Meadville, Pa., after which he located at Detroit, Mich., 
where he remained four years in the employ of a mercantile firm. In 1855 
he was engaged on government land surveys, and the following year was 
appointed an U. S. deputy surveyor, with headquarters at St. Paul, Minn. 

In 1878 he located at Le Mars, Iowa, and became identified with the 
Plymouth county bank, as its cashier, and when, in 1882, the Plymouth 
county bank was converted to the First National bank, he was its cashier for 
several years, and later its vice-president until 1889, when he resigned to 
take the presidency of the German American Savings bank of Le Mars. 
In 1858 Mr. Myers married Mary L. Kimberly, daughter of James and 
Sirphrona (Earl) Kimberly. He has been a consistent republican since the 
organization of the party. 

Amos Hale is a traveling salesman for the wholesale grocery house of 
Sprague, Warner & Co., of Chicago, 111. He is fifty-six years old, and for 
the last twenty years has followed his present occupation. He has the long- 
est continuous record as a commercial traveler of any man traveling from 
this city. 

He came to Sioux City in 1871 as salesman for the wholesale grocery 
house of H. D. Booge & Co. He is a native of New York, and has had 
varied experiences in pioneer life in the northwest in its early days. His 
face is familiar to the grocery trade within a radius of 100 miles of Sioux 
City, and he is looked upon by the commercial travelers, as the patriarch of 
their fraternity, in this locality. He is married and has two daughters: 
Mrs. Willis G. Clarke, and Miss Adaline. 

Hon. Willis G. Clarke, of Sioux City, was born at Newport, Me., in 
1853. He comes of a family which bore an active and honorable part in the 
American Revolution, and his father was a union soldier. He lived in Min- 
nesota from 1856 to 1870, and in 1878 graduated from Brown university, 
Providence, R. I., with the degree of A. B. Removing to Sioux City he 
studied law with Judge Isaac Pendleton, and was admitted to the bar in 
1881. 

He was elected justice of the fieace the following year, as a democrat, the 
balance of the party ticket being defeated. In 1884 and 1885 he was ap- 
j)ointed county attorney. 

In June, 1886, he married Lillian F., daughter of Amos Hale, of Sioux 
City. At the election of November, 1889, Mr. Clarke was elected by nearly 



750 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

one thousand majority to represent Sioux City and Woodbury county in the 
Twenty-third general assembly of Iowa, of which he is now a member. 

William Stephen Follis, real estate dealer, Sioux City, was born in Du- 
buque, this state, on New Year's day, 1847, and is a son of Patrick and Mar- 
garet (Conway) Follis, natives of county Kilkenny, Ireland. When William 
was six weeks old the family moved to Prairie Spring township, Jackson 
county, where they settled on a farm. In 1868 they removed to Sioux City, 
where the mother now resides, and where the father died March 6, 1888, aged 
seventy years. He had taken a homestead in Johnson township, Plymouth 
county, which is still held by the estate. 

Our subject is the eldest of their four living children. His only schooling 
was furnished by the district school in Jackson county, which has been well 
supplemented by the practical experiences of life. In 1868 Mr. Follis took 
a homestead in Johnson township, Plymouth county, which he still retains, 
and he is now the possessor of several city lots. For ten years he was clerk 
of the Sioux City house, conducted by his father, and since 1881 he has en- 
gaged successfully in the real estate business. 

He is secretary of the Lincoln Park association, now Lincoln Park company, 
and of the Julia Mica Mining company, of Custer county, S. D. For the 
past five years he has been secretary of the Mechanics' Building association 
of this city, having previously served three years as director. He was one of 
the charter members of the Excelsior Hook and Ladder company, the first 
volunteer company, organized in 1870, and which was the nucleus of the 
present fire department, and he served as the secretary of the company 
several years, and also served the longest period of any active member of the 
company, having served fifteen years, and is now on the honorary roll. He 
also served as secretary and treasurer of the Sioux City fire department, for 
the years 1883 and 1884. 

He is a member of the A. O. H, and of the Eoman Catholic church, and' 
in politics affiliates with the democratic party. In 1878 he was elected 
county recorder and served two years. He served as justice of the peace in 
1883 and 1884, and made a satisfactory magistrate, but refused to be again a 
candidate. In September, 1890, he formed a partnership with J. A. Ber- 
nard in the abstract of title business for Sioux City and Woodbury county. 

On June 2, 1885, Mr. Follis married Mary A. Mulady, a native of Sun 
Prairie, Wis., of Irish descent. They have three sons, named respectively: 
William Joseph, Lawrence Gregory and Emmett Patrick. 

A. R. T. Dent, real estate and loans, Le Mars, was born in London, Eng- 
land, in 1861, a son of "Lady Dent," 20 Thurloe square, London. He re- 
ceived his education in England, and graduated from an engineering school. 
In 1880 he came to America, and located at Le Mars, where he became a 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 751 

farmer, at which occupation he continued for four years, after which he 
spent a year and a half traveling. After his return, he became one of the 
firm of Chapman & Co., a firm engaged in the real estate, loan and 
insurance business, and was afterward engaged in the brewery business, but 
legal complications soon ended the brewery deal, and he was, until lately, 
associated with Francis Moreton, the firm name being Dent & Moreton, and 
they gave their time to real estate and loans. 

In June, 1887, Mr. Dent married Ida M., the second daughter of Mr. 
and Mrs. N B. Richards, formerly of Le Mars, but now of Beresford, S. Dak. 
Mr. Dent casts his vote with the democratic party. 

E. E. Selmser & Co., real estate dealers and brokers, Sioux City. Few 
young men have been more successful in business than Mr. Selmser, of the 
above firm. Mr. Selmser was born in Johnstown, N Y., in 1859, and received 
his early education there, but completed it at New Haven, Conn., where he 
attended college. He commenced his business life as a clerk, and when he 
came to Sioux City, which was in 1882, he clerked for Jundt & Tompkins. 

He was engaged in the boot and shoe business for six years, but seeing 
the growth of the city of his adoption, he decided to go into the real estate 
business, which he did two years ago, and the success he has attained bears 
witness to the wisdom of the move. He is engaged extensively in buying 
and selling real estate, and has an office in the Commercial bank building. 
He is a member of A. F. & A. M., and a Thirty-second degree Mason. 

William Kbameb, proprietor of Booge hotel, Sioux City, was born in 
Ohio in 1847. He has lived throughout the west since 1864, having resided 
in Montana, Dakota, Utah, Idaho and Iowa. He first came to Sioux City in 
1867. For the last six years he has been engaged in the hotel business. In 
1889 he purchased a half interest in the Booge hotel, and has since been the 
genial, hospitable proprietor of the same. In politics he is a republican. 

John J. Lessentch, proprietor of the Chicago house, Sioux City, is a 
native of Germany, born in 1S26. His parents, Engelbert and Mary Les- 
senich, died while our subject was quite young. He remained in Germany 
until 1854, when he came to America, locating in New York state, where he 
resided for one year. We next hear of him in Illinois, where he remained 
until his removal to Sioux City in 1867. The same year, he built a two-story 
frame hotel, twenty-four by forty-eight feet, occupying a quarter of a block, 
and was proprietor of the same. In 1S81 this building burned down, and 
was replaced by the present brick block, ninety-six by one hundred feet, and 
two stories high, of which he is still the proprietor. 

Mr. Lessenich was married, in Geneseo, 111., in March, 1861, to Miss 
Mary A. Kuhri, a native of the Province of Alsace. To this union there 
were born five children: Josephine (Mrs. Selzer), John F., Mary L. (de- 



752 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ceased, 1887), Leonard C. and Emma L. Mr. Lessenich is a member of 
Landmark Lodge, No. 103, A. F. & A. M., of Western Star, No. 282, I. O. 
O. F. and the Turner society. Politically he has been a life-long democrat. 
He has been very successful in the hotel business and is the owner of a large 
amount of Sioux City and Plymouth county real estate. 

Hon. A. M. Dutrs, real estate and insurance, Le Mars, was born in (Fohl) 
Schleswig, Holstein, in the year 1849. He came to America in April, 1870, 
and located at Le Mars, where he engaged as clerk with John Gordon for 
two years, and in 1872 started a general store at Hospers, Sioux county, 
which he sold after conducting it for two years, and returned to Le Mars. 
There he engaged in the machinery and farm implement trade until 1880, 
at which time he was elected auditor of the county, a position he held until 
1886, when he purchased a real estate, loan and insurance business, in which 
he is at present engaged. 

In 1888 he was elected a member of the legislature by the democratic 
party, and served one term, declining a renomination. He is a member of 
the Giblem Lodge, 322, F. & A. M. In 1873 he married Grace, daughter of 
U. Wynia, of Sioux county. 

F. R. Robinson, banker, Kingsley, was born in Warwickshire, England, 
in July, 1848, and is a son of Rev. Gilbert and Frances (Russell) Robinson, 
both natives of England. His father was vicar in the same parish for forty- 
two years, or until his death, which occurred in 1884. His mother still re- 
sides in London. 

Frederick R. went into the army at the age of nineteen years and re- 
mained seven years. He received a commission as ensign when he first went 
in, and was lieutenant at the close of his commission. In the winter of 1873 
he took passage on the vessel Weber, and came to America, and located in 
California, where he ran a sheep ranch about six years, and then located in 
Plymouth county, Iowa, where he followed farming until the fall of 1884, at 
which time he went into the banking business at Adrian, Minn. 

In the spring of 1889 he came to Kingsley, and formed a partnership 
with U. G. Mueller, in the banking business, which they have carried on suc- 
cessfully ever since. In September, 1886, Mr. Robinson married E. Louise 
Russell, of England, and they have five children: Frances M., Gilbert F., 
Edward M., Harrold and Margaret. Politically he is a democrat, and at 
present mayor of Kingsley. 

James M. Bacon, hardware dealer, and one of the earliest settlers of 
Sioux City, was born in New Hampshire in 1837, and is the youngest of the 
nine children of Moses and Mary (Wilson) Bacon, also of New Hampshire. 
His father was a mechanic. James M. spent his early life in New Hamp- 
shire and Massachusetts, and received his education at Cambridge, Mass. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 753 

He began life as a dry goods clerk, and was afterward employed as a clerk in 
the Boston post-office. 

In 1859 he came to Sioux City, where he was subsequently elected jus- 
tice of the peace, succeeding Judge Allison, and held that position for two 
years, and was also secretary of the school board. He enlisted in Company 
A, Dakota cavalry, under Gen. Sully, in the volunteer army, and served three 
years, during which time he was quartermaster. Returning from the war 
with the Indians, he located in Sioux City, but had his headquarters in Du- 
buque. He held the position of ordnance officer of Dubuque district one 
year. After that he was quartermaster agent for Gen. William Myers for 
one year, and then closed up all the government affairs at Sioux City. He 
then engaged in the hardware business in Sioux City in March, 1867, and 
has since continued in that business in which he has made a success. 

In 1855 he was joined in marriage to Helen M. Stewart, of Roxbury, 
Mass., and to them have been born two children. The daughter, M. Lizzie 
Bacon, is a very fine musician, having been a pupil of Madame Cappiani. 
She is the fortunate possessor of a soprano voice of rare excellence, and has 
quite a brilliant future before her if talent can insure it. Mr. Bacon has 
held various public positions ; has been township trustee and alderman ; also 
mayor of the city. He was the organizer of the Merchants' Exchange, out 
of which has grown the Jobbers' Association, and was president of that 
organization for two terms, and was unanimously elected for the third term, 
but declined to hold the position longer. 

He has been a Mason for many years, and has been master of the Blue 
Lodge. He is identified with the Episcopal church, and is one of the char- 
ter members. Mr. Bacon's whole life has been devoted to the successful 
prosecution of his business interests, and in that he has been more than suc- 
cessful. In political matters he holds to the principles advanced by the 
democratic party. 

Deidrich A. Oltmann, banker, Kingsley, was born in Rock Island county, 
111., December 26, 1858, a son of Deidrich and Catharine (Herron) Oltmann, 
both natives of Germany. His father is still living in Rock Island county, 
where he is engaged in farming. Politically he is a democrat, and he and 
wife are members of the German Lutheran church. 

Deidrich A. was born and reared on a farm in the county of his birth. 
He received his early education at the high schools and completed his studies 
at the Davenport Business college, after which he remained on the old home- 
stead with his father two years. He then went to Ida county, where he en- 
gaged in farming until 1883, when he moved to Kingsley, Plymouth county, 
and engaged in the banking business, which he has since continued. 

October 7, 1886, Mr. Oltmann was united in marriage with Flora McClow, 



754 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

at Ida Grove, Iowa. They have one child, Annie Fern, born February 16, 
1889. Mr. Oltmann supports the democratic party; he was city treasurer of 
Kingsley in 1884, and is now a member of the city council, which office he 
has held six years ; he is also school treasurer, and trustee of the Congrega- 
tional church. 

Jacob X. Bbands, Sioux City, was born at Grand Rapids, Wis., Septem- 
ber 14, 1858. His parents were of Scotch extraction, and it is perhaps to 
this rugged Scotch blood that a certain element of perseverance, which is 
noted in his character, is due. Young Jacob, or "X," as he was from earli- 
est boyhood familiarly called, to distinguish him from his father, whose name 
had been bestowed upon him, lived with his parents at Grand Rapids until 
he was two or three years of age, when the family removed to Plover, Por- 
tage county, Wis. He went to school at Plover until 1868. His mother 
had died when he was seven years of age, and after spending a winter at 
Mosinee, Wis., the family removed to Moingona, a mining town in central 
Iowa, where the elder Brands had become actively interested in some mining 
property. Here "X " went to the public school until 1871, when an incident 
occurred which, it seems, decided the whole future course of his life. 

Jacob X. Brands, Sr., was a subscriber to the Boone "Democrat," a 
weekly paper edited at the county seat by Mr. J. Hornstein. The latter 
made frequent visits to Moingona, in the interests of his business, and on one 
of these visits mentioned to Mr. Brands that he had never been inside a coal 
mine, and should like to go through one of the most extensive, in order to 
give it an intelligent write-up in his paper. Mr. Brands at once volunteered 
to give him the guidance of " X," which was accepted, and although the boy 
was but thirteen years of age, he proved to be so competent a guide, so 
bright and intelligent, that the editor took a great fancy to him, and before 
his return to Boone that evening, an arrangement had been made with the 
boy's father, and with his own delighted consent, that he should go to Boone 
to learn the printer's trade. His fancy for this business had been aroused 
when much younger. 

A relative was publisher of the Plover "Times," and, boylike, "X" had 
been around the office a great deal, and conceived a liking for the trade. 
He remained in the Boone " Democrat " office a year, learning rapidly and 
giving undoubted satisfaction to his employer, and undergoing all the trials 
and privations which ordinarily fall to the lot of the printer's devil. The 
foreman of the " Democrat " office, Mr. John Stephens, took a great fancy to 
the boy, and in 1872 they went together to Chicago, where they soon received 
work in the job office of Mike Cahill, on Halsted street. It was just after 
the fire, and the printing business was lively in Chicago, but the office was a 
comparatively small one, and not fully equipped, so after some months the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 755 

two embryo tramps, one old enough and wise enough to be the father of the 
other, in whom he took a fatherly interest, went to Ottawa, 111., where they 
worked in the Ottawa " Free Trader " office. 

The subject of our sketch had developed unusual taste and skill in press- 
work, and made himself so valuable to the Ottawa firm of printers that they 
readily gave him wages almost sufficient for a man. But neither Mr. Ste- 
phens or young " X " were of that temperament to enjoy this uncertain and 
roving method of gaining a livelihood. During their absence from home 
Means & Downing had bought the Boone County " Advocate," published in 
Boonesboro, removed it to Boone, and changed its name to the " Repub- 
lican." They wanted Mr. Stephens to take the position of foreman, and the 
latter consented, taking, of course, his protege with him. Here young 
Brands, now rapidly developing into manhood, remained nine years, and 
finally became foreman of the office; 

On September 3, 1879, he married Miss Carrie Diffenbacher, and soon 
afterward removed to Chicago, where he began to work in the Chicago News- 
paper Union's huge establishment. During the early part of 1884, the 
Chicago Newspaper Union, in order to properly care for its rapidly increas- 
ing business in this section of the country, and recognizing Sioux City as a 
jobbing center of growing importance, decided to locate a branch house 
here. 

Every man in the Chicago house, through long training in a business 
which peculiarly requires it, seemed to fit his own niche, and it became a 
serious problem who should be sent to Sioux City as manager of the new 
house. Mr. Strong, the general manager, and Mr. Tracy, the superintend- 
ent, held a consultation, and the latter mentioned that the only man he 
could suggest was one named Brands, who worked as a "make-up" in the 
pressroom. "Is he competent?" "I think he is. I was attracted to the 
excellence of his work when he was foreman of a country paper in Iowa, 
the Boone 'Republican.' It was a typographical beauty, and every detail 
showed careful attention." 

Mr. Strong called the young printer up, and he came, with black hands 
and smutty blouse and overalls, wondering what was up. "Did you ever 
keep books?" asked Mr. Strong. "No Sir." "Ever do any editorial work?" 
"No Sir." "Well when you were foreman of that country paper, out in 
Iowa, you had some book-keeping to do, didn't you?" "Oh, yes; I used to 
keep the job book, and in the illness or absence of the proprietors, I some- 
times had entire charge." "Well then, you had to do editorial work. I'll 
tell you what we want. We are going to start a branch house in Sioux City, 
Iowa, and want you to take the management." Mr. Brands was thunder- 
struck. If this manager of the great Chicago house had told him he was 



756 HISTORY OP WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

wanted as foreman, he might not have been surprised; but "manager" — he 
couldn't mean it. In further consultation, however, no doubt was left as to 
the exact meaning of the interview. 

Mr. Brands was taken from the press room, and after a few weeks' train- 
ing in the counting room, sent to Sioux City to take the active management 
of the new house. At first, much of the work, clerical, mechanical and 
editorial, devolved upon him, and it was that training of which we have en- 
deavored to give a faithful sketch, by which alone he was selected for this 
responsible place, and which enabled him to successfully conduct the busi- 
ness entrusted to him. 

From printing a few papers at first, the list of the Sioux City house has 
grown to over 200. ' A supply department, in which is carried all kinds of 
paper and printers' materials, was soon added, and this, too, has grown 
amazingly. In 1887 the establishment was removed from Douglas street to 
a building especially erected for it at 212 Pearl street, and the business, now 
grown to enormous proportions, is still developing at a steady pace. In 
1888, Mr. Brands lost his wife, and afterward married her sister, Miss 
Florence Diffenbacher. He is the father of one child, a boy, who shows 
many of his father's characteristics. 

Jonas M. Cleland, attorney, Sioux City, son of George M. Cleland, was 
born at Jordan ville, Herkimer county, N. Y., in 1852. After the completion 
of his education, he read law with Davenport & Young, at Kichfield Springs, 
and with Hardin & Burrows, at Little Falls. In 1872 he removed to Sioux 
City, where he read law with Currier & Bolton, and in the fall of the same 
year was admitted to the bar, and has since been engaged in the practice of 
his profession. 

He was elected city attorney, a position he held for eight years, and in 
1886, Sioux City was advanced to a city of the first class, and he was elected 
mayor, which office he held for two terms, and it was during his administra- 
tion that the plans for paving the streets and the systems of sewerage were 
inaugurated and successfully carried through. He feels an active interest 
in all matters pertaining to Sioux City, and is now commissioner of the Job- 
bers & Manufacturers' Association. 

In 1877 he married Louise D., a daughter of Mrs. A. D. Peavey of Sioux 
City. They have two children. Mr. Cleland and his wife are both members 
of the Episcopal church. 

Arthur P. Brown, P. M., Le Mars, son of David L. Brown, was born at 
Verona, Oneida County, N. Y., in 1838. His father was a contractor, and 
when the subject of this sketch was quite a boy, his parents removed to 
Bockford, 111. , where he completed his education. However, in response to 
his country's calls for men in 1S62, he enlisted as a private in Company K, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 757 

Seventy-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry, and while on the skirmish line 
near Kenesaw Mountain, Ga., he received a wound, resulting in the loss of 
his right leg. He received his discharge in October, 1864, having been pro- 
moted to sergeant. 

He returned to Eockford, where he was made city collector for two years, 
and in 1872 the family removed to Le Mars, where he became engaged in 
the livery business, and during President Harrison's administration received 
the appointment of postmaster. In 1887 he was elected justice of the peace 
of Le Mars. January 18, 1870, he married Josephine, daughter of Walter 
Warner, of Eoscoe, 111., and has five children: Clifford A., Claude S., Edith 
A., Mollie E. and Fred W. He and his wife are both members of the Con- 
gregational church. His father died in June, 1888, while his mother still 
has her home here. 

Col. J. H. Swan, attorney, Sioux City, son of Silas Swan, was bom at 
Sherbrook, Canada, in 1833. His parents were from Vermont, where they 
were married, but afterward removed to Canada, where they remained until 
1835. They eventually moved to Medina county, Ohio, where they were 
engaged as farmers the rest of their life, and it was there that our subject 
received his education. He read law with Judge Cketfield, and in 1851 
went to Minnesota, where he continued as a student of law, and in 1857 was 
admitted to the bar. He first practiced at Le Sueur, Minn. 

In 1861 he enlisted as first lieutenant in Company I, Third Minnesota, 
and was afterward made captain, and remained in the service until January 
1, 1865. After his return he practiced law at Little Rock, and in 1871 re- 
moved to Sioux City, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his 
profession. 

He married Anna M. Acker, of Grant county, Wis., and they have four 
children — two boys and two girls: Charles M., Wallace H, Ida (now Mrs. 
William A. Eipple, of Holstein, Iowa), and Cora J. (now Mrs. Fred Evans, 
of Sioux City). His eldest son has become associated with him, the firm 
name being J. H. & C. M. Swan. C. M. Swan married May Shuster, of 
Sioux City, and they have two children. 

Constant E. Marks, attorney, Sioux City, son of Almeron and Mary 
(Phelps) Marks, was born at Durham, Greene county, N. Y., April 11, 1841. 
His parents were originally from Connecticut, his mother being a descendant 
of one of those who perished in the massacre at Wyoming. The father of 
our subject was a lawyer of ability, having located in New York, where he 
practiced in the courts with such men as Lyman Tremain. 

In 1848 Almeron Marks was elected to the legislature of the state of 
New York. His grandfather and great-grandfather were members of the 
legislature of Connecticut. The great-grandfather of Constant R. was the 



758 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

first democrat elected to the legislature from his town. Almeron Marks, 
father of C. R., continued successfully the practice of law in New York until 
his decease in 1852, when the family returned to Connecticut, where C. E. 
made his home with his great-grandfather at Burlington, he having lived 
there since the Revolution. 

Constant attended the Connecticut Literary institute (a preparatory 
school) at Suffield, Conn., until the beginning of the rebellion, when he 
enlisted in Company K, Eighth Massachusetts volunteer infantry, this being 
the second regiment to enter the service, and the one with which Ben. Butler 
opened the way to Washington via Annapolis. While stationed at Fort Mc- 
Henry he was taken sick and compelled to return to his home, thus terminat- 
ing his military career. He again resumed his studies, attending the Hud- 
son River institute at Claverack, N. Y., and in 1863 entered Yale college. 
While there he was attacked with erysipelas in the head and was obliged to 
relinquish his educational projects, and received an honorable dismissal from 
Yale on account of ill health. 

He then devoted several years to the recovery of his health, and, January 
1, 1866, began reading law with E. M. Wood, at Pittsfield, Mass. He 
attended the Albany Law school at Albany, N. Y., and was admitted to the 
bar January 1, 1868. Having taken the advice of Horace Greeley, he went 
to Chicago, remaining there but a short time, and in April of the same 
year removed to Sioux City, where he has since been successfully engaged in 
the practice of law. In connection with W. L. Joy he built the Marks- Joy 
block, known as the Garretson annex. 

In 1869, the year following his arrival at Sioux City, he was elected 
member of the legislature of Iowa, but declined further political office. ■ He 
was a member of the school board nine years, and president of the board 
three years, retiring in 18S9. He was also prominently identified with the 
construction of the city water works and public library, which were built by 
a private corporation at the request of the city, he seeing to the legal part. 
During a vacancy he filled the office of president of the National Bank of 
Sioux City. 

He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and attends the Episcopal church, of 
which his wife is also a member. June 27, 1871, he married Josephine, 
daughter of Russell Kilbourn, of Great Barrington, Mass. They have three 
children — one girl and two boys. 

Hon. J. S. Lawrence, attorney, Sioux City, son of W. S. Lawrence, was 
born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1854, and after the completion of an academic 
course there, entered Madison university at Hamilton, N. Y., from which he 
graduated in 1875. Afterward he studied law with Henry L. Clinton of 
Brooklyn, and also took a course in the New York Law university, and was 




<V/i^rrva^<t ^/Hot^i 



fr~rJX 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 761 

admitted to the bar in 1877. He began practice in Herkimer county, N. Y., 
but removed to Sioux City in the winter of 1881, where he followed the prac- 
tice of his profession. He was elected police judge, but in 1886 resigned, 
and was elected to the senate in the same year. He is identified with the 
republican party. 

In 1875 he married Ima D., daughter of John M. Treadway, of Herkimer 
county, N. Y., and they have two children. He is stockholder in, and at- 
torney for, the Sioux City Investment company. He began his political ca- 
reer as chairman of the County central committee, and is now chairman of 
the Judicial central committee, and one of the representative men of this rep- 
resentative city. 

James Blanchard Sloan is the third of eight children born to John and 
Nancy (Neely) Sloan, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Bel- 
mont county, Ohio, He was born April 4, 1847, in Belmont county, Ohio, 
but his parents left there when he was very young, and moved to Port Clin- 
ton, Ottawa county, Ohio, where he attended school until his fourteenth year. 
He was then sent to the Adrian college, at Adrian, Mich., where he remained 
two years, going from there to Louisa county, Iowa. 

In March, 1868, he came to Sioux City to open a real estate and loan of- 
fice, which was his occupation the next four years. He then closed up his 
real estate business here and bought 320 acres of land in Sioux City town- 
ship, where he engaged in stock-raising and farming until the fall of 1890, 
when he sold out and removed to Sioux City, where he is at present living a 
retired life. 

Mr. Sloan was united in marriage with Helen E., daughter of George 
and Adeline Schuster, pioneers of Sioux City, April 24, 1873, and five chil- 
dren have blessed their home, namely: Charles E., Frank B., James B. Jr., 
Edwin T. and John S. He is a republican in politics; socially he belongs to 
the I. O. O. F. and is a member of the Congregational church. 

Mes. S. J. Hereon, Le Mars, is a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Fey- 
man) Gehlen, and was born in Jackson county, Iowa, her parents being 
among the pioneers of Le Mars. Her father was a farmer and miller in 
Jackson county and came to Le Mars in 1869, where he engaged in the mill- 
ing business, which he continued until his death, which occurred in 1879. 
They had a family of eleven children, of whom nine are now living. 

The subject of this sketch was married to John Herron in 1874, a gentle- 
man prominently identified with Plymouth county, having been one of its 
officials, but he died in 1882, death terminating a successful business career. 
J. J., M. B. and M. W. are now associated as managers of the City Roller 
Mill, of which Mrs. Herron is the owner. The mill has a daily capacity of 
sixty barrels of flour and four car-loads of feed; it is fitted out with thirteen 
sets of rollers and one double set of feed rollers. 



762 HISTOKY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Paul L. Beick, physician, Le Mars, was born at Colberg, Prussia, in 
1846. He graduated from the Louisenstadt college at Berlin in 1864, and 
then attended the university there. He came to America in 1867, locating at 
Auburn, N. Y., but removed to Syracuse, N. Y., where he first began the 
practice of medicine with Dr. M. Bausinger. . He afterward removed to 
Pennsylvania, thence to Illinois and Wisconsin, and to Burlington, Iowa, in 
1871, and finally settled in Le Mars, in February, 1880. He is a member of 
Griblein Lodge, No. 322, F. & A. M., of the Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, of 
Burlington, and of the consistory of Cedar Rapids, A. & A. S. rite. He was 
made city physician in 1887 and 1888, and in 1890 graduated from the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago. 

He married Ida, daughter of William Holdzkom, of Effingham, 111., in 
1871. She died at Burlington in 1874, and in 1877 he married Florence E., 
daughter of Edward Sniff, of Denmark, Iowa, who died July 7, 1882, leaving 
two children, Louis and Paul, of whom the latter is deceased. In August, 
1890, he married Miss Eva, daughter of Capt, J. E. Braden, of Ligonier, 
Ind. He is a member of the Sioux City Medical society, and of the American 
Medical association. 

Mabtin Luther Sloan was born November 25, 184S, in Belmont county, 
Ohio, and is the third child born to John and Nancy (Neely) Sloan, the for- 
mer a native of Ireland, who came to America while still a young child, and 
the latter a native of Jefferson county, Ohio. Our subject's parents having 
moved to Ottawa county, in the same state, while he was a child, it was in the 
latter county that he received his education. He attended the public schools 
until eighteen years of age, at which time the family moved to Louisa county, 
Iowa. He remained there with his parents, who were engaged in farming, 
until 1870, when he came to Sioux City. 

Here he was appointed deputy auditor, under Judge G. W. Wakefield, 
which position he held for seven years. In the fall election of 1877, he was 
a candidate on the republican ticket for auditor, and was elected to that 
office. This office he held for the three following terms, and for three years 
after he served as county supervisor from Sioux City. In 1886 he engaged 
in his present business, that of groceryman. 

May 20, 1875, he married Ida M., daughter of O. C. Hill, a native of 
New York state. Mr. Sloan is a republican, and carries considerable influ- 
ence in his neighborhood. He is a member of the Congregational church, 
and has filled all the important offices in the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P. 
lodges. 

Rev. Iea N. Paedee, D. D., secretary of the University of the North- 
west, Sioux City. Among the public men connected with the promotion of 
the education and religious prosperity of Sioux City, there are none that are 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 763 

better known than the Rev. Ira N. Pardee, both as a teacher of the divine 
law and a financier, the latter being shown in his shrewdness as financial 
agent of the University of the Northwest, which position he took in April, 
1890, when the idea of the building of a university at Sioux City was yet in 
its infancy. 

Mr. Pardee was born in Kingston, Ulster county, N. Y., July 29, 1840, 
and was the eldest of the three children that were born to Captain James B. 
and Loretta (Van Valkenburg) Pardee, the former a native of Hunter, Greene 
county, N. Y., and the latter a native of Lexington, Greene county, N. Y. 
His ancestors are of French extraction. Ira N. Pardee spent his youth in 
his native county, attending the Kingston academy. In his fourteenth year 
he entered the Amenia seminary to prepare for college, and there remained 
three years, then entered Wesley university and finished the course under 
the direction of a private tutor, Erastus Ladd Prentice, under whose instruc- 
tion he remained two years. He then taught in the schools of Ulster county, 
N. Y., one year, then entered the ministry of the M. E. church, for which he 
prepared by the usual conference course of theological studies, supplemented 
with the coarse pursued in the Concord Biblical institution. 

In 1864 he took charge of his first church, and since then his ministerial 
life has been uneventful, filling pulpits in Plymouth church, Wyoming Val- 
ley, Pa., Great Bend, N. Y., Chicago, 111., Omaha, Fort Dodge and Sioux 
City. In 1882 he was made superintendent of the M. E. church of Dakota, 
and served in that capacity and as presiding elder four years. He was mar- 
ried October 12, 1869, to Mary L., daughter of George and Sarah Winchell, 
and granddaughter of Lord John Livingston of Scotland. 

Geokge W. Oberholtzer, civil engineer, Sioux City, was born in Chester 
county, Pa., February 24, 1847, the son of Elias Oberholtzer, a native of the 
same place. His father was a farmer until quite late in life, when he was 
elected president of the Farmers' and Mechanics' National bank, at Phoenix - 
ville, which position he filled until his death. 

In tracing his ancestors back, on the paternal side, it is found they origi- 
nally came from Lower Palatinate, Germany, and settled in Montgomery 
county, Pa., being among the first German settlers in that vicinity. A por- 
tion of the family removed to Chester county, after the Revolutionary war. 
Our subject's mother was Catharine (Acker) Oberholtzer, a native of the same 
county. Her grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and her father a sol- 
dier of the war of 1812. 

Mr. Oberholtzer acquired his early education in the schools of his native 
county, and at the age of sixteen entered the State Normal school at Millers- 
ville, Pa., from which he graduated in the scientific course after three years' 
hard study. He taught for two years afterward, the first year as principal 



764 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

of the high school at Duncannon, Pa., and at the academy of Jamaica, Long 
Island, one year. He then adopted the profession of civil engineer, taking 
his degree in 1871, at the Pennsylvania Polytechnic college, Philadelphia, 
Pa., after which he was employed by the B. & M. railroad, of Nebraska, 
until 1872. In that year he came to Sioux City, where he made surveys and 
locations, and had charge of the construction of the Sioux City & Pembina 
railroad, between Sioux City and Sioux Falls, Dak. 

In 1873 he was elected city engineer of Sioux City, which position he 
filled for the next ten years, and was surveyor of Woodbury county four years. 
In 1883 he entered mercantile business as a wholesale and retail dealer in 
sewer, well and chimney pipe, fire and pressed brick, hydraulic cement and 
other building material. 

Mr. Oberholtzer was married to Miss Rosa M. Allen, a teacher in the 
Sioux City High school, December 18, 1877. He is a trustee of the Lutheran 
church and a member of the "Unity club, and in politics votes the republican 
ticket. 

Mathias Benjamin Tritz, clerk of the district court, Le Mars, is a native 
of Germany, born in Tuensdorf, Prussia, April 3, 1841. His parents, Adam 
and Mary (Wagner) Tritz, natives of the same village, immigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1847, and settled in Tete Des Morts, Jackson county, this state. The 
mother died there in 1S51, aged forty-six years. The father came in 1869 
to Le Mars, where he died in December, 1885, at the age of eighty-five 
years. 

Of their nine children, Mathias is the seventh. He was reared on a farm 
and educated in the public and parochial schools. On reaching manhood he 
engaged in farming till 1870, when he came to Le Mars and opened a gen- 
eral store. This he conducted seven years, and subsequently engaged in the 
agricultural implement trade. For five years he was a partner of T. J. 
Priestley, to whom he sold his interest on his election to his present position, 
in 1888. From the time of his majority to his removal from Tete Des Morts 
he served as township clerk, and has served America township in the same 
capacity. In 1880 he was a candidate on the democratic ticket for county 
recorder, but was defeated. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

February 27, 1867, he married Mary Kass, a native of Luxemburg, Ger- 
many, and they had eight children, of whom seven were sons : Adam, Joseph 
M., Nicholas, Charles, Frank, John and Mellitus. The oldest is a clerk at 
Alton, Iowa, and the second is preparing for the priesthood at St. Francis 
seminary, Milwaukee, Wis. The sixth, a daughter, was killed at the age of 
four by a jiile of lumber falling upon her. 

Ika T. Martin, attorney, Le Mars, was born in Racine county, Wis., in 
1848, and was there educated. He read law with G. T. Crafts, of Cedar 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 765 

Rapids, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He began the practice of law 
at Cedar Rapids, but removed to Brooklyn, Poweshiek county, where he 
remained until his removal to Le Mars, which was in January, 1883. There 
be became engaged in the practice of his profession, and in 1886 he associ- 
ated with him F. R. Gaynor, the firm name being Martin & Gaynor. 

In 1863, at the age of fifteen years, he enlisted in Company B, Ninth 
Iowa cavalry, and served two and a half years. He was wounded in a 
skirmish at Sercey, Ark. After the war his regiment was engaged in the 
southwest, along the Rio Grande, in Texas, and in Arkansas until March, 
1866. He was city solicitor of Le Mars for two terms, and is a member of 
Mower Post, No. 91, G. A. R. He married Jennie M., daughter of John Ray, 
of Peacham, Vermont, in 1876. 

Ceaig L. Weight, attorney, Sioux City, son of George G. Wright, was 
born at Keosauqua, Iowa, in 1846. He was educated at Iowa City, and 
graduated from the university there in 1867. In 1868 he attended a law 
school at Des Moines, and during that year was admitted to the bar. He 
returned to Sioux City in September of the same year, and began the practice 
of law. He was city attorney for two terms. He is a director in the Security 
bank, the Corn Exchange bank, in both street railroad companies, and also 
of the Sioux City & Northern railroad. He is a member of the republican 
party. 

In 1873 he married Kate P. Van Dyke, of Keokuk, Iowa, and has two 
children. His business career has been very successful, and he has acquired 
the reputation of being an able and successful lawyer. 

William W. McEleath, farmer and grain buyer, Moville, was born in 
Montgomery county, N. Y., in 1850, and is a son of John and Jane (Jackson) 
McElrath, the former a native of Scotland and the latter a native of Ireland. 
John McElrath was a farmer, at which occupation he was engaged in White- 
side county, 111., at the time of his death, which occurred in 1872, his wife 
having preceded him about eight days. He and wife came to America in 
1849; they were both members of the old Presbyterian church. 

William W. was brought up on a farm, and moved with his parents to 
Whiteside county, 111., when he was four years of age. He continued to re- 
side with his parents until their death, he being the youngest child of the 
family. He took charge of the homestead farm, which he carried on until 
1881. The last eight years of his residence in Illinois he dealt quite ex- 
tensively in live stock. In 1881 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and 
purchased 160 acres of land in section nineteen, Arlington township, where 
he now resides. He erected a house and commenced to break his land, and 
has continued ever since to conduct his farm. He has since added to his 
property, and now owns 1,400 acres, all in one piece, where he raises a great 
number of live-stock of all kinds, besides the regular farm products. 



766 HISTOEY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In 1887 he came to Moville and commenced to buy stock and grain, in 
connection with his farming interests. Politically he is a republican. He is 
at present county supervisor, which office he holds three years, and is also a 
school director. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and of the Farmers' 
Alliance. 

In August, 1872, Mr. McElrath married Alice Heathcote, of Morrison, 
111., and there have been born to them nine children: Eva, Edith, Ray, Ralph, 
Maude, Allie, Willie, Minnie and Alice. 

Absalom B. Miller, farmer, P. O. Anthon, Woodbury county, is a son of 
George and Hannah Miller, both of Dutch descent, and was born in Lexing- 
ton, Ky., June 4, 1814. He was educated in a common school in Lexington, 
until ten years of age, when he moved with his parents to Sidney, Shelby 
county, Ohio, where he attended school until he was twenty-two years of 
age. He then bought a stock of groceries and was in business for himself 
a year. 

In 1837 he moved to Toledo, Ohio, bought a steam saw-mill, and after 
running that two years moved back to Sidney and farmed until 1842. He 
then moved to Jackson county, Iowa, worked in a grist-mill until 1852, and 
then bought a farm in South Pork township, where he lived until the fall of 
1870, when he moved to Kedron township, Woodbury county, and bought 
the town site of Anthon, where he now resides. 

In December, 1836, he married Mary, daughter of William and Rebecca 
Barley. In 1842 his wife died, leaving three children: Margaret A., George 
and Lucinda. In 1844 he married Jane, daughter of William Bodel, and 
she has borne him seven children: Albert, Laura, Nettie, William, James, 
Perry and Mary. He is a member of the Methodist church, and politically 
is a democrat. 

Robert M. McCarter, banker, Moville, was born in Clinton county, Iowa, 
February 22, 1855, and is a son of Robert and Harriet (Gorham) McCarter, 
both natives of New York, now residing in Moville, Woodbury county. 

R. M. McCarter was brought up on a farm in Clinton county, Iowa, 
where he was born, and where he received his education. At the age of 
seventeen he left home and went to Sac county, Iowa, where he remained 
until 1884, when he went to Sioux county, Iowa, and was there engaged 
in farming for a year. He then returned to Sac county and farmed until 
1887, when he went into the bank at Shaller, Iowa, as assistant cashier. 
In February, 1888, he came to Moville and went into the banking busi- 
ness with his father, Robert McCarter, which they have continued ever 
since. In December, 1888, William H. Barto went into partnership with 
them, and the bank is now known as the Farmers' bank. Politically he 
is a republican, a member of the town council and school board. He is a 
member of the United Workmen and also the Odd Fellows. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 767 

Mr. McCarter was married to Emma M. Palmer July 6, 1874, but she 
lived until 1876 only. He married again in September, 1877, his second 
wife being Jeanette L. Waugh, and they have two children: Lester A. and 
Emma G. 

Bev. Charlton Hikes Strickland, D. D., pastor of the First Baptist 
church, of Sioux City, Iowa, the second son of Oliver P. and Henrietta W. 
Strickland, is a native Georgian, his birthplace being Lawrenceville. Born 
December 18, 1844, of fine, healthy physique, frank open countenance, pleas- 
ant manners, and abilities above the average, he bids fair to live a long life of 
usefulness. When a boy he was remarkably fond of reading, sometimes 
poring of the pages of his favorite authors through whole nights. He had 
fully prepared himself for college at the Lawrenceville high school, receiving 
instruction under a private tutor in the languages and higher mathematics, 
and, determined upon receiving a thorough classical education, was about to 
enter college when the war broke out in 1861. 

Through force of circumstances he entered the army as a volunteer, and 
with characteristic ardor and faithfulness performed his duties as a soldier. 
He rose to the rank of captain of Company C, Third Georgia battalion of 
sharpshooters, being recommended for promotion by Brigadier Gen. Wofford 
"for gallantry on the field of Spottsylvania." At the close of the war the 
sterner duties of life interfered with his desire and purpose to secure a col- 
legiate education, as indeed was the case with very many southern young men 
of that period. 

He was converted in a very unusual manner during a series of meetings 
held at Hebron, Gwinnett county, in August, 1865. Biding home alone one 
night, the Holy Spirit enabled him to realize powerfully his lost and undone 
condition as a sinner; and so overwhelming a sense of contrition took posses- 
sion of him, that he dismounted, and, in the darkness by the roadside, pleaded 
for forgiveness, until for him the sun of righteousness rose with healing in 
his wings. Immediately in the dark and solitary forest, a sweet sense of 
pardon filled his soul, and sorrow for sin gave place to tears of joy and songs 
of praise. He was baptized by his brother, Bev. William H. Strickland, and 
united with the church at Hebron. 

In the following October he married Miss M. E. Dunlap, and on Jan- 
uary 30, 1870, was ordained, having felt constrained to give himself wholly 
to the Bedeemer's service. He was first pastor of Bethel church, Walton 
county, and afterward of churches at the following places : Farmington, New 
Hope, Greene county, Greensboro and Augusta, Ga. Later he became 
pastor of the First Baptist church, Knoxville, Tenn., where his influence for 
good produced a most powerful effect. In 1883 he was called as pastor to 
the First Baptist church of Nashville, Tenn., which pulpit he occupied until 



768 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1889, when lie received an unanimous call to fill the desk of the First Bap- 
tist church of Sioux City, Iowa. Here also his power is felt for good. The 
church, at the time of his taking charge, numbered about 250 members, and 
after a pastorate of nearly two years, numbers nearly 450 in its membership. 
He is strongly attached to the people of his charge, and they, in turn, highly 
appreciate his worth and power as a pulpit orator. 

Genial and pleasant in the social walks of life, he has many ardent ad- 
mirers outside of the church over which he presides. Somewhat above the 
medium size, he is erect in carriage, of commanding appearance, and dig- 
nified in manner. Unswerving fidelity to duty, united to great gentleness, 
are perhaps his most prominent characteristics, while he is endowed in an 
unusual degree with that quality so useful to a pastor — tact, or adaptability. 
As a preacher, he possesses the gift of oratory far above the mediocrity, 
seeming to strive for simplicity in manner and language, and for aptness in 
illustration; and with such earnestness and zeal does he pursuade men to be 
saved, that his hearers recognize his" heart as going with his words. As a 
pastor, he creates the strongest bond between himself and his people, by the 
genuineness of his sympathy, which makes the joys and sorrows of others his 
own. Both the aged and the young feel him to be their friend, and his 
kindly feeling toward the sorrowing draws from them the expression, "Oh, 
he knows just what to say and when to say it." Surely this is a rare gift in 
a minister. 

He has held and still holds high positions of honor in the societies of 
Good Templars, Odd Fellows, Knights of Honor, Free Masons and Knights 
Templar. As a preacher, he studies earnestly and carefully, seeking all the 
information he can from the Scriptures, from his own well chosen library, 
and from the book of human nature, until he becomes full of his subject. He 
then meditates upon it, talks of it, prays over it, and preaches about it. 
Generally his preaching is blessed by the Spirit to the good of those who 
hear. The proud eulogy of his native state (while he was yet a young man), 
we find couched in the following: "He is a son whom the state can not well 
afford to spare, and we hope for his early recall." Sioux City has already 
learned to be proud of Dr. Strickland, not only as a pulpit orator, but as a 
most estimable citizen. 

George Molyneux Paedoe, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born April 1, 
1841, in Elkland township, Sullivan county, Pa. His ancestors came to this 
country from England and settled in the trackless forests of northern Penn- 
sylvania soon after the close of the Revolutionary war. On his father's side 
the family is said to be of Spanish origin, and of French origin on his 
mother's side, being among those who migrated to England during the Mid- 
dle ages, on account of the religious wars in their own countries. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 769 

Mr. Pardoe attended the common schools during the winter months, and 
worked at farming and lumbering between the school terms, until the begin- 
ning of the war of 1861, when he joined Company C, Twelfth regiment of 
the Pennsylvania reserve corps. During his three years of service he took 
part in nearly every engagement of that famous division. He was twice 
slightly wounded and twice taken prisoner, and served a term in Libby 
prison. He was mustered out of the service in June, 1864. 

In the fall of that year he entered the Lewisburg, Pa., academy, where 
he remained one year. He then began the study of law in the office of 
Broomall & Ward in Delaware county, Pa., and was admitted to the bar in 
March, 1868. He practiced his profession there until 1878, when he went to 
the Black Hills, in the then Territory of Dakota, where he remained one year. 
In June, 1879, he removed to Sioux City, where he has since resided. 

In October, 1870, Mr. Pardoe married Miss M. Louise Beale Simpson, 
also of Pennsylvania. They have two children, Kobeina Crawford and 
Joseph William. Mr. Pardoe and wife are connected with the First Presby- 
terian church, of which Mr. Pardoe is an elder and trustee. He is a member 
of Western Star Lodge of Odd Fellows, being a past grand of that order, 
and also a member, and the present commander, of Gen. Hancock post of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. He is a member of the firm of Pardoe & 
Talley, title abstracters, and a director and the vice-president of the Ballou 
Banking company. 

John Clarence Mills, merchant, Pierson, was born at Hilton, Shropshire, 
England, March 14, 1849, and is a son of James and Mary Ann (Craik) Mills. 
In 1850 the family came to America and dwelt eighteen years on a farm near 
Bochelle, 111. The father now resides near Woodstock, 111., the mother being 
deceased. 

Of seven sons and one daughter, all of whom are now living, John C. is 
the fourth. He attended the common schools, and remained on the home 
farm till 1878, when he engaged in the hotel business, and kept the Bochelle 
house three years. In 1880 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and was 
employed over four years in a wholesale hardware house at Sioux City. 

For one year he was superintendent of the Sioux City water works, and 
in December, 1885, bought a half interest in a general store at Pierson. 
Since this time the business has been successfully carried on under the name 
of J. C. Mills & Co. Mr. Mills is a member of the Masonic order, and sus- 
tains the Methodist Episcopal church. Like his father and all his brothers, 
he is a republican, and sympathizes with the temperance sentiment of the 
state. 

Edwin Daniel Feeae, M. D., Sloan, is the eldest of six children born to 
W. D. and Elizabeth B. (Parish) Frear. He was born in Beaumont, Pa., 



7 1 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

May 3, 1854. His grandparents, Abraham and Betsey (Williams) Frear, 
were of French Huguenot descent, and came to America in 1620, on account 
of persecution, and settled on the Hudson above New York city, and his 
forefathers were among the first who settled in Pennsylvania, and were in all 
the border warfares which settled the disputes concerning the titles of north- 
east Pennsylvania. His grandfather was a Methodist Episcopal minister, 
and his great-grandfather on his mother's side, Capt. Parish, was commis- 
sioned captain in the Revolutionary war. Two of his great- grandparents 
were killed in the Wyoming massacre, and his grandfather Frear was an en- 
sign in the war of 1812. His father was the ninth in a family of sixteen 
children. 

Edwin D. Frear was reared in the town of Beaumont, Pa., and after re- 
ceiving a common-school education, attended the Monroe preparatory academy. 
He then taught school, and read medicine under Dr. C. A. Spencer, of Dallas, 
Pa., for three years, and in 1879 came to Sioux county, Iowa, going subse- 
quently to Sloan, where he taught, and read under Dr. Ainsworth. In 1880 
he attended school at Iowa City, where he graduated in March, 1882, going 
at once to Salix, where he began to practice and also became interested in the 
drug store with J. L. Follensbee, and remained there until 1886. He then 
came to Sloan and practiced with Dr. Ainsworth until January, 1890, since 
which time he has practiced alone. 

September 20, 1883, Dr. Frear married Susie, daughter of Arora and 
Mary (Epps) Clemens, of English descent. They have three children: Edna 
L., Carrie and Charles E. Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraterni- 
ty, the Good Templars, and the Presbyterian church ; politically he is a re- 
publican. He is a member of the Woodbury county and State medical so- 
cieties. 

O. J. Irish, cashier of the Sloan State bank, was born in Cortland 
county, N. Y., October 27, 1850, a son of Elias B. and Alrnira (Memcey) 
Irish, who were American farmers. His grandparents, Elias and Catherine 
(Koon) Irish, were also farmers of this country, though of English ancestry. 
Our subject was reared on a farm, and after receiving a common-school edu- 
cation he attended the State Normal, also the academies at Cortland and 
Homer. At the age of twenty-one he began business for himself, and taught 
school and farmed until 1880, when he came to Sloan and began dealing in 
stock, and has at present 2,200 head of cattle, and owns one quarter section 
of land. At the organization of the Sloan State bank he became cashier, 
which position he has since filled. 

In 1870 he married Millie E., daughter of John W. and Betsey L. (Jack- 
son) Chapin, the former of whom is deceased. To this union is born one 
child, L. Herman. Mr. Irish is in sympathy with the Congregational 
church, and politically is a republican. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 771 

James Nelon was bom in Oswego county, N. Y., in 1845, a son of Den- 
nis and Mary (Hunt) Nelon, who were natives of Ireland. His opportuni- 
ties for obtaining an education were somewhat limited. He attended the 
public schools until sixteen years of age, and then engaged in the service of 
a ship that was sailing on the lakes. After six years' service he came west 
to Sioux City, and worked at the carpenter's trade. Later, he was elected to 
the police force, in which he served three years, then went to the Black Hills, 
but soon returned and engaged in teaming. 

In 1872 he was returned to the police force; later was made deputy 
sheriff, but subsequently served as policeman, which he continued until 1885, 
when he went into business. In the fall of 1889 he was made chief of po- 
lice, and held this position until March, 1890, when he retired. Since that 
time he has been engaged in no active business. In August, 1876, Mr. 
Nelon married Rosemond Dragor, a native of "West Virginia. In his politics 
he is a republican, and is identified with the Roman Catholic church. 

Rev. Robert C. Glass, A. M., B. D., dean of the College of Liberal Arts, 
University of the Northwest, Sioux City, is a man noted for the influence he 
has had in advancing the religious prosperity of the city. He was born 
August 2, 1846, in Monroe county, Ohio, a son of Thomas and Jane (Gray) 
Glass, the former a native of Glasgow and the latter of Edinburgh, Scot- 
land. His parents were married in Pittsburgh, Pa., but spent some years in 
Monroe county, Ohio. 

During our subject's infancy, they moved back to Pittsburgh, where they 
remained three years, then moved to Clayton county, Iowa, where Robert 
attended the district schools until nearly twenty years of age, teaching part 
of the time. In his twenty-first year he entered the State university at Iowa 
City, from which he graduated in June, 1873. He then went to Ireland, and 
attended the Assembly's college at Belfast a session, then attended the uni- 
versity at Bonn, Germany, another session. 

After some traveling, he returned to America in October, 1874, and took 
a theological course at Boston university, graduating in 1875. May 12, of 
that year, he was united in marriage with Amy E. Kerr, of Iowa City, and 
began his ministerial life at Le Mars, Iowa, where he served the M. E. church 
three years. He then served at Webster City and at Cherokee, being three 
years at the latter place, then was appointed presiding elder of the Algona 
district. He was next returned to Le Mars, and while serving here was 
called to Sioux City, to take the place of the Rev. George C. Haddock, who 
had been assassinated for assisting in the prosecution of the offenders against 
the law prohibiting the sale of liquor. 

While serving at Sioux City, Mr. Glass was instrumental in having the 
Haddock Memorial church, on the corner of Fifth and Steuben streets built. 



772 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Upon its completion he became the pastor, and served in that capacity one 
year. While officiating in that capacity, he had the Grace M. E. church at 
Morning Side erected, and was in charge there for a year, when he became 
one of the projectors and managers of the University of the Northwest. He 
was chosen by the board of regents, as dean of the College of Liberal Arts, 
and professor of moral and mental sciences, which positions he now holds. 

He has four children, namely: Amy Luella, Eosabel, Mabel J. and Flor- 
ence. Mr. Glass was a member of the general conference of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, which met in Philadelphia in 1884. In political matters 
he votes the republican ticket. He is a member of the Masonic order, and of 
the Beta, Theta Pi society. 

W. D. Buckley, attorney at law, Sloan, was born in Otsego county, N. 
Y., April 6, 1856. His parents, O. E. and Julia (Douglas) Buckley, were 
American farmers, and his grandparents, William and Elizabeth (Turner) 
Buckley, were also Americans, the latter being a daughter of Gen. Turner. 

W. D. was reared on the farm his grandfather cleared of timber, and 
while there received a good education, after which he attended Unadilla 
academy, and then took a course in history and literature at Cornell uni- 
versity. He then studied law in the office of Senator Loomis, of New York, 
was admitted to the bar, and came to Clinton, Iowa, in 1881, where he 
remained in the office of Judge Cotton for some time. Mr. Buckley then 
went to Sioux City, where he formed a partnership with S. J. Quincy in the 
law practice. 

In 1882 he came to Sloan and taught school one year, but opened an 
office in 1883, and here he has since remained. Mr. Buckley was married, in 
1884, to Sarah Jeffrey, daughter of James and Georgiana Jeffrey, Scotch 
farmers, and their union has been blessed with three children: Margaret J., 
Oliver E. and Julia D. He is a Master Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church. In politics he supports the democratic 
party. 

Prof. J. M. Jayne was born in Eaton, Wyoming county, Pa., July 8, 
1857. His father and mother, Porter and Sophronia (Shoemaker) Jayne, are 
farmers, and his grandparents, Timothy and Rachael (Evans) Jayne, were 
also farmers. His ancestors on his father's side were English and Welsh, 
and on his mother's side probably German. His great-great-grandfather, 
Timothy Jayne, was one of six brothers, five of whom held commissions in 
the Continental army, and he was a captain at the time of his capture at Flat 
Bush. On a tombstone, in the Old Puritan burying ground at Setauket, 
Suffolk county, N. Y., may be seen the following inscription: "Here lyes ye 
body of William Jayne. Born in Bristol, England, Jan. ye 25, 1618. Died 
March ye 24, 1714, aged 96 years." 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 773 

John Evans, Rachel Evans' father, was born in Wales, and came to 
America, a commissioned British officer of high rank, and settled in Phila- 
delphia, where he raised a family of fifteen children, Rachel being the 
youngest. He afterward went to Wyoming county, and there is said to have 
taught the first school in the county. John Taylor, father of Matilda (Tay- 
lor) Shoemaker, who is now eighty-three years old, entered the Revolution- 
ary war at the age of sixteen and served seven years. 

After receiving an education in the common schools of Wyoming county, 
our subject attended the Beaumont academy, and at the age of twenty-two 
went to Nebraska, where he taught school, afterward attending school in 
Chicago and teaching in Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Iowa, in 
which latter state he was principal of the Meriden graded schools for two 
years, 1886-S7. Since then he has been engaged as principal of the Sloan 
graded schools. 

He was married to Sarah E., a daughter of Fred Wendorf, a German 
farmer, of Cherokee county, Iowa, in August, 1888. In politics he is a demo- 
crat, and is identified with the Masonic fraternity. 

Richard H. Powlesson. The history of the Powlesson family connects 
them with the early settlement of New Jersey, and later, with that of Sioux 
City, but the early history being lost, it becomes necessary for us to com- 
mence with the father of our subject, Isaac R. Powlesson, a native of Essex 
county, N. J. 

Richard H. was born in the same county and on the same farm, August 
1, 1821. His education was limited, receiving only such as the rural dis- 
tricts could afford, there being at that time but one school term of three 
months during the year; the rest of his time was occupied in tilling the soil 
of his father's farm. He remained with his parents until he became seven- 
teen years of age, when he began to learn the carpenter's trade, working one 
year under instructions, then was bound as an apprentice to a contractor to 
serve three years. 

From 1S47 until 1856, he resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the latter 
date, in company with Thomas J. Kinkaid, came to Sioux City, coming by 
boat to Council Bluffs, and from there to Sioux City on the steamer Omaha, 
in the latter part of June, 1856, the first steamer that was specially engaged 
between these two points. Here he worked at his trade until 1882, having 
put up many a building here that will be a monument to his memory and 
ability for many years to come. 

His brother John, who was born in Essex county, NY., January 1, 1825, 
came to Sioux City, where he still lives, early in May, 1857. He is a plasterer 
and bricklayer by trade, but has not worked at these vocations for the past 
twelve or fifteen years. 



774 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mr. Powlesson was married August 31, 1875, to Mary Stutsman, a native 
of Davis county, Iowa. This union has been blessed with three children: 
Jennie (deceased), James Speer and John Charles. He is a member of the 
Farmers' Alliance, and of the I. O. O. F. 

Eli Lee, retired farmer, Holly Springs, was born in Ontario county, 
N. Y., October 12, 1816. He was reared on a farm and received a common- 
school education. At the age of twenty-one he removed to Lake county, 
111., where he farmed for eight years, and in 1849 drove across the plains to 
California to seek for gold, and for awhile was quite successful, having made 
as high as $200 per day with a tin pan. He had the misfortune, while min- 
ing, of having a number of his bones broken by falling rocks. He took sail 
for New York, going by the way of the Isthmus of Panama, then came to 
Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in 1852, to Smithland, Woodbury county, being one 
of the first settlers in this county. 

He helped to survey and organize the county, voting at the first election, 
when only ten votes were cast. He remained in Smithland sixteen years, 
farming and working at the carpenter's trade, then homesteaded the place 
where he has since lived in Willow township. His parents, Benjamin and 
Annie (Henry) Lee, were American farmers; his grandfathers were both in 
the Revolutionary war, William Henry being sergeant at Bunker Hill. 

In 1840 Mr. Lee married Helen Bower, whose parents, Benedict and 
Elizabeth (Kaile) Bower, were Germans, who came to America in 1830. They 
have five living children: Elizabeth, Lorenzo B., Aurilla, Alvildice and Annie; 
Eli, deceased, enlisted at Smithland in the Sixth Iowa cavalry, under Capt. 
Echer, and died August 12, 1864, at Yellowstone, Dak., of fever, while in 
the service; Oren lived to the age of two years. Both parents are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Lee is a republican, and has voted 
at every election held up to date (1891). He has been county coroner, sheriff, 
supervisor, trustee and school director. 

Thomas W. Bundy, an old settler and a general farmer and stock-raiser, 
residing on section seven, Sloan township, was born in Geauga county, Ohio, 
in 1837, a son of Ransford and Polly (Young) Bundy, the father a native of 
Otsego county, N. Y, of English descent, the mother of Pennsylvania, also 
of English descent. Ransford Bundy carried on farming in Geauga county, 
Ohio, until his death in 1887, at the age of ninety-three years; his wife died 
about 1858; both were members of the M. E. churcb. 

Thomas W. was reared in Geauga county and made his home there until 
1869. In 1861 he responded to the first call for volunteers, and enlisted in 
Company H, Seventh Ohio volunteer infantry, and served five months, then 
re-enlisted in Company B, Forty-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and served 
eighteen months. He took part in the battle of Shiloh and the siege of Cor- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 775 

inth. He was discharged in 1862 on account of disability and varicose vein 
in his limb, which has been a burden to him ever since. He had attained 
the rank of orderly sergeant. He returned home, and as soon as able, worked 
at farming. 

In 1869 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and engaged in farming. 
In 1876 he went overland with about ninety men to the Black Hills and 
mined about sis months, then returned with about thirty others. He then 
purchased 120 acres of land where he now resides, and has been engaged in 
farming ever since. He makes a specialty of good horses and cattle, and is 
a breeder of trotting stock, among them Mazy B., being quite noted. Mr. 
Bundy was united in marriage with Celia Parish, of Trumbull county, Ohio, 
in September, 1878. Politically he is a republican, and has been secretary 
of the school board. He is a member of the G. A. E. 

Flavius O. Hunting, farmer, Sloan, was born in Penobscot county, Me., 
in September, 1848, his parents, John and Sarah C. (Eollins) Hunting, being- 
farmers, of English descent. His grandfather, John Hunting, was also a 
farmer, and was in the war of 1812. His great-grandfather, Jonathan, was 
among the first to land at Plymouth, Mass. 

Flavius O. lived in Maine until 1863, when he came to Cedar county, 
Iowa, and in 1867 to Woodbury county, and located on a farm where he re- 
mained until 1889, when he moved into Sloan, where he now resides. 

In December, 1873, he married Hannah Hanson, whose parents, Hans 
and Sapiah (Peterson) Hanson, were Scandinavian farmers. They have six 
children: John H, William T., Carrie E., Sarah M., Edie O. and Frederick. 
Mr. Hunting is a member of the Odd Fellows, and also of the Farmers Alli- 
ance. Politically he is a republican, being at present a county commissioner; 
he has also held the offices of trustee and justice. Mr. Hunting had two 
brothers, John and Allen, who died while in service in the late war, one in 
Louisiana and the other in Florida. 

Feed Munchhath was born in Eatengen, Dusseldorf, Germany, July 22, 
1832, and is the son of Martin and Josephia (Schmith) Munchrath, natives 
of the same place. Our subject's early education was acquired in the schools 
of this town, attending them until about thirteen years of age, when he be- 
gan to work at the mason's trade, which he followed until he came to Amer- 
ica, in May, 1852, settling in Chicago, where he remained three years. 

In 1855 he removed to Galena, 111., where he met and married Gertrude 
Krudwig, a native of Germany, and at once came to Dubuque, Iowa, where 
he lived until 1858, when he came to Sioux City, and followed the mason's 
trade up to 1873. During this time he worked on many of the largest build- 
ings in town, building the first brick residence. In 1873 he entered the book 
and stationery business, which he has since pursued. The family circle in- 



776 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

eludes seven children, namely: Katie, Fred, Alma, Felix, Freda, Alexander 
and Gertrude. Mr. Munchrath is a democrat in politics and a member of 
the Roman Catholic church. 

The Ballou Banking Company. This company is the outgrowth of a 
business started at Storm Lake, Iowa, in 1870, with J. A. Dean and G. S. 
Robinson, now one of the supreme judges of Iowa, as partners. The Storm 
Lake Bank was organized about fourteen years ago. Mr. James Harker was 
president and Mr. J. A. Dean cashier; these two being the sole proprietors. 

This bank continued business for seven years, and then went into liqui- 
dation, for the purpose of organizing the First National bank of Storm Lake, 
and in connection with it was formed the Iowa Land & Investment company, 
with J. A. Dean as president. In 1888 the Ballou Banking company was 
formed, and February 1, 1890, began business at this place. 

H. S. Ballou, capitalist, is president, and is a resident of Boston. Geo. 
M. Pardoe, of Sioux City, is vice-jjresident, J. A. Dean, treasurer, and Geo. 
H. Eastman, who has charge of the company's business at Storm Lake, and 
who has been with them for fifteen years, is secretary. A. E. Webb is 
cashier. He entered the employ of the Storm Lake bank in 1878. Geo. B. 
Kerlin is the attorney for the company. Its paid-up capital stock is 
$150,000. 

D. P. Magnee, sheriff, Sioux City, is of Irish descent, but was born in 
McHenry county, 111., in December, 1856, and was educated in the public 
schools there. Mr. Magner studied for an engineer and spent eight years of 
his life as locomotive engineer. Woodbury county gave President Harrison 
a majority of its votes, but our subject, though a democrat, was elected sheriff 
of the county at the next election, by a majority of 1,658 votes, showing how 
well he stood in the esteem of his fellow-men. Our subject was married 
February 19, 1889. His father, P. J. Magner, is a railroad man. 

A. M. Haley, machinist, Sioux City, is a son of P. Haley, a farmer of 
Columbiana county, Ohio. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., but when quite 
a small lad removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, with his parents, where he 
remained twenty-five years. He began life poor, and was bound out as an 
apprentice, when he learned his trade, that of a machinist. He then engaged 
in the boating business and was engaged in engineering, piloting and serving 
as captain. 

He came to Sioux City in 1868, and ran the first steam ferry at this place, 
crossing the Missouri River. He continued his vocation as ferryman here 
for ten years. He then built a steamboat, carrying freight and passengers 
all along the river, as far as Fort Benton, Montana. He also transported 
emigrants to the Black Hills of Dakota. Mr. Haley followed the occupation 
of a boatman for thirty years, and has run on the Ohio, Cumberland, Ten- 




^J- . xl ^y^<JL, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 779 

nessee, Mississippi and Missouri rivers. During the war he was engaged in 
government transportation. 

In 1885 Mr. Haley built the foundry which he now occupies, and which 
is 100 by 150 feet. He is now engaged in manufacturing all kinds of 
machinery, steam supplies and mill supplies, giving employment to fifty-two 
men. He is assisted in his business by three of his sons: T. S., a native of 
Wellsville, Ohio, born in 1862, educated in the Sioux City schools, is now 
manager of the business interests; Joseph A., born in 1875, and educated in 
the Sioux City schools, is superintendent of the works, and George P., is 
book-keeper. 

Mr. Haley was married to Emily S. Stevenson, of Wellsville, Ohio, and 
to this union were born ten children — six sons and four daughters. He is a 
member of the Episcopal church, and a republican in politics. 

Col. John H. Keatxey, attorney, Sioux City. The subject of this sketch 
was born in Centre county, Pa., in December, 1838. After attending the 
common schools in his native village until he was about twelve years old, he 
entered a printing office to learn that art. In 1858 he began the study of 
law with Messrs. Curtin & Blanchard, at Bellefonte, and was admitted to 
the bar in 1860, the year in which the senior member of the law firm was 
elected governor of Pennsylvania. 

Col. Keatley, after being admitted to the bar, went to Blair county to 
commence practice, but the assault on Fort Sumter occurred a few days after- 
he opened his law office, and that event suspended all thought of the law until 
peace should be restored. He served with distinction in the One Hundred 
and Fourth Pennsylvania volunteers, and in the One Hundred Twenty-fifth; 
and was severely wounded a number of times. While in the military service, 
in 1863, he was elected district attorney, but the duties of the office were 
discharged by others until the close of the war. In 1866 he was again 
elected to the same office, but resigned in the fall of 1867 to make his home 
in Iowa. 

He was induced to make his home in Council Bluffs, and succeeded Col. 
John W. Chapman as editor of the daily " Nonpareil," of that city, and dis- 
charged its duties for two years. In 1870 he resumed the firactice of law. 
In 1872 he Greeleyized, and was made chairman of the Liberal Bepublican 
State committee. In 1874 he was nominated by the democrats as the candi- 
date for attorney general, and ran ahead of his ticket more than ten thousand 
votes in the state. In 1877 he was nominated for the legislature, and was 
beaten by only three votes, while Pottawattamie county was largely repub- 
lican. In 1878, against his urgent protest, he was nominated for congress 
against Col. Sapp, republican, and Kev. Mr. Hicks, greenbacker, and was of 
course defeated. In 1876 he was elected mayor of Council Bluffs as an in- 



780 HISTOBY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

dependent candidate. In 1885 he was elected a member of the Iowa house 
of representatives by a majority of 1,241 votes over Col. Sapp, his republican 
opponent. 

When the time came to select managers on the part of the house to con- 
duct the impeachment of State Auditor Brown, before the senate, in 1886, 
Col. Keatley was the only one of the seven chosen who received the unani- 
mous vote of the house for that position. In the trial, which began May 19, 
1886, he made the opening argument, on behalf of the managers, for which 
he was highly commended. In 1886 he was also nominated as the demo- 
cratic candidate for congress, by acclamation in the Ninth district, and, 
though defeated by Maj. Lyman, he carried Pottawattamie county, in which 
both resided, by almost a thousand majority. 

He was appointed chief of the law department of the second comptroller's 
office at Washington, in August, 1887, and in the early part of July,,, 1888, 
President Cleveland sent for him, and urged him to accept the appointment 
of United States district and circuit judge of Alaska. This he did, and for 
nearly two years discharged the duties of that office. His resignation, ten- 
dered to President Harrison, was not at first accepted, because of the fact that 
the business men of the territory had united, without respect to party, in a 
protest to the President, against the acceptance of his resignation. 

Col. Keatley finally insisted upon being relieved, and upon his return to 
the states, made his home in Sioux City, and has resumed the practice of his 
profession. For many years, while engaged in the practice of law, he was 
editor of the daily " Globe" of that city. He has also contributed quite 
freely, in the intervening years, to magazines, some of his articles on indus- 
trial questions attracting wide attention. He comes of Revolutionary stock, 
his grandfather, Christopher Keatley, having been an officer of the Revolu- 
tionary army, under Gen. Wayne, and was severely wounded at the battle of 
Germantown. 

John Hittle, city treasurer, Sioux City, is an Ohioan, and was born in 
1835. He was educated in his native state and commenced life as a day 
laborer. In 1856 he came to Sioux City, and was engaged as head clerk 
and fur buyer for twelve years by H D. Booge &Co. In 1886 Mr. Hittle was 
elected city treasurer, being the first treasurer elected after Sioux City had 
become a city of the first class. He was elected for his first term by a ma- 
jority of 600, for his second term by a majority of 1,234, and for his third 
term by 2,300 majority. During his term of office, the city bonds were sold 
at a premium of $20,000, and by his judgment and tact, Mr. Hittle has made 
a successful treasurer. For eight years he was engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness. 

He was joined in marriage to Harriett Stafford, of Indiana, and they be- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 781 

came the parents of three sons: John W., deputy city treasurer, Benjamin 
and William. Mr. Hittle attends the Methodist church with his wife, who is 
a member. He is a democrat in politics. 

Allen Ceossan, real estate dealer, Sioux City, is one of the enterprising 
citizens who have done much to build up northwestern Iowa. He was born 
at Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland, on the first day of the year 1S49, and is a son 
of Alexander and Fanny (Long) Crossan, natives of the same locality. The 
parents now reside at Eldora, this state, aged respectively eighty-five and 
eighty years. In 1852 they came to the United States, and remained in 
Ohio till 1865, when they settled on a farm near Eldora, which hay since been 
their home. 

Allen Crossan attended the common schools, and took a teacher's course 
at Albion seminary, Marshall county, Iowa, from which he received a diploma 
in 1877. In 1870 he took a homestead in Centre township, O'Brien county, 
which he sold two years later, and has since dealt more or less extensively in 
farm lands. He taught thirteen terms of school in the course of five years, 
and in 1886 purchased the Hartley " Record," which he edited and conducted 
four years, in connection with his real estate business. 

In the spring of 1890 he came to Sioux City and established a general 
real estate agency, which has proved signally successful. He is largely in- 
terested in Morning Side property, and owns lands in South Dakota, Ne- 
braska and Iowa. In addition to his own property he handles that of others, 
and is one of the leaders in Sioux City real estate movements. His success 
is the result of his own industry and sagacious management. Mr. Crossan is a 
member of the Methodist church and' Masonic order, and affiliates with the 
republican party in politics. 

He has been twice married, the first time being on Christmas day, 1878, 
the bride being Miss Lucretia Irena Beach, a native of Iowa, of English 
parentage, who died in 1884, leaving a son and daughter: Alexander Cephas 
and Emma Gertrude. The second marriage occurred in 1886, Miss Carrie 
O. Baker being the bride. The infant son born to this union is named Leslie. 

J. S. Lotheop, attorney, Sioux City, was born in Dover, Maine, October 
9, 1836, and was educated in that state. He removed to Illinois with his 
father's family in 1852, and worked on a farm continuously until September, 
1859. He entered the Chicago Law school in the fall of that year, where 
he studied law under Prof. Henry Booth until the breaking out of the war, 
April, 1861. 

He enlisted as a private in Company I, Eleventh Illinois infantry, and 
served through his period of enlistment — three months. He re-enlisted in 
Company E, Twenty-sixth Illinois infantry, August, 1861. He was elected 
orderly sergeant, and promoted in August, 1861, to second lieutenant. In 



782 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

September, 1862, he was promoted to first lieutenant, and in December of 
the same year, to captain of the same company, and served as such through 
the war. Returning home at the close of the war, he engaged in the prac- 
tice of law at Ottawa, 111. 

July, 1866, he removed to Champaign, 111., and resided there in practice 
of law until July, 1884, when he removed to Sioux City, and there engaged 
in the practice of his profession, and is now living at Sioux City, engaged 
in the practice of law in company with R. M. Dott, the firm being Lothrop 
& Dott. September, 1889, he was appointed by President Harrison, collector 
of internal revenue for the Third district of Iowa, with headquarters at 
Dubuque, the district comprising forty-nine counties in the north half of the 
state, and he is now holding that office. 

William F. Thomas, lawyer, Sioux City, was born January 19, 1848, at 
Pendleton, Madison county, Ind. His father was Levi Thomas, the son of 
Dr. James Thomas. William was reared on a farm, and had but the advan- 
tages of a common-school education. He read law in the office of Hon. 
M. S. Robinson, of Anderson, Ind., a part of the years 1868 and 1869, and 
graduated from the law department of the Michigan university in March, 1871. 

He was married February 14, 1872, to Miss Margaret J. Nelson, eldest 
daughter of Daniel Nelson, of Mercer, Mercer county, Pa. To them were 
born two children: Ida M., December 2, 1873, and Fred N., August 21, 1877, 
both of whom still live. He came with his wife to western Iowa in April, 
1872, settling in Ida county, where they lived until 1884, when he moved 
with his family to Sioux City, where he has ever since practiced his profes- 
sion of law, besides dealing in real estate. In religion he is a Baptist, and 
in politics a republican. 

G. C. Maclagan, banker, Le Mars, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 
1852. 

A. P. Bowman, physician, Le Mars, was born in Sunderland, Mass., in 
1856. His parents, in 1865, removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where he completed 
his education. In 1872 he went to Chicago, and was engaged in mercantile 
business until 1875, when he began the study of medicine, and, in 1878, 
graduated from the Chicago Hornceopathic medical college, and began the 
practice of medicine at Kansas City, but removed to Ottumwa, and later to 
Ponca, Neb., and to Le Mars in July, 1883, where he is now the only hornce- 
opathic practitioner. He is an active worker in the republican part} 7 , of which 
he is a member, and in 1890 was appointed as one of the board for examin- 
ing pensioners. 

In 1882 he married Carrie, daughter of Baker Medes, of Keokuk, and 
they have four children. He is a member of Le Mars Lodge, No. 255, 
I. O. O. F., of the Modern Woodmen, of Zeus Lodge, K. of P. In 1891 he 
was appointed health officer of the city of Le Mars. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. (BO 

A. A. Alline, attorney, Le Mars, was born in Washington county, Me., 
in 1831. After the completion of his education he was engaged in teaching 
for seven years. In Boston, for a time, he was a speculator, but eventually 
came to Black Hawk county, Iowa, and to Le Mars in 1872. Having pur- 
chased a farm here in 1868, he turned his attention to farming, until 1873, 
when he went into the lumber business. He also studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1876, and was one of the firm of Amos & Alline. He is 
now doing a land, loan, insurance and law business, being one of the firm of 
A. M. Duus & Co., and with the exception of two years has been continu- 
ously justice of the peace, a position he held in Maine and also in Black 
Hawk county. 

In 1861 he enlisted in Company G, First Iowa calvary, and was in the 
service about four years. He is a republican and a member of Giblem 
Lodge, 322, F. & A. M., and of the Occidental Chapter of Le Mars, No. 
114 

Michael Fkank Crouch, retired farmer, Le Mars, is a son of Walter and 
Annie Crouch, and a native of Pennsylvania, born in Crawford county, July 
26, 1823. His maternal grandfather, Eliphalet Stewart, came of old Amer- 
ican stock, and his paternal ancestors were probably Dutch. When six months 
old our subject was taken to Elicott, now the site of Jamestown, N. Y., where 
he was reared and educated in the rate-schools of that time and region. He 
has always been a farmer. In 1857 he went to Lancaster, Grant county, 
Wis., afterward living six years in Boscobel. 

He came to Le Mars in 1878, and is now the owner of one-half of section 
thirty-five, Liberty township, Plymouth county, on which he dwelt several 
years. Both he and his wife are communicants in the Free- Will Baptist 
church. Mr. Crouch is a republican, having begun political action with the 
whigs. For two years he served as justice of the peace in Fennimore, Wis., 
resigning that office on his removal to Iowa. 

In 1843 he married Mandana, daughter of Andrew Hogle (see his biog- 
raphy), a native of New York. Their children are Augusta (Mrs. Russell 
Taylor), Potosi, Wis.; Robert, in Merrill, Iowa; Andrew, Perry township; 
John, Fennimore, Wis. ; James, Liberty township ; William, with his parents ; 
Lillian, who married Silas Washburn, died January 10, 1889. 

W. J. Weenli, merchant, Le Mars, was born at Oshkosh, Wis., in 1856. 
He completed his education at the Northwestern Normal school at Galena, 
111., after which he was engaged in the book trade at Chicago. From 1875 
to 1886, he was bookkeeper for the Plymouth Roller Mill company, of Le 
Mars. After severing his connection with that concern he became a dealer 
in grain and wool at Rapid City, Dak., and in the fall of 1887 became engaged 
in the agricultural implement business at Le Mars. He is a member of Gib- 
lem Lodge, 322, F. & A. M., and of Occidental Chapter, 114. 



784 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In November, 1878, he married Belle, daughter of C. P. Stough, of Le 
Mars, and is the father of two children. He is a member of the Methodist 
church, and a republican in politics. 

Chaeles G. Mueller, stockman, Kingsley, was born in Germany, April 
22, 1857, and is a son of Gustavus Mueller, consul general of the Kingdom 
of Belgium, and Louise Mueller, both natives of Germany. He received his 
education in the college at Berlin, and afterward took a law course at the 
University of Bonn, and was admitted to the bar in 1880. He entered the 
army in 1878, in the King's Hussars regiment, and served later on in the 
Queen's Cuirrassiers, in which regiment he still holds a commission as "first 
lieutenant." In 1880 he was sent by the government to the Imperial German 
consulate at Cairo, Egypt, where he remained until the breaking out of the 
war in 1882, when he returned to Germany. 

In 1887 he came to America and purchased 1,040 acres of land in Elk- 
horn township, Plymouth county, Iowa, where he has since engaged in breed- 
ing fine stock. He has sixty head of horses, comprising the most important 
lot of running horses kept for breeding purposes in the entire state. He is a 
member of the German Jockey club, of Berlin, and an honorary member of 
the Le Mars Prairie club. 

Col. James Fenton, an old settler and the largest farmer in Henry town- 
ship, residing on section eleven, was born near Rochdale, England, in 1835, 
and is a son of John and Hannah (Owston) Fenton, both natives of England. 
The father of our subject was a banker in Bochdale until his death, which 
occurred in July, 1863. He was a man well known, being the first member 
of Parliament from his district. His wife died in 1879. Both were members 
of the Congregational church. 

James Fenton was born and reared near Bochdale, England, and received 
his education at a private school near London. At the age of eighteen years, 
he entered his father's bank and became a partner in 1860. He was con- 
sidered an expert rifle shot, contesting for the yearly prizes that were offered, 
and succeded in winning most of the principal ones. He took part in the 
great international rifle match between Great Britain and America, which 
occurred at Long Island, September 14, 1877. 

He continued to reside in England until 1880, when he came to America, 
and located in Plymouth county, Iowa, where he purchased 640 acres of land 
where he now resides, and where he has engaged in breeding and raising 
fine Hereford cattle. When he purchased his land it was all wild prairie. 
He put out fourteen acres of trees and an orchard, and has erected a large 
and roomy dwelling, also barns and sheds, a wind-mill, and a large tank 
which will hold two thousand barrels of water. The farm is now all under 
a good state of cultivation and well improved. He has made an addition of 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 785 

360 acres, which gives him one- thousand acres in all. He has 200 head of 
cattle on his farm, '24 head of horses and 320 head of hogs. 

Mr. Fenton was united in marriage with Frances E. Owston, in 1860, 
and they have nine children: James, John, Robert, Harry, Emily, Roger, 
Arthur, Eustace and Nora. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are both members of the 
Episcopal church. 

John W. Hawkins, general farmer and stock-raiser, and the first settler 
in Henry township, now residing on section eighteen, was born in Shenan- 
doah county, Va., November 8, 1849, and is a son of Lorenzo and Matilda 
(Golladay) Hawkins, natives of Virginia. His father was of English descent, 
and engaged in farming until the war broke out, after which he practiced 
medicine until his death in 1872, at his old home in Virginia; his wife is of 
German descent and still living in Hawkinstown, Va., which place was laid 
out by our subject's great-grandfather. 

John W. was born and reared on a farm in Virginia, receiving his educa- 
tion in the select schools, and residing with his parents until he was nine- 
teen years of age. He then left his home and carne to Dubuque county, Iowa, 
in 1868, where he resided, engaged in milling, until 1877, after which he 
farmed for two years. In March, 1879, he came to Plymouth county and 
located in "Union township one year, then purchased 176 acres of land on 
section eighteen, being the northwest quarter of the same. He resided on 
the northeast quarter of section eighteen, which he purchased in 1886, and 
this is where he now resides. 

When he located in Henry township there had never been a furrow 
turned, the entire township being wild prairie. He had the township sepa- 
rated from Union, and named Henry township. He has been engaged in 
farming ever since his residence here, and besides raising his crops he makes 
a specialty of thoroughbred Poland China and pure bred Ohio Chester hogs, 
as well as Galway cattle. 

January 8, 1870, Mr. Hawkins was united in marriage with Margaret 
Croston, of Dubuque county, and they have two children: Ada and William. 
Mr. Hawkins' farm is the oldest improved in the township, is under a good 
state of cultivation, well watered by running streams and four wells, and 
also has thirty acres of fine grove. He has a large dwelling house, and has 
one of the best barns in the county. Politically Mr. Hawkins is a democrat, 
and is now justice of the peace, which office he has held since the organiza- 
tion of the township. He has also been assessor of the same ever since its or- 
ganization, and is also president of the school board, and is a member of the 
Farmers' Alliance. 

Elisha Hendeeson, an old settler of Plymouth county, now residing in 
Kingsley, was born in New York, in September, 1818, and is a son of Isaac 



786 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and Betsey (Brockway) Henderson. His father was a native of Vermont, of 
Irish descent, and his mother was a native of New Hampshire. Isaac Hen- 
derson was farming in Canada at the time of his death, which occurred in 
1865; his wife died in Jones county, Iowa, in 1870; both were members of 
the Universalist church. 

Elisha Henderson went with his parents to Canada at the age of nine 
years. He received a common-school education, and at the age of twenty- 
seven years engaged in farming for himself in Dundas county, Canada, which 
pursuit he followed until 1863, when he came to Clinton county, Iowa. He 
farmed there until 1880, when he went to Correctionville, Woodbury county, 
and opened a hotel, besides filling the position of justice of the peace. In 
1882 he moved to what is known as the old town of Quorn, in Plymouth 
county, where he carried on a hotel, until the town finally moved to Kings- 
ley, when he moved his hotel, and was there proprietor, until it was burned 
in 1886. 

He was the first mayor of Kingsley; and has been justice of the peace 
eight years. In March, 1844, he married Fannie Guernsey, of Dundas 
county, Canada, and they have five children, viz. : Adeline, Julia, Isaac, 
Amanda and Samuel. Mrs. Henderson is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. Mr. Henderson casts his suffrage with the republican party. 

Dr. E. H. Banks, now residing in Kingsley, was born in Perry county, 
Ohio, in August, 1850. He is a son of Samuel and Louisa (Hammond) 
Banks, both natives of Maryland and both of English descent. His father 
is now seventy-seven years of age and resides in New Lexington, Ohio, hav- 
ing retired from business ; the greater part of his life has been spent in mer- 
cantile business, which he pursued until 1888, when he closed out his busi- 
ness, and is now spending the remainder of his days in retirement. His 
wife died in April, 1888, at the age of seventy-three years; both were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Edmund H. Banks received his early education at the common schools, 
after which he commenced to read medicine, and graduated from the Cincin- 
nati College of Medicine and Surgery, in June, 1871. He then went to 
Amesville, Athens county, Ohio, where he practiced his profession five years. 
In the fall of 1877 he came to Mapleton, Iowa, where he practiced eighteen 
months, then returned to Ohio in April, and in December of the same year, 
came back to Mapleton. He practiced three years in Kansas, and in 1883 
settled in what is now Kingsley, and opened a drug store, which he has con- 
ducted ever since, except one year, in connection with his practice. 

Dr. Banks married Lydia A. McDonald, of Morgan county, Ohio, Au- 
gust 26, 1871, and to them are born four children: Charles (deceased), Ed- 
mund, Samuel F. and Louisa. Politically he is a republican; socially, he is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also the Knights of Pythias. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 787 

Dk. Remaldo D. Clark was born in Cortland county, N. T., October 8, 
1842. His father, William Clark, who was born in Cherry Valley, N. Y., in 
1796, married Miss Polly Standish, and to them were born four children, 
three of whom are living, one having died in childhood. In 1851 they 
moved to Wisconsin, where their children were reared and received their 
educations. R. D. Clark enlisted in Company K, Wisconsin regular infan- 
try, and served with honor to the close of the war. He attended Rush Med- 
ical college, in Chicago, from which he graduated, after which he practiced 
a year in Columbia, Wis. 

In 1876 he married Mrs. Jane A. Davis, and moved to Akron, where for 
the past fourteen years he has followed his profession, and has a successful 
and satisfactory practice. He is a republican in politics, and in religion is a 
member of the Baptist church. 

Robekt Ckotjch, retired farmer and dealer in stock, was born in New 
York state in 1847, and is the son of M. F. Crouch, who was also a farmer 
and a native of New York, but is now a resident of Le Mars, Iowa, and a re- 
tired gentleman of sixty-seven years. In 1857 the father and mother, with 
their rive children, immigrated to Grant county, Wis., and there the family 
grew to manhood and womanhood. 

Our subject, Robert Crouch, was educated in New York state, and Wis- 
consin schools. When sixteen years of age, in 1864, he enlisted in Com- 
pany H, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin infantry, and served until the close of the 
war. He was through the Atlanta campaign, and was with Sherman during 
his famous march to the sea. He was taken prisoner ' July 22, 1864, and 
spent two months in Andersonville prison. It was in 1871 that Mr. Crouch 
came to Plymouth county, and homesteaded a quarter-section of land, ten 
miles north of Sioux City, and eighteen miles from Le Mars, and followed 
farming on that place until the spring of 1890. He now owns a half-section 
of land and has retired from farming, but is dealing in lumber and coal at 
Merrill, Iowa. 

He was joined in marriage, in Grant county, to Miss Maria Fultz. 
Three children have been born to this couple : Prank W. , Lilla M. and Blaine. 
Mr. Crouch is a member of the G. A. R. of Le Mars, and of the K. of P. 
He has held numerous township offices, and has won great respect by his 
judgment and honesty in discharging the duties of office. He is a repub- 
lican politically, and has always held to the principles of that party and been 
a political leader in Plymouth county. 

Fbedeeick A. Hauswald, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born January 26, 
1829, at Koenigstein, Saxony, Germany. Here he attended school until 
fourteen years of age, when he began to learn the cabinet-making trade, 
which was his occupation in Koenigstein, Hanover and Hamburg till he 



788 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

sailed for America in 1856, landing in New York, where he worked two years 
and a half at his trade. He then moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he 
remained five years, going thence to Marengo, Iowa, where he resided until 
1869. He then came to Johnson township, Plymouth county, and there took 
an eighty- acre homestead, where he has been a resident ever since. 

Mr. Hauswald was united in the bonds of matrimony June 26, 1856, to 
Mary Vander Hyde, of Artlenburg, Hanover, Germany, by whom he has 
seven children, three of whom are dead and four living. Those living are: 
Louis; Fred; Caroline, wife of Nick Hauser, of Liberty township, and Au- 
gusta, wife of Wakefield Collins, of Sioux City. Mr. Hauswald is independ- 
ent in politics, and has served as township clerk, trustee and school director. 
He belongs to the Protestant Lutheran church. 

Rev. David L. Mackenzie. The Mackenzies, who first came to America 
in 1775, from Enverness, Scotland, settled near Harrisburg, Pa. These were 
our subject's great-grandfather and family, which consisted of two children: 
Mary and John. The father, whose name was Kenneth, engaged in the pro- 
tection of his adopted country, and in one of the battles was captured by the 
British army and was never again heard of. The son located near Duncan- 
non, on Sherman's creek, Pa., where he took up a homestead, and bought 
enough land to comprise a farm of 300 acres of heavy timber land. Here 
he built his house and a blacksmith shop, working at the blacksmith trade, 
and clearing his land at his leisure. He served as a soldier in the war of 
1812. He died at the age of forty-one from a wound received while shoeing 
a horse. 

Our subject and his father, John, were both born on this homestead, and 
his father died there at the age of eighty-two years. David L. made it his 
home until 1871. He received his education there by attending the district 
school three months in the year, and studying as he could, working on the 
farm during the long vacations until seventeen years old, when he taught 
winters and attended the public school at Bloomfield, Perry county, until the 
age of eighteen years. He then entered the Normal school at Newville, 
Cumberland county, and later the Whitehall academy in the same county, 
and entered the freshman class at the Pennsylvania college of Gettysburg, 
in 1861. 

He abandoned his studies, however, in August, 1862, to enter the 138th 
Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, Company B. In 1864 he was appointed 
regimental quartermaster, and served in this capacity until the close of the 
war, taking part in the battles of the Wilderness and Petersburg among 
others. He was under Sheridan in October, 1864, in the campaign of the 
Shenandoah valley, Va., until the destruction of Gen. Early's army, October 
19, 1864, when he returned with his corps, the Sixth, to the south of Peters- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 789 

burg, Va., and participated in the capture of Petersburg, and at the sur- 
render of Gen. Lee's army. He was mustered out, after the regiment was re- 
viewed at Washington, and returned to Gettysburg, in July, 1865, to witness 
the unveiling of the National monument which was erected in memory of the 
heroes, who fell on that field. 

He entered the Pennsylvania college in September of the same year, and 
graduated in the class of 1868, then entered the Theological seminary at 
Gettysburg, Pa., and graduated in the summer of 1871. He served the 
English Lutheran church of Frostburg, Md., seven years, then removed to 
Van Wert, Ohio, where he was pastor of St. Mark's church four years. He 
then removed to Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, N Y., to take charge of the 
English Lutheran church, where he remained four years, being sent thence 
to Sioux City, by the general board of missions of the Evangelical Lutheran 
church, of the general synod of the United States, to establish an English 
Lutheran church. Beginning without a member, he now has an established 
membership of over ninety, and a Sunday-school of over one hundred mem- 
bers, besides one of the finest houses of worship in the city, being valued at 
$20,000, and this is the work of only five years. 

Mr. Mackenzie was united in marriage with Miss Mary L. Stoever, a 
native of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pa., and to them three chil- 
dren were born: Charles, Luther (deceased) and David. In politics he is a 
republican, and took an active part in the Grant and Garfield campaign, 
making a number of speeches in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Phi 
Psi, a college society, and of the Royal Arcanum. 

R. A. Broadbent, hotel-keeper and lightning-rod agent, Sioux City, son 
of William and Catherine (Crampton) Broadbent, was born in Lake county, 
111, in 1844. His parents were natives of England, where they married. 
They removed to Illinois, remaining there until 1854, when they moved to 
Fayette county, Iowa, having been continuously engaged in agricultural 
pursuits. At the beginning of the rebellion, R. A., with his brothers, en- 
tered the army. R. A. and one brother enlisted in Company F, Ninth regi- 
ment I. S. V. infantry, and remained until the close of the war, after which 
he returned to his former home, and in 1868 came to Sioux City, and en- 
gaged in the livery business. 

July 7, 1870, he married Elizabeth, daughter of William Murray, of 
Fayette county. In 1885 Mr. Broadbent engaged in the lightning-rod busi- 
ness, and was one of the first persons in the United States to conduct that 
business in a straightforward, honorable, business-like way, and by fair deal- 
ing, and by making no misrepresentations, has not only made a success, finan- 
cially, but also has a reputation for honesty and integrity which gives him 
the exclusive control of a large territory, and to-day he has a growing, pop- 



790 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

tilar and remunerative trade, employing none but men of well-known char- 
acter and ability. He stands pre-eminently at the head in his line of 
business. 

Mr. and Mrs. Broadbent are also proprietors of "The Oxford," a hotel of 
Sioux City, noted for its home surroundings, the excellence of its cuisine 
department, and for the courtesy shown all patrons, especially strangers. 
Their children are Mabel (now Mrs. T. B. Guernsey, whose husband is 
cashier of Weare & Allison's bank), and Nellie, a school girl. He is a mem- 
ber of Landmark Lodge, No. 303, of the A. O. of F. and A. M. ; also of Co- 
lumbia Lodge, K. of P. In politics Mr. Broadbent is a republican. After 
the war he was a government contractor for furnishing horses and mules in 
large numbers. 

Jared P. Blood, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born in Whitefield, 
Coos county, N. H., January 18, 1844, a son of Arnold and Lavina (Newton) 
Blood. The father was born at Acworth, N. H., February 24, 1799, and died 
at Whitefield, January 21, 1887; the mother was born at Unity, N. H., May 25, 
1800, and died at Whitefield, January 3, 1878. In addition to a common- 
school education, our subject attended the academy at Lancaster, N. H, dur- 
ing the year 1859, and the academy of West Concord, Vt., during the year 
1S65. The following year he entered Lombard university, of Galesburg, 
111., and there received his B. A. degree, in the class of 1870, and subse- 
quently his M. A. degree. 

In January, 1874, he came to Sioux City, and entered the law office of 
C. R. Marks as a student, and read law till the following May, when he was 
admitted to the practice of his chosen profession, the law. Forming a part- 
nership with one M. S. Denslow, in the fall of 1874, they continued the 
practice of law until the winter of 1875, when said firm was dissolved and 
Mr. Blood entered the employment of the firm of Joy & Wright, the leading 
attorneys of Sioux City, with whom he remained until November, 1876, when 
he returned east to visit the Centennial exhibition, and his parents. 

Returning to Sioux City in January, 1878, he again resumed the prac- 
tice of law, this time with C. R. Marks, forming a partnership which lasted 
till December, 1882, at which time he opened an office, which he has since 
maintained, and has built up a lucrative practice. His practice increased so 
that he could not attend to it alone, and now he has associated with him 
Frank B. Robinson, under the firm name of Blood & Robinson. In the year 
1864, Mr. Blood enlisted in the First regiment of the New Hampshire heavy 
artillery, in which he served till the close of the war. 

He was married in 1870 to Miss Jennie Hewett, of Avon, 111. No chil- 
dren have been born to their union. Mr. Blood is a member of Landmark 
Lodge, No. 103, A. F. and A. M., of Sioux City, having joined the order in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 791 

1868, and is also a comrade of Gen. Hancock Post, No. 396, G. A. R., and a 
member of his college secret society. 

Dr. Allen J. Moore, Sioux City, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, 
January 19, 1854, the son of Robert and Demaris (Whallon) Moore, natives 
of the same place. Dr. Moore's paternal ancestors came to America with 
William Penn, his great-grandfather being a general in the struggles of 1776. 
He was killed at the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777. 

Our subject's early education was received in the district schools of Ham- 
ilton county, which he attended until fourteen years of age, when he was 
sent to Piqua, where he attended the high school in preparation for college, 
which he entered in the fall of 1872 at Hanover, Indiana. He attended 
this college four years, graduating in June, 1876. He then taught school 
and followed civil engineering five years, studying medicine at the same 
time, and in 1881 entered the Miami Medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
from which he graduated with honors in 1884. During this period of school- 
ing he was assistant to Dr. Robert Sattler, in the eye and ear clinic of Miami 
Medical college. 

In April, 1884, he came to Vail, Iowa, and opened an office, making the 
treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat his specialty. He remained here 
until April, 1890, when he sold out and spent the summer in the hospitals at 
Cincinnati. In August, 1890, he came to Sioux City and opened an office as 
an eye, ear, nose and throat physician. Dr. Moore was united in marriage 
with Miss Effie C. Woodruff, of Hamilton county, Ohio, March 25, 1884. He 
has two children: Myrtle Vivien, born March 26, 1885, and Allen Woodruff, 
born March 18, 1890. He is a democrat in politics. 

Charles A. Brostrom, president and superintendent of the Sioux City 
Plow works, was born in Westmanland, Sweden, February 9, 1846, a son of 
Charles and Mary (Froman) Brostrom, who were natives of the same local- 
ity. The education he was enabled to obtain was somewhat limited, as he 
began at a very early age to work at the blacksmith trade, which was his 
occupation in Sweden until 1869. In that year he came to America and 
located at Rock Island, where he worked at his trade until 1880, when he 
moved to Sioux City. He was one of the corporators and president of a 
company there a year, then two years at Davenport, after which he returned 
to Sioux City and was one of the corporators of the Sioux City Plow com- 
pany, and was elected president and superintendent. 

October 31, 1868, he married Charlotte Johnson, a native of Sweden, 
and to them were born seven children, namely : Emma, Ellen, Olive, Lam- 
bert, Albert, Clara and Rachel. His wife died in February, 1885, and May 
4, 1887, he married Martha Ostlund, and to them was born one child, Harry. 
In politics he sides with the republican party; in religious matters he is a 



792 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

supporter of the faith as expounded by the Lutherans, being a member of the 
First Swedish Lutheran church. 

James Junk was born in county Deny, Ireland, June 18, 1845. His par- 
ents, Zachariah and Eliza (Reynolds) Junk, were natives of the same county, 
immigrating to America when James was yet very young. They settled in 
New York city, where his mother died when he was about twelve years old, 
and James came west to Iowa City with a younger brother. 

He remained here until 1861, when he enlisted in the Fourteenth Iowa 
infantry, Company A, in which regiment he served but a short time, and was 
transferred to the Forty-first Iowa infantry, Company A, and taken to the 
Seventh Iowa cavalry, in which he served until 1865, when he received his 
discharge and returned to Sioux City, where he has been engaged in various 
occupations until 1884, since which time he has been in no active business. 
Mr. Junk was married in October, 1868, to Miss Nora Hogan, a native of 
Ireland. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church and votes the demo- 
cratic ticket. 

Alexander Laeson, merchant, Sioux City, was born in Sweden in 1847, 
and remained in that country until' he was twenty- one years of age, when he 
came to America. He settled in Illinois, where he engaged in farming for 
the next two years, after which he removed to Van Buren county, Iowa, 
where he was engaged in a cheese factory two years, and afterward moved 
to Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where he was emrjloyed as a clerk for the succeed- 
ing eight years. 

In 1881 he came to Sioux City and opened his present place of business, 
carrying a stock of dry goods, notions, clothing, hats and caps. Besides de- 
voting his own energies entirely to this business, he employs six clerks. He 
was joined in marriage November 23, 1876, to Hilda Applegren, now de- 
ceased, and by her has two children living, Gustave and Frederick. He is a 
member of the Swedish L^^thel•an church; in politics a republican. 

Fbank A. Mooke, of " Moore's Trade Palace," Sioux City, was born in 
New York state in 1849. His early life was spent in Lockport, N. Y. He 
moved to Chicago in 1884, where he remained until 1886, when he removed 
to Omaha, where he was engaged in the wholesale cigar business. Believing 
that Sioux City afforded better prospects for business than any other west- 
ern city, he came to this place in 1889 and opened his present place of busi- 
ness, a Ladies' Emporium and fancy dry goods and notion store. He em- 
ploys nine lady clerks, besides being assisted by his wife. He was married 
to Florence Bushnell, of Lockport, N. Y. Mr. Moore has attained success 
in business by devoting his entire time and attention to his business interests. 

F. W. Kimbeely, wholesale notion dealer, Sioux City, is a native of Con- 
necticut, and was born in 1850. He came to Sioux City in 1872, and for 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 793 

fourteen years was employed with Livingston & Co., dry goods merchants. 
In 1886 he entered into the wholesale notion business for himself, and now 
has a good business of his own, his store being at the corner of Third and 
Pearl streets. He gives employment to three men besides devoting his own 
attention and time to the business. 

Christian Beck, retired farmer, Leeds, is a native of Germany, where he 
was born in 1842. He came to America in 1859, locating in Jefferson county, 
Wis., and there worked on a farm until 1863, when he enlisted in Company 
A, Brackett's Minnesota battalion, and was in the war until March, 1866. 
Mr. Beck settled in Woodbury county, Iowa, in that year, and in 1867 pur- 
chased a farm of 120 acres, upon which he lived till 1890, when he sold the 
same to a Sioux City syndicate of real estate men, realizing a handsome 
profit through the advance in value of his property. He built the Beck 
hotel at Leeds. 

In 1866 he married Caroline Stevens, who has borne him sis children, all 
of whom are living. Mr. Beck is a member of the G. A. B., and the Lu- 
theran church ; politically he is a stanch advocate of the principles of the 
democratic party. 

David Ede, the subject of this sketch, was the first man who pitched his tent 
at Leeds, which place promises to be a fine manufacturing town, and is but 
three miles from Sioux City. He was born in Canada in 1S46, and his young 
days were spent in his native country. When twenty-one years of age he 
came to the United States, and located in Delaware county, Iowa, where he 
engaged in farming. In 1871 he entered into mercantile and real estate 
business in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and took part in the great boom of 1881 
and 1882, when he accumulated for himself a large fortune, the greater part 
of which he lost in the reaction that followed. 

In 1887 he returned to Iowa and located in Sioux City, where he engaged 
in the real estate business. In the spring of 1889 he went to Leeds, as 
agent for the Leeds Improvement & Land Co., and shortly afterward built 
for himself the first store in this new town. He opened up with a stock of 
general merchandise, but in 1891 turned it into hardware exclusively. He 
was appointed postmaster under President Harrison's administration in Au- 
gust, 1890. 

In the fall of 1875 he married Maggie E. Tuer, of Ontario, Canada, and 
their family consists of three children: St. Clair, Olive and Buth. Mr. Ede 
was the first settler at Leeds, having erected a tent for his family while his 
house was being built. He belongs to the Masonic order, being a charter 
member of St. John's lodge, No. 4, G. B. M. 

L. E. St. John, physician and surgeon, Leeds, is a native of Bingham- 
ton, N. Y., where he was born March S, 1S34, a son of Birchard and Betsy 



794 HISTOKY OF WOODBUEY AND TLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Ann (Burrows) St. John. His father, who was a Quaker, was born in Con- 
necticut, and was of English and French descent, and his mother, who was 
born in Cherry Valley, N. Y., was of French descent. He is a graduate in 
pharmacy and medicine of the Western Reserve college, and has been a 
practicing physician since 1856. He came here forty years ago, after having 
been in Monona county, Iowa, for seven years. In June, 1890, Mr. St. John 
opened a drug store at Leeds, in the Beck building, where he is now en- 
gaged in business. March 11, 1862, he married Sarah Jane Orr, who was 
born in Michigan, in 1844, and to them three children have been born: 
Frank L., fifteen years old; Walter E., ten years of age, and Effie M., aged 
five. He is an Odd Fellow, and was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian 
church, his mother belonging to that church. He is a member of the demo- 
cratic party, and entered largely into politics in Monona county. 

Le Boy Humbert, Sioux City, was born in Illinois, in 1843. When quite 
young, he removed with his parents to Wisconsin, where his early life was 
spent. His education was obtained at Mineral Point seminary, in Wisconsin, 
then a popular school, but not now in existence. In 1862 he enlisted in 
Company B, Thirtieth Wisconsin infantry, and was out three years, and 
was detailed to service as clerk at headquarters of the department of the 
northwest. At the close of the war he returned to Wisconsin. He became 
interested with his father in the harness business in Wisconsin, and remained 
there five years. 

In 1870 he came to Sioux City, where he at once entered into business 
for himself, and now occupies a business room within half a block from the 
room in which he began business twenty years ago. He employs twenty-five 
men, and is engaged in manufacturing harness and dealing in saddlery, 
hardware, leather and hides. He was joined in marriage with Mary E. Gor- 
ham, daughter of Dr. Gorham, one of the earliest settlers of Milwaukee, Wis. 
To this union were born six children, all of whom are under the parental 
roof. Mr. Humbert has been a successful business man. He was a member 
of the city council for some time. He is a member of the Congregational 
church, and belongs to the G. A. R. In politics he affiliates with the repub- 
lican party. 

Cornelius E. Ostrander, farmer, Climbing Hill, was born in Canada 
West, township Thurlow, Victoria district, county of Middlesex, January 24, 
1827. His parents were Henry and Rachel (Bradford) Ostrander, both of 
Clinton county, N. Y. His grandfather, Robert Ostrander, came from Hol- 
land, and his grandfather, Elisha Bradford, came from Edinburgh, Scotland. 
Mr. Ostrander removed to Fond du Lac, Wis., in 1852, and engaged in 
coopering. In 1858, he went to Quincy, 111., and in 1862 to Wabasha, Minn., 
working at his trade in both places. In 1868 he removed to his present 
place in Woodbury county, Iowa. 




^A^2 



t^M^^^ 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 797 

He was married in Canada, October 11, 1846,- to Keziah Moore, who was 
born in township Whiteby, York county, Home district, Canada. Mrs. Os- 
trander's parents were Samuel and Abigail (Smith) Moore, both of Canadian 
birth. Her grandfather, Moore, came from Germany. In Mr. Ostrander's 
family have been ten children, of whom six are living: Ural D., born Feb- 
ruary 19, 1849, married Jennie May, and is the father of six children; Ade- 
line, born September 3, 1850, married W. H. Olin; Justinian A., born June 
13, 1856, married Sarah Carey; Francisca, born January 28, 1858, married 
Alonzo McClurg, and is the mother of four children; Gabriella, born May 
29, 1862, married William Goodrich, and has two children; and George P., 
a farmer in West Fork township. 

Mr. Ostrander is a self-made and self-educated man. Born of poor 
parents, who could not afford to pay for his schooling, a friend paid his tui- 
tion for three months, but Cornelius was expelled after three days, it being 
found that he belonged to the lower classes. This was in Canada. He served 
as a soldier in the Fifty- second regiment Illinois volunteers, and was at Fort 
Henry, Fort Donelson and Shiloh. He was a candidate for sheriff of Wood- 
bury county in 1885. He is at present engaged in farming, dairying, and 
shipping stock, from his fine farm of 320 acres, located near Climbing Hill. 
In politics he is a republican. 

Arthue H. Tennis, stock- raiser, Climbing Hill, was born in York county, 
Va., August 8, 1846, a son of John A. and Elizabeth (Dawson) Tennis, both 
of Virginia. His grandfather came from England. In 1851 the Tennis 
family removed to Marion county, Iowa, and during the one-hundred-day 
call, Arthur enlisted in the Forty-seventh Iowa infantry as a private. After 
the war he made a visit to Kansas, but being dissatisfied returned to Iowa. 

On February 14, 1870, he married Sarah Harrison, of Indiana. Mrs. 
Tennis was born November 10, 1848, and her parents, Silas and Kizzie 
(Moore) Harrison, were of America. Mr. and Mrs. Tennis have five children: 
Carl, bom October 14, 1876; Lula, September 30, 1879; Effie, September 6, 
1886; Clyde, August 30, 1883, and Arthur W., July 10, 1885. In 1872 Mr. 
Tennis came to Woodbury county, and in 1878 to his present extensive farm, 
where he is engaged in raising and shipping stock. He received his educa- 
tion in the common and high schools and at Pella university. 

Andrew W. Crouch, farmer, Sioux City, was born in Chautauqua county, 
N. Y., February 16, 1849, a son of M. F. Crouch, whose biography will be 
found elsewhere in this volume. When our subject was nine years old he 
moved with his parents to Grant county, Wis., where he made his home for 
the next sixteen years, enjoying but limited educational advantages. In 
October, 1864, although but fifteen years of age, he enlisted in the first bri- 
gade of Wilson's First Wisconsin, and was in the raids through Alabama and 



/y« HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Georgia. The first four companies of his regiment were given a reward for 
the capture of Jefferson Davis. He received his discharge July 25, 1865. 

September 15, 1871, he married Lena Koesch, a native of Germany, and 
they moved to Iowa, settling in Plymouth county. To them have been born 
five children, all of whom are living with their parents : Claudia M. was born 
February 22, 1876; Oscar W., May 1, 1877; Mabel M., December 3, 1880; 
Cora A., October 2, 1885, and Frankie I., October 20, 1889. Our subject 
suffered through the visitations of the grasshoppers, and other troubles inci- 
dent to the times, but now is justly proud of his fine farm. He is justice of 
the rjeace, township trustee and chairman of the township board. He formerly 
belonged to the Baptist church. 

William McConnell Semple, clergyman, Merrill, was born in Donag- 
hadee, county Down, Ireland, November 26, 1848. His ancestry is traced 
to Rev. James Semple, who migrated from Scotland during the persecution 
of Protestants, and settled at Kircubbin, Ireland. James Semple, grand- 
father of William, was a farmer, and his son James, one of twins, was born 
at Dpnaghadee, and married Mary Crothers, a native of the same place. He 
kept a general store there, and died in April, 1890, at the age of ninety-two 
years. His wife died in June following, aged seventy-seven. Of their nine 
children, of whom eight are now living — two sons being in Australia — Will- 
iam is the seventh. 

He was educated at the national training school for teachers at New- 
townards, and taught two years at Donaghadee and three years near Belfast, 
He read the entrance course for the Queen's college at Belfast, but immi- 
grated to the United States on reaching his majority. For two years he 
taught school at New Diggings, Wis., and then began the four years' con- 
ference course for the Methodist Episcopal ministry. In the meantime he 
preached at Montfort one year, and three years on Dane circuit of the West 
Wisconsin Conference. After preaching two years at Monticello he returned 
to New Diggings and taught for two years. In 1880, he came to Iowa, and 
began farming in Washington township, Plymouth county, and two years 
later he bought his present farm of 120 acres, his residence being on section 
thirty-five. 

He supplied the Merrill circuit from 1885 to 1887, and in the spring of 
1890 he returned to the church of his fathers, the Presbyterian, and is now 
assistant to the pastor at Le Mars, having charge of the Merrill mission. 
Since becoming a citizen he has sustained the republican party, and has 
served Washington township as assessor and chairman of the board of 
trustees. December 15, 1871, he married Susan Johnson, a native of New 
Diggings, Wis., and daughter of Warren and Alzina (Bean) Johnson, of Ohio 
and Missouri birth, respectively. The children of Mr. Semple and wife are 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 799 

named in order of birth as follows : Alzina Mabel, William Emmett, Allen 
Edgar, Olney Warren, Kitty Belle and Eobert Llewellyn. 

Frank Hunt, real estate dealer, Sioux City, is one to whom the term " a 
self-made man " may justly be applied, for he is literally the architect of his 
own fortune. He was born in St. Louis, Mo., November 7, 1861, his parents 
being Martin and Sarah Hunt. His father died when Frank was but nine 
years old, from which time he not only supported himself, but provided for 
his widowed mother. He came to Sioux City in 1869, and was employed as 
check-boy on a steamboat running between the city named and Fort Benton, 
Montana for three years. In 1874 he was employed as night clerk in the old 
Hubbard house, where he remained two years, when he was made steward and 
manager of the hotel, serving in these positions five years. He then fur- 
nished the Merchants hotel and ran that house till the spring of 1887, when 
he embarked in the real estate business with J. M. Moan as partner. They 
bought seven hundred acres of prairie land in Nebraska just across the river 
and opposite Sioux City, the price per acre ranging from $25 to $50. They 
laid off and platted into lots this property, which is now selling at from $700 
to $1,000 per lot, and called the same South Sioux City, the population at the 
present time (1891) being about 1,500. They have four trunk lines of railway, 
two banks, and several manufacturing plants. A bridge spanning the Missouri 
river at this point is being completed, over which an electric line of street 
railway will pass uniting the two cities. Mr. Hunt is president of the Citi- 
zens bank of South Sioux City, vice-president of the street railway, and secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Iowa and Nebraska Bridge company. He is also, 
in connection with E. C. Palmer, owner of the Floyd View addition to Sioux 
City. Mr. Hunt has considerable interests in Chicago property, being owner 
of sixty lots on Cottage Grove avenue; also the proprietor of considerable 
real estate in Grand Bapids, Mich. He is an energetic, progressive citizen, 
and is recognized as one of Sioux City's leading and wealthy business men. 

Oliver D. Heald, postmaster of Kingsley, was born in Mahoning county, 
Ohio, September 19, 1839, and is a son of John and Eliza (McClun) Heald, 
both natives of Ohio, the former of English and the latter of Irish descent. 
John Heald engaged in farming in Ohio until 1849, when he came to Cedar 
county, Iowa, and followed the same occupation until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1875; his wife survived him until 1885. 

Oliver D. Heald was reared on the farm in Ohio, and received his early 
education in the district schools, finishing at Cornell college, Mt. Vernon, 
Iowa. While attending college the war broke out, and he enlisted in Com- 
pany H, Twenty-fourth Iowa regiment, infantry, for three years. He par- 
ticipated in the Vicksburg campaign, siege of Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss.,< 
and the Bed Biver campaign, and through the Shenandoah Valley campaign 



800 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

under Gen. Sheridan. He participated in all the battles, and went from 
there to Georgia, to Gen. Sherman's army at Savannah, and was with Gen. 
Sherman in front of Johnson's army near Goldsboro, N. C, at the windup. 
He participated in the following battles: Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Ray- 
mond, Edwards Depot, Champion Hill, Canon Crow Bayou, Sabine Cross 
Eoads and Pleasant Hill, La. ; Winchester, Fishers Hill and Cedar Creek, 
Va., besides a number of skirmishes. He served three years and six months, 
and was discharged at Port Macon, in January, 1866, as first lieutenant. 

He returned to Cedar county, Iowa, and has lived in Iowa ever since, ex- 
cept two years in Missouri and one year in Nebraska. In 1882 he moved to 
Plymouth county, and from there he went to Woodbury county, where he 
remained five years, then returned to Plymouth county. In February, 1890, 
he was appointed postmaster of Kingsley. 

In June, 1866, Mr. Heald married Sadie M. Winans, and they have had 
nine children born to them, namely: Hermina M., Delia M., Ollie (deceased), 
Harry G., Frank, Ottie, Mabel, Nettie, and one child who died in infancy. 
Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically 
Mr. Heald is a republican, and has held about all the township offices. He 
is a member of the G. A. K., of which he was commander three years. 

Dr. John J. Wilder, a prominent physician of Kingsley, was born in 
Tompkins county, N. Y., March 28, 1840. His parents, Thomas and Carrie 
(Wilder) Hicks, were both natives of New York, but of German descent. 
His mother died a few days after his birth, and he was reared by foster par- 
ents, Harry and Bethia Morey, who deserve the credit of having been a kind 
father and mother to him. He resided with them until he was twenty-two 
years of age. When he was six years old they removed to Columbus, Wis., 
where he received his education in the high school. 

He had assumed the name of his foster parents until in 1870, by an act 
of the legislature of Minnesota, he was allowed to take the maiden name of 
his mother, whom he had not been permitted to know and be reared by, but 
whose memory he desired in this way to cherish. His father died in 1876. 
Our subject enlisted in Company G, Twenty-third Wisconsin infantry, 
August 14, 1862, under the name of his foster parents (Morey). He par- 
ticipated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Greenville, and 
the siege of Vicksburg. During the above campaign he lost his health and 
was placed on detached service, and remained in that service until his dis- 
charge, June 26, 1865. 

He returned to Kilbourn City, and commenced the study of medicine 
with Dr. George W. Jenkins, with whom he remained three years, and then 
graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, Iowa. 
He then practiced his profession at Aetna, Minn. ; Rio, Wis. ; Grand Meadow, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 801 

Minn. ; Lexington, Iowa, and came to Kingsley, Plymouth county, in 1885, 
where he opened a drug store in connection with his practice. 

Dr. Wilder was married May 20, 1864, to Mida Mead, of Columbus, 
Wis., and to them have been born two children, both of whom are deceased: 
Carrie and Maude. 

He is a republican in his political sentiments, is surgeon of C. & N. W. R. 
R. and pension examiner. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, I. O. 
O. F., K. of P., Iowa Legion of Honor, Modern Woodmen of America, A. O. 
U. W., Select Knights and the G. A. R., of which last he is past com- 
mander. 

John F. Varner, grocer, Kingsley, was born in Spencer county, Ind., Oc- 
tober 23, 1848, and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth (States) Varner. His 
father is a native of Virginia and of Grerman descent, while his mother was 
a native of Pennsylvania, also of German descent. Peter Varner is engaged 
in farming near Correction ville, but resides in the city; his wife died in the 
summer of 1S52. 

John F. was born and reared on a farm, and received a common- school 
education, after which he attended the college at Mount Vernon for two 
terms. He then engaged in farming in Clinton county, Iowa, during the 
summer, and taught school in the winter until 1872, when he came to Wood- 
bury county, where he pursued the same occupations until 1880. He then 
engaged to E. A. Hall, at Correctionville one year, after which he moved to 
Plymouth county, and embarked in the mercantile business for himself at 
Quorn, where he remained for two years and a half, when he moved to 
Kingsley, where he was in the general mercantile business until 1886. He 
then disposed of that stock and has since been in the grocery business. 

Mr. Varner married Miss Anna Ellis, May 15, 1871, and to them have 
been born six children, of whom two only are living: Charles E. and Nellie. 
He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are ear- 
nest workers in the same. He sides with the republicans in politics, and has 
been a member of the council, as well as school director two years. He is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias. 

Judson A. Ingalls, cashier of the Bank of Kingsley, was born in Jeffer- 
son county, Pa., May 29, 1852, a son of Adoniram J. and Louisa (Dean) 
Ingalls, both natives of America. The father of our subject was by occu- 
pation a sawyer, which business he followed in Pennsylvania until his death 
in February, 1852; his wife still lives, and resides in Marshall county, Iowa. 

Judson A. Ingalls was taken to Wisconsin by his mother when he was 
about one year and six months old, and two years later to Minnesota, where 
they resided about eleven years, during which time he received his early 
education. In 1867 he went to Rock Island county, where he resided one 



802 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

year, going thence to Clinton, Wis., where he lived two years. On July 5, 
1870, he landed at Union, Iowa, where he engaged in the grain business and 
held the office of postmaster. He resided there about sixteen years, until in 
June, 18S6, he came to Kingsley, where he soon entered the bank, where he 
has continued to remain. 

Mr. Ingalls married Margaret M. Boyer, of Union, November 23, 1871, 
and they have six children, viz. : Clara D., Carlotta I., Hattie M., Louisa 
F., Alice E. and Calvin A., while one boy is deceased. The parents are well 
known in the county, and respected by all. Mr. Ingalls is a republican, and 
socially a member of the I. O. O. F. 

Chaeles H. Losing, undertaker and dealer in furniture, Kingsley, was 
born in Norway, Me., June 4, 1854. His parents, Asa and Adelia (Patton) 
Loring, were both natives of Maine, the former was a general insurance 
agent in Hardin county, Iowa, having moved there in 1868. He died in 
Omaha about 18S0, and his wife in December, 1889; both were members of 
the Congregational church. 

Charles H. resided with his parents until twenty-one years old. He came 
to Plymouth county in 1875, and engaged in a lumber yard for four years, 
also worked at carpentering about two years. In the fall of 1883 he came 
to Kingsley and opened a furniture store and undertaking establishment, 
which he has continued ever since. His was the first furniture store in 
Kingsley. May 23, 1888, he married Hattie Ayres, of Lyons, Iowa, and 
their children are Elsie and Harry. Mr. Loring is a member of the I. O. O. 
F. and the K. of P., and his vote is always cast with the republicans. 

Joseph J. Heacock, miller, Kingsley, was born in Stark county, Ohio, 
July 2, 1841. He is a son of John and Ann (Grewell) Heacock, both natives 
of Ohio, the father of English and the mother of French descent. John 
Heacock spent the early part of his life in the lumbering and saw-mill busi- 
ness, and the latter part in farming in Cedar county, Iowa, where he died in 
June, 1S88, while his wife is still living and resides in West Branch, Iowa; 
they were both members of the Friends' church. 

J. J. Heacock was reared on a farm and received his education at the dis- 
trict schools. At the age of twenty-two years he left home and engaged in 
the saw-mill business about three years. He then went to farming, which 
he continued a few years, building a flouring mill in West Branch, in com- 
pany with others, which he ran about three years. He then sold his interest, 
and took a trip through California and Washington territory in search of a 
location, but returned in a year, and carried on the mercantile business for 
the following three years, then erected another mill near Rochester, Iowa, 
but moved it in 1S81 to Quorn, and has been engaged in the flouring mill 
business ever since. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 803 

Mr. Heacock was united in marriage with Mrs. Anna (Stratton) Arm- 
strong, and they had four children: Loah, Lina, William T. and Myra. The 
mother of these children died in Cedar county, Iowa, in 1872, and Mr. Hea- 
cock then married Mrs. Alice Gruwell Talbott, who bore him one child, Alice, 
adopted by John Williamson, who died in 1875. September 17, 1876, Mr. 
Heacock married his present wife, Luella Heald, and they have six children: 
Joseph W., Anna, Margaretta Lorrena, Sarah, Josephine and Grace. Mr. 
and Mrs. Heacock are members of the Friends' church; politically he is a re- 
publican. 

Rev. G. L. Griggs, pastor of the Methodist Ejnscopal church at Merrill, 
Iowa (1889-90), is a son of Luther and Fidelia Griggs, of Erie county, N. 
Y., and was born at Independence, Iowa, February 21, 1859. At the age of 
twelve years he came with his parents to Sioux City, and attended school till 
he was eighteen years of age, when he engaged in the music business, at 
which he was occupied for nearly six years. 

Health failing him, he purchased an eighty-acre farm in Grange town- 
ship, Woodbury county, where he very successfully carried on general farm- 
ing for four years, and fully recovered his health. May 13, 1882, he mar- 
ried Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William and Elizabeth Sluyter, of New 
York state. During the winter of 1886-87 he engaged in evangelistic 
labors in the vicinity of his old home, disposed of his farm the following 
season, and entered Cornell college at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in September, 1887, 
taking up an elective course. 

In September, 1S88, after two years of school and evangelistic work, 
he entered the Northwest Iowa conference, Smithland being his first 
place of labor in the regular work, and Merrill his first conference appoint- 
ment. He was admitted into full connection September 19, 1890, and 
elected to deacon's orders and ordained by Bishop Charles H. Fowler 
September 21, 1890. He lost his wife by death October 7, 1886, at Sioux 
City. His home is University Place, Sioux City. 

Feed E. Aldhich, merchant and postmaster at Merrill, Plymouth county, 
was born in Suffolk, England, March 6, 1851, a son of Elias and Emily 
Aldrich, who were reared in the same vicinity. He attended school until 
fourteen years old, when he began to learn the wagon-maker's trade, at 
which he worked until 1867, when he went to London, where he lived nine 
months, then returned to his old home. 

In 1871 he sailed for America, landing at Quebec, and came to Johnson 
county, Iowa, where he lived at Iowa City one year. He then bought eighty 
acres of land in Plymouth township, Plymouth county, where he lived until 
1884. In that year he removed to Merrill, where he bought out a general 
store, which he has carried on since. May 23, 1885, he married Euphemia, 



804 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

daughter of Donald and Euphenria Mclntyre, who were born in Scotland. 
In politics Mr. Aldrich is a republican, and he is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

William Feost, grain and stock dealer, Merrill, was born at Wallington, 
Suffolk county, England, February 15, 1855. At a very early age he began 
working on a farm, where he remained until thirteen, when he went to Lon- 
don and engaged in railroading for three years. He was then employed on the 
police force for four years, and then followed railroading until September 18, 
1866, when he started for America. He labored as a farm hand in White- 
side county, 111., for seven years, and in 1873 removed to Washington town- 
ship, Plymouth county, Iowa, where he took up an eighty-acre homestead in 
section two, where he farmed for ten years. He then rented his farm and 
moved to Merrill, where he has since engaged as a grain and stock dealer. 

October 20, 1868, Mr. Frost married Elizabeth, daughter of William and 
Hannah Stinton, of Washington township, and they are the parents of nine 
children: Ellen, Louisa, William (deceased), Herbert (deceased), Harry, 
Hattie, Eva, Albert and Clara. He is a republican and has been township 
trustee, justice and school director. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. 

William Swan McCurdy, farmer, Le Mars, was born in Hempfield, West- 
moreland county, Pa., December 23, 1816, and is a son of Samuel and Isa- 
belle (Monroe) McCurdy, natives of Chester and Westmoreland counties, 
respectively. Both his grandfathers, Samuel McCurdy and Thomas Monroe, 
were natives of Pennsylvania, and were of Scotch descent. When twelve 
years of age Mr. McCurdy removed with his parents to Center, now North 
Butler, Butler county, Pa., where his father engaged in farming. He 
remained with his parents until the age of twenty-five, when he was em- 
ployed by the Brady's Bend iron works, and remained with them twelve 
years. 

In 1854 he removed to Council Bluffs, where he engaged in the manu- 
facture of bricks, in 1857 to Sioux City, where he continued the business 
until 1863, when he with his eldest son enlisted in the state service, and was 
stationed at Cherokee, Correctionville and Melbourne. In the spring of 
1866 Mr. McCurdy took up a homestead of eighty acres in America town- 
ship, to which he has since added twenty acres, and where he now resides 
engaged in mixed farming. 

In 1841 he married Fanny Freer, who was born in Butler county, Pa., and 
six children were born to them, three of whom are now living, viz. : Francis, 
who resides in Plymouth township; Jane (Mrs. Andrew Black) lives in Gar- 
field township, and Samuel, who lives at home. Those deceased are: One 
who died in Pennsylvania, aged nine months ; Britta Ann, died at home, aged 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 805 

twenty-five, and Isabella (McElhaney), died at the age of twenty-four. Mrs. 
McCurdy's death occurred in February, 1S85, after a lingering illness. In 
politics Mr. McCurdy is a republican; he is a member of the Presbyterian 
church. 

Neville Eedmon was born in Jackson township, Brown county, Ohio, 
November 30, 1828, a son of Alfred and Mary (Pickerill) Redrnon. His 
grandfather, Alfred Eedmon, was of English descent. Our subject was 
taken by his parents to Hamilton county, Ind., when he was five years of 
age, and there received a common-school education. When twenty years of 
age he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed. He went to Fill- 
more county, Minn., in 1856, and came to America township, Plymouth 
county, Iowa, in the spring of 1878," and took up a homestead in section 
thirty-two, where he has since resided. For the last twenty years he has 
worked at carpenter work. He built the school-house in his own district, 
and worked on several buildings in Le Mars. 

Mr. Eedmon was married, in 1819, to Nancy Jane Keyst, who died four 
years later, leaving two sons: Alfred, who lives in Moville, and Lafayette 
Denis, in Le Mars. He afterward married Lucretia Low Stanton, who 
bore him nine children: Mary O, George S., Harriet May, Willie N, James 
G, Delbert Douglas, Allie Etta, Bertha D. and Maud L. Mary C. is the 
widow of Thomas H. Burt. Harriet Mary married Alfred Demaray, and lives 
at Spencer, South Dakota. Mrs. Eedmon died in June, 1886. Mr. Eedmon 
subsequently married Mary B. Eobinson, who was born in Grant county, 
Wis. He is a member of the Baptist church, his wife being one of the char- 
ter members. He is a charter member of the Masonic lodge. In politics he 
is independent, and has been justice of the peace here and in Minnesota. 

Geoege Thompson Fbeek, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is a grandson of Francis 
Freer, a tanner, who came from Dublin to America about 1778. William 
Freer, son of the latter, married Charlotte Wooderson, who was, like him- 
self, a native of Pennsylvania. To them was born, in Butler county, Pa., 
August 23, 1830, the subject of this sketch. William Freer was a shoemaker 
and his son was early taught the trade. 

When twenty- one years old he left home and was employed for several 
years at the Brady's Bend iron works. Later he was employed at the Eed 
Bank furnace, where he occupied the position of coker. In 1866 he removed 
to Plymouth county, Iowa, and entered as a homestead eighty acres on sec- 
tion thirty, America township, on which he has since dwelt. He is now using 
as a granary the first school-house built in the organized township of America. 

Mr. Freer married in 1851, Isabelle Ruth, sister of W. S. McCurdy. The 
following are the living offspring of Mr. and Mrs. Freer: John W., Char- 
lotte Ann (Mrs. Mathias Krudwig), Le Mars; Mary (Mrs. William Krud wig), 



806 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Le Mars; Maria (wife of William Klatt), America township ; Isabel E. (widow 
of Eugene Chown), with parents; Melissa (Mrs. Sanmel McCurdy), America 
township. Mr. Freer affiliates with the republican party, and served as 
treasurer of the school board four years, and was early elected a justice of the 
peace, which office he declined. He entertains the faith of the Presbyterian 
church. 

George Washington Irwin, farmer, P. O. Merrill, was born November 20, 
1844, and is one of ten children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Irwin, of 
Pennsylvania. He received a good education and taught school in this vicin- 
ity until 1869, when he went to St. Paul, Minn., where he resided for one 
year. In 1870 he took up an eighty- acre homestead in Stanton township, 
Plymouth county, section eighteen, on Which he resided until the spring of 
1887, when he sold out and went to live on an eighty-acre farm, which he* 
had bought in 1881, in section eleven, Plymouth township. He has since 
increased his farm to 320 acres, all in this neighborhood. 

Mr. Irwin was married in September, 1881, to Carrie Bernard, of Penn- 
sylvania, who departed this life June 22, 1886. He is a believer in the 
Methodist Episcopal doctrine, a helper in the republican cause politically, 
and a member of the K. of P. order. He has been a township justice, trustee 
and school director. 

Daniel Whitney, farmer and stock-raiser, resides on section thirty-one, 
Garfield township. He was born in Worcester county, Mass., June 22, 1825, 
and is a son of Timothy and Eowena (Brigham) Whitney, both natives of 
Massachusetts. The great-grandfather of our subject was buried in 1776, 
as a tombstone shows in the cemetery at Boylston, Mass. The father of our 
subject engaged in farming in Massachusetts until his death in 1856; his 
wife died in 1839. 

Daniel Whitney lived on a farm until fourteen years of age, when he left 
home and engaged in brick-making and ship timbering, which he followed 
for about sixteen years. In 1851 he went to California and worked in the 
mines until 1855, when he went to Kendall county, 111., and farmed until 
August, 1861. He then enlisted in Company E, Thirty-sixth Illinois infantry, 
and was discharged in February, 1864. He brought back with him a saddle 
mule, which died in the winter of 1889. He lived in Kendall county, 111., 
until 1865, when he came to Cedar county, Iowa, where he remained until 
1884, at that date coming to Plymouth county and purchasing 174 acres of 
land, where he now resides. He affiliates with the republican party, and is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity. 

Cornelius Anderson, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty- 
eight, Garfield township, was born in Warren county, N. J., January 12, 
1826, and is a son of Amos S. and Mary (Silverthorn) Anderson, both natives 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 807 

of New Jersey. Amos Anderson was by occupation a blacksmith, which 
trade he carried on in Northumberland county, Pa., until his death, which 
occurred about the year 1872; his wife died in 1832. 

Cornelius Anderson was reared on ' a farm until he was sixteen years of 
age, and received a common- school education; he then went to Stillwater, N. 
J., and learned the blacksmith's trade, and there remained four years. At 
the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in Company E, Tenth regiment of 
United States infantry, to serve in the Mexican war, and took part in the bat- 
tle of Monterey and served until the close of the war. He then returned to 
New Jersey and went to blacksmithing, which he continued until 1866, when 
he went to Kansas and farmed for four years. He then resided in his native 
state three years, thence going to Pennsylvania. In 1878 he came to Iowa 
county, Iowa, and farmed there until 1883, when he came to Plymouth 
county and purchased eighty acres of land where he now resides. 

January 11, 1851, he married Margaret C. Marsh, of New Jersey, and 
they have one child, Alma, wife of Willis Lilly, a farmer of Garfield town- 
ship. Mr. Anderson supports the republican party. 

Geoege W. Beed, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section two, Gar- 
field township, was born in Vigo county, Ind., October 15, 1836. His par- 
ents were Hugh and Mary (Miner) Eeed, his father a native of Ohio, and 
his mother of Tennessee. Hugh Eeed was a farmer, which occupation he 
followed in Vigo county, Ind. , until his death, which occurred about 1875, 
his wife having died about 1851. 

George W. was reared on his father's farm in Indiana, in which state he 
received his education in a log school-house. At the age of seventeen years 
he left home and worked on a farm for about five years. He then farmed 
for himself in Marshall county, 111., for fifteen years. He came to Tama 
county, Iowa, in 1869, and farmed until 1883, when he moved to Crawford 
county, where he resided until 1885. He then purchased 160 acres of land 
in Plymouth county, where he now lives, and is engaged in farming and 
raising stock of all kinds. 

October 3, 1861, he married Sarah B. Harris, of Putnam county, III, 
and to them have been born eleven children: Lewis, Nellie, Charles, May, 
Blanche, John, Eva, Maude, Grace, Clyde and Clifford. The mother of 
these children is a daughter of Nathaniel and Elinor (Greene) Harris, both 
natives of Kentucky. Her father was a farmer and resided in Putnam 
county, 111., until his death, in 1875; his wife died in 1863. Mr. Beed is a 
democrat, and a member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Samuel M. Hawkins, farmer and fruit grower, section sixteen, Garfield 
township, was born in Summit county, Ohio, June 6, 1836. He is a son of 
Samuel and Matilda (Bixby) Hawkins, both natives of Vermont and of Eng- 



8U8 HISTORY 01? WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

lish descent. Samuel Hawkins carried on farming and stock-raising in Ohio 
and Lee county, 111., dying at the latter place in 1857; his wife died in 1870. 
Samuel M. resided with his parents until their deaths. After his father's 
death he moved to Benton county, Iowa, in 1860, and brought his mother 
with him. 

In 1884 he moved to Plymouth county and purchased 320 acres of un- 
cultivated land. He has improved the place since his residence, until he now 
has several different kinds of apple trees that are bearing fruit, cherries, 
tame plums, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and about two thousand 
mulberry trees, and currants, gooseberries and elderberries. He raises 
some stock. He married Ellen J. Scott, of Benton county, Iowa, June 11, 
1860, and to them are born five children: James E., George W., Mattie, 
Bradley S. and Hattie A. He is a republican in his political views. 

W. G Linn, city auditor, Sioux City, a native of Kentucky, came to Sioux 
City in 1879, as commercial agent for the St. Paul & Sioux City railroad 
company. He was elected to his present office in March, 1886, by a large 
majority, and has held the position by subsequent elections ever since. He 
was appointed to the position of city clerk by the city council, and has held 
it five years. He is a democrat in politics. 

Fletcher & Case Company, manufacturers and dealers in doors, win- 
dows, blinds, etc., Sioux City. The members of this firm are H. H. Case, 
secretary and treasurer, and C. W. Fletcher, president and manager. Mr. 
Fletcher is a native of New Hampshire, and came to Iowa in 1864. He came 
to Sioux City in 1882, and in 1889 the present company was incorporated. 

Mr. Case was born in Ohio and came to Sioux City in April, 1884, and 
has been in the mill business with Mr. Fletcher since 1 884. This is one of 
the most reliable firms of Sioux City, having a capital of $100,000, with 
$45,000 paid up, and both members are honest, upright men. They are en- 
gaged in the manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing of doors, windows, 
blinds, moldings, bank counters, church work, building paper, glass, etc. 

J. K. Pkugh & Co., chinaware dealers, Sioux City. This firm was organ- 
ized in 1881, by J. K. Prugh. W. I. Buchanan, his brother-in-law was ad- 
mitted in 1882. Mr. Prugh was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849. His 
early life, however, was spent in this state, in Burlington and in Ottumwa, 
where, with his parents, he removed in 1868. He was educated in the Bur- 
lington high school. He began a mercantile life as errand boy for a queens- 
ware store. He came to Sioux City in 1881, and opened this business in his 
present location, his store-room being 25 by 150 feet deep. 

Mr. Prugh is senior member and business manager of the firm. He is 
vice-president of the Board of Trade committee, a charter member of the 
Jobbers' association, a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and lieutenant 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 809 

colonel of the First regiment of the Patriarchs Militant of the I. O. O. F., of 
Iowa; past commander of Canton Sioux, No. IS, and one of its charter mem- 
bers. He is liberal in his political views. 

Geo. H. Howell, furniture dealer, Sioux City, is a native of Brooklyn, 
N. Y., and was born in 1839. He began his career in business as a clerk in 
a New York house. He served two years and a half in the Thirteenth New 
York regiment, and in 1870 entered the employ of the government, as chief 
clerk of the quartermaster's department. In 1872 he embarked in the furni- 
ture business, and in 1889 built his fine business house, 50x135 feet, four 
stories high, of terra cotta and brick. He deals in furniture, mantels and 
tile, and his success has been attained through his integrity and industry. 

Robert E. Sackett, clerk of the district court, Sioux City, was born in 
Pittsford, New York, in 1852. His parents moved to Michigan in 1854, and 
he was sent to the public schools there, and also attended Olivet college in 
that state. He resided with his parents until 1874, when he came to Iowa, 
and located in Cedar Rapids, where he was employed in the office of the 
Iowa R. R. Land Co., and Sioux City & Pacific railroad company. After- 
ward he located at Denison, where he was with the W. A. McHenry bank; 
from there he came to Sioux City. 

He was elected to his present position in the fall of 1888, by the repub- 
lican party, and assumed the duties of his position in January, 1889. He 
was re-elected to the same position by the republican party in 1890. 

S. B. Jackson was born in Chester county, Pa., in 1842, and was edu- 
cated at West Chester college. He enlisted in Company L, Seventeenth 
Pennsylvania cavalry, and was in service during the late war for two years. 
He began life as a clerk. He came to Sioux City in 1870 and engaged in 
the real estate business. 

In 1878 he was elected mayor of Sioux City, and filled that office through- 
out 1878 and 1879. In 1880 he was elected sheriff of the county, and served 
two terms very satisfactorily. In the spring of 1887 Mr. Jackson purchased 
a third interest in the Highland Park property, a suburb of Sioux City. He 
is now engaged exclusively in the buying and selling of real estate. 

Tillman Howard Stevens, lumber dealer, Sioux City, is descended from 
an old American family of Scotch origin. His grandfather, Jesse Stevens, a 
native of North Carolina, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and in the Black 
Hawk Indian war. He was an early settler in Wayne county, Ind., where 
he located about 1827. His son, Collins S. Stevens, born in Cincinnati, was 
then about fifteen years old. Upon reaching maturity he became a farmer 
and road contractor. He married Margaret Ferrell, a native of Virginia, 
daughter of Jacob Ferrell, of German descent. 

Their son, whose name heads this article, was born near Knightstown, 



810 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Ind., March 10, 1846. He graduated in the scientific course at Whitewater 
college, Centreville, Ind., in 1867. In February, 1863, he enlisted in Com- 
pany I, 124th Indiana volunteers, and served under Gen. Sherman in all the 
battles of the Atlanta campaign, including Eocky Faced Eidge, Eesaca, 
Dallas, New Hope Church, Kennesaw, Peach Tree Creek, Lovejoy, Eough 
and Eeady, Columbia, Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., Kingston, Fort 
Anderson and Goldsboro, N. C, and was present at the surrender of Gen. 
Johnston at Ealeigh, N. C. He was mustered out in September, 1865, and 
resumed his college course, which had been interrupted by his military 
service. On graduating he went to Kansas, and was employed for some 
. time in contracting for buildings and railroading. In 1878 he engaged in 
the lumber trade at Anthony, Kas., and later added banking to his occupa- 
tions, becoming president of the First National bank at that place. For 
ten years he served as chairman of the board of commissioners of Harper 
county. 

In 1887 he sold out his Kansas interests, and, after spending a year in 
Chicago, he came to Sioux City, and established the Sioux Lumber company, 
which is a branch of the Inter State Lumber company of Chicago, with 
which he has been connected ever since. He is one of the incorporators of 
the Sioux and Metropolitan Investment companies of this city. Mr. Stevens 
is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and G. A. E. Politically he has acted 
with the republican party. In December, 1869, he married Miss Eva Eue, 
a native of Eichmond, Ind., descended from an old A.merican family of 
French lineage. They have three daughters and a son, namely: Maude, 
Euella, Myrtle and Earle, all residing with their parents. 

A. F. Cox, contractor, Sioux City. Among the leading contractors and 
builders of Sioux City is A. F. Cox. He is a native of England and was 
educated in his native country. In 1864 he came to America, and settled in 
Eochester, N. Y., where he remained until 1880, when he removed to Sioux 
City. Mr. Cox contracted for the Corn Palace of 1887 and 1888, and re- 
ceived a gold medal from the committee for merit shown in the construction 
of the first Corn Palace of the World. In 1887 he built the Tollerton & Stet- 
son block, he also built the Sac City court house, Central & Wilkins block, 
and many handsome houses throughout the city, giving employment to 
forty men. 

He built the Corn Palace train that went to Washington for the inaugu- 
ration of Harrison. Mr. Cox is a practical mechanic and a splendid workman. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and also of the order of Odd 
Fellows. He affiliates with the Unitarian church, and in his political views 
is a republican. 

Kimball & McNamara, railroad contractors and builders, Sioux City. This 
firm was organized in 1889. The members are F. W. Kimball, a native of 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 811 

Massachusetts, but who came from Austin, Minn., to Sioux City, and associ- 
ated himself with W. C. McNamara, who is a native of Vermont and has been 
engaged in railroad building in the west since 1879, but has been in Sioux 
City since 1861. Mr. Kimball is the senior member of the firm, and has 
been in Sioux City since 1889. He has been a contractor since 1879, and 
has been prominent in railroad construction in the west the past twenty 
years. He has been identified with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul rail- 
road company for the past ten years as manager of construction, and assist- 
ant engineer. 

The firm is engaged in railroad work through Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, 
Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Dakota, with headquarters in Sioux City. 
This firm is one of the largest in Sioux City and Iowa, and the members are 
well known and esteemed as upright business men. They give emj^loyment 
to 1,000 men. 

John Beck, builder and contractor, is a resident of Sioux City, and was 
born in Somerset county, Pa., March 2, 1833. His father, Nickolas Beck, 
was born in Germany in 1801. In March, 1831, he came to America with 
his family, which consisted of his wife and four children, and settled on a 
farm in Somerset county, Pa., where John was born, being the first born in 
this country, and the fifth in the family of eleven children — three daughters 
and eight sons. His mother died in January, 1875, and his father in No- 
vember, 1879. 

John's early life was spent on a farm until twenty years of age, when he 
learned the carpenter's trade. He was married March 21, 1857, to Miss 
Nancy Culbertson and came west, coming all the way from Pittsburgh by 
water, and arrived in Sioux City, May 8, 1857, taking one month to make the 
trip. This was when Sioux City was only a village. He followed his trade 
as a carpenter for three or four years, then formed a partnership with H. M. 
Sharp, under the firm name, Sharp & Beck, contractors and builders. 

They continued contracting for eighteen years, building many prominent 
business blocks, among which is the Academy of Music, First National bank. 
Mrs. A. W. Hubbard's block, also the residences of James E. Booge, E. B. 
Kirk and many others. In 1872 they bought and rebuilt the first planing- 
mill, sash and door factory in Sioux City. At the close of the eighth year, 
Mr. Beck bought his partner's interest, continuing the business two years 
alone. In 1882 he sold to Andrews & Fletcher, now Fletcher & Case Co., 
and retired from manufacturing. He again resumed contracting and build- 
ing, and up to the present time has followed his trade for thirty-five years. 
He was a member of the city council during the two years of 1867 and 1868. 

Mr. and Mrs. John Beck are the parents of four children, three daugh- 
ters and one son, William Edmund. Two daughters are at home, and one mar- 



812 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ried to Mr. A. L. Allen, of Canada, but now a resident of Sioux City. Mr. Beck 
and his family are all members of the Presbyterian church. His success has 
been entirely through his own efforts and perseverance. He has about 
retired from active business. 

Chaeles P. Ibs, Sioux City, one of the pioneer settlers of the city, was 
born in Germany, October 9, 1842, and is a son of John A. Ibs, who was a 
prominent stock dealer and farmer in Germany. Charles P., the subject of 
this sketch, left his native country in 1869 and came directly to Sioux City, 
where he at once engaged in the meat business, opening up a market, which 
from a small beginning has gradually increased until his market stands 
second to none in this flourishing city. 

November 11, 1873, he married Miss Emma Daling, of Maquoketa, Iowa, 
who was born October 22, 1852. This union has been blessed with eight 
children, six of whom are still living, viz. : Bertha M., born March 26, 1875; 
Alvina M., bom February 2, 1878; Minnie M., born April 3, 1880; Huldah 
A., born January 10, 1884; John A., bom April 25, 1886; France, born 
August 11, 1889. 

Mr. Ibs is a member of the Knights of Pythias, I. O. O. F., Northwestern 
Legion of Honor, and of the mounted division of the Knights of Pythias of 
Sioux City. Politically he has always worked for the interest and advance- 
ment of the democratic party. In his religious views he sustains the Lu- 
theran church. 

John Tuckeb, Sioux City, was bom in England in 1838, a son of Anthony 
and Margaret Tucker. His father was engaged in the pottery business and 
in gardening in England. John worked with his father until fifteen years 
old, when he engaged in butchering. Mr. Tucker came to America in 1858, 
and, having traveled throughout different states, he settled in Virginia. He 
came to Sioux City in 1865, and located here permanently the following year, 
and has since been engaged in the butchering business. 

He was married in 1859 to Mattie, daughter of Erby Grimes of Virginia. 
Three children have been born to them, two of whom, Allen and Ida (Mrs. 
Speares) are living. He was city marshal for one year. Politically he is a 
democrat, and is a member of the order of Odd Fellows. He has bad a suc- 
cessful business career. 

T. S. Martin, dry goods merchant, Sioux City, is a member of the firm of 
T. S. Martin & Co., and was born in Galena, 111., in 1853. He is a son of 
James Martin. His life, up to fifteen years of age, was spent in his birth- 
place. At that age he came to Sioux City with his parents. He obtained 
his education in the schools of Galena and Sioux City. Previous to engag- 
ing in business in Sioux City, he was engaged in business in Deadwood, S. D., 
for two years. He is one of the original members of the firm of T. S. Martin 
& Co. The other members are George E. Westcott and J. P. Martin. 




CLUjm/^ S^jw^ajx^vl^t' 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 815 

Mr. T. S. Martin has been in the dry goods business for eleven years. 
This firm have one of the best dry goods stores in Sioux City, and their trade 
extends throughout the northwest. They deal in all kinds of dry goods, car- 
pets, drapery and fret work, making a specialty of fine draperies. They give 
employment to thirty-five persons. This firm contemplate erecting a hand- 
some and more commodious building on Fourth street, as their business de- 
mands it. 

Mr. Martin was married to Miss A. J. Murphy, of Davenport, Iowa, a 
sister of T. P. Murphy, a prominent lawyer of this place. Their family con- 
sists of two children. He is one of the directors of the Security National 
bank; and has been quite successful in his business career. 

James Puck, hotel proprietor, Sioux City, was born in Germany in 1835. 
He came to America in 1853 and settled in Davenport, Iowa, and was there 
engaged in farming for eleven years. He then removed to Idaho, where he 
remained four years, and in 1869 came to Sioux City. For a short time he 
was engaged in filling subordinate positions, and then for two years engaged 
in farming. 

In 1872 he entered into the hotel business, and has since been engaged 
in that pursuit. Mr. Puck has been reasonably successful. He has been 
proprietor of the Chicago house, the Mountaineer house, and since 1881 of the 
Davenport house. He was married to Mrs. Wilkins, the result of the union 
being six children, five of whom are now living. He is a member of the Odd 
Fellows order, of the Lutheran church, and a democrat politically. 

The National Bank or Sioux City, one of the latest financial institutions 
in the city, was organized in 1890 with a capital of $1,000,000, and is the 
largest banking house in Iowa. Its officers, now (1891) are: president, O. J. 
Taylor; vice-president, T. C Pease; C. Q. Chandler is cashier, and T. C. 
Beard, assistant cashier. Their place of business is in the Metropolitan block, 
corner of Fourth and Jackson streets, and the demand for more ready capi- 
tal in the city, and the large and growing commercial interests here, caused 
this bank to be organized. Many investors in the east, having unbounded 
faith in the city, came forward and took a generous amount of the capital 
stock. Its officers and directors are well known men, and it is assured of a 
large volume of business. The directors are: A. L. Stetson, wholesale gro- 
cer; J. E. Booge, paeker; D. M. Inman, banker, Vermillion, S. D. ; W. H 
Fowler, wholesale grocer; C. R. Marks, attorney; W. S. Woods, president of 
the National Bank of Commerce, Kansas City, Mo. ; O. J. Taylor, T. C. 
Pease and C Q. Chandler. 

George Nelson Smith, real estate dealer, Sioux City, is a great-grandson 
of Zadock Smith, of Sherburne, Vt. Sylvanus, son of the latter, was born 
in Huntington, Vt., and married Boxie Bich. Their son, Hiram, born in 



816 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Willsboro, N. Y., now resides in Norwalk, Ohio, aged seventy-seven 
years. For thirty-five years he was employed as a machinist by the Lake 
Shore & Michigan Southern railroad company, and patented many hydraulic 
appliances, some of which are still in use on the railroad. His wife, Mary 
A. Lincoln, was a native of Rutland, Vt. 

The subject of this sketch is the third of their sis children, and was born 
in Norwalk July 9, 1847, and educated in the schools of his native city. In 
the fall of 1865 he took employment as a United States quartermaster's 
clerk at Smith land, Ky. Pour years later he was transferred to the pay 
department of the army under Maj. William Smith, now paymaster general. 
After serving three years in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, he came with 
Major Smith to Sioux City in 1872. Next year he resigned, and entered the 
First National bank, with which he remained four years. He then joined 
Gen. George P. Buell's expedition to the Big Horn country as quartermas- 
ter's clerk, remaining three years at Fort Custer, which was built by this 
expedition. After trading among hunters and Indians in the Yellowstone 
Valley for four years he went to St. Paul, Minn., where, in November, 1884, 
he again entered the United States service as paymaster's clerk, and, in that 
capacity, became once more associated with Paymaster William Smith, with 
whom he remained five years, two years of that time being located in 
Chicago. In 1889 he returned to Sioux City, and was employed for a year 
in the Sioux National bank. 

In the fall of 1890 he opened an office for handling choice real estate, 
steamship tickets and foreign exchange. He acts as agent for the Sioux 
City Land company, an eastern corporation which deals in property on a 
large scale. Mr. Smith is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has 
always been a republican. In 1874 he married Matilda Hagy, a native of 
this city, daughter of John Hagy, whose biography and portrait will be 
found in this volume. Mrs. Smith died in October, 1882, leaving two chil- 
dren: Kate L. and William Hagy. 

George Evebts, farmer, Correctionville, is one of the pioneers of that 
place. His parents, Reuben and Clarissa (Dewey) Everts, were natives of 
Vermont and Connecticut, respectively, and our subject was born in Elbridge, 
Onondaga county, N. Y., June 5, 1829. When he was seven years old, the 
family moved to West Springfield, Erie county, Pa., where the father died 
in 1872, and the mother about 1882. George Everts is the third of eight 
children born to his parents. He received an ordinary education, and when 
nineteen years old, left home and took employment at farm labor. He spent 
six years in Monroe county, N. Y., and set out from there in the spring of 
1854, for the west. The following year he located at Marshalltown, Iowa, 
and engaged in freighting goods between that point and the Mississippi 
river. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 817 

In 1858 he carae to Correctionville and continued freighting, his terminal 
points being Sioux City and Marshalltown. This continued till railroads 
superseded the business, since which he has been exclusively engaged in 
farming. He purchased of the government some land in section six, Rock 
township, but he subsequently sold this, and now owns a farm in Kedron. 
He helped to organize Rock township, and has served as trustee, school 
director and justice of the peace. For three years he was county supervisor, 
and was postmaster at Correctionville and Discord for fifteen years. He has 
always acted with the republicans. 

In September, 1854, in New York, he married Pamelia M. Sherman, a 
native of New York, and daughter of Chester and Rebecca Sherman, natives 
of New York, and Vermont, respectively. Almost the entire married life of 
Mr. and Mrs. Everts has been passed in Iowa, and they have reared six chil- 
dren, viz.: Charles, Gordon, Neb.; Harlan, Kedron; Lillian (Mrs. Edson 
Cave), Gordon, Neb.; Jessie (wife of Allen Orner), Correctionville; Olive and 
Clara, with parents. 

Nobman Pattekson (deceased) was a son of Hugh Bolton and Charlotte 
(Gilmore) Patterson, of Scotch ancestry, and was born in Chautauqua county, 
N. Y., in 1836. He died at his home on section four, Rock township, Wood- 
bury county, in June, 1884, of paralysis, his sixth child, Norman Ray, dying 
about the same time, of diphtheria. When three years old, he was taken to 
Smeltzer, Grant county, Wis., and was educated there in the common schools 
and the State Normal school at Platteville. He became the owner of a small 
farm there, and was always engaged in farming. 

September 19, 1865, he married Elizabeth H. Champion, a native of 
Hazel Green, Wis., and daughter of Bennett and Tirzah (Ivey) Champion, 
of English birth, and among the earliest settlers of Wisconsin. Mrs. Patter- 
son was her husband's faithful helpmeet during his life, and has proved a 
prudent and successful manager of the estate since his demise. In 1872 they 
removed to that part of Rock township, now called Kedron. Later Mr. Pat- 
terson sold out and purchased 200 acres in Rock township. This has been 
tilled by his sons since his death, and they have added 100 acres to the estate. 

The' living children are Merton E., Lucy, Hugh Bennett, George W., 
Olive May, and Bessie and Bertha, twins. Mr. Patterson served the public 
as school director, township trustee, and was five years county supervisor. 
He was a republican, a Free Mason, and with his wife, a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

Benjamin Shontz, farmer, Correctionville, was born in Waterloo county, 
Canada, in 1838. His grandfather, Christian Shontz, was a native of Lan- 
caster county, Pa., and descended from Swiss ancestors who came to America 
in William Perm's time. When sixteen years old Christian Shontz drove a 



818 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

supply wagon for Washington's army. David P. and Sarah (Bean) Shontz, 
parents of our subject, were born in Pennsylvania, but passed their last days 
in Canada, the former dying in 1873, at the age of seventy-four, and the lat- 
ter in 1889, aged seventy-eight years. Of their thirteen children Benjamin 
is the fifth. 

He remained on the home farm till twenty-four years old, and received a 
common- school education. On leaving home he engaged in dressing flax, 
and owned and operated a flax-mill for several years. In 1874 he came to 
the United States, and located at Avoca, Iowa, where he sold agricultural 
implements and lightning rods. For four years he was deputy sheriff and 
jailer of Pottawattamie county. In 1886 he removed to Correctionville, 
where he handled agricultural implements, in partnership with his brother, 
for two years. During 1888 and 1889 he served as deputy sheriff and jailer 
at Sioux City. He is now residing on section six, Bock township, and is giv- 
ing special attention to the cultivation of small fruits. He is the owner of 
1,040 acres of land in this and Plymouth counties. He is a steadfast repub- 
lican, and holds the religious belief of his parents — Mennonite. 

In 1862, in Canada, Mr. Shontz wedded Jane, daughter of William and 
Jean (Anderson) Collins, all of Canadian birth and Scotch ancestry. Seven 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shontz. The eldest son is deputy 
county recorder at Sioux City, and the third the wife of Stowell Holden, of 
Sioux City, where the fourth is book-keeper, the others being at home. 
Their names are Phoebe, Maggie, Minnie, Oscar, Charles, Orpha and Bobert. 

Cyrus Wellington Sawyer, banker, Cushing, is a grandson of Joseph 
Sawyer, a native of Yermont, but of Scotch descent, who was a soldier in the 
war of 1812. Leander Cyrenus and Lysander Cyreno Sawyer, twin sons of 
Joseph, now reside at Lee Center, Lee county, 111., where they settled in 
1835. They were born in Ohio, and the former married Nancy Shumway, 
a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. The only son of this couple, 
whose name heads this sketch, was born in Lee Center, October 1, 1843. 

He remained with his parents on the home farm for forty years, and was 
educated in the schools and academy of his native place. In 1883 he came 
to Ida county, Iowa, and settled on a farm of 320 acres in Douglas township. 
In July, 1889, in connection with the Union Trust Company, of Sioux City, 
he established the Bank of Cushing, which has since been succeeded by the 
Cushing Savings bank, with a capital of $25,000, of which he is manager, 
and two months later removed from the farm to Cushing. Mr. Sawyer 
attends the Methodist Episcopal church, and sustains the prohibition move- 
ment, having acted with the republican party until he came to Iowa. 

In 1876 he married Emma Jane, daughter of Balph E. and Bhoda 
Ford, of Lee Center, Lee county, 111. They have four children, named 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 819 

Grace Blanche, Roy Cyrenus, George Ford and Nancy Pearl. In August, 
1862, Mr. Sawyer enlisted in the Seventy-fifth Illinois volunteer infantry, 
Company E, and was discharged inside of five months, on account of being 
shot through the thigh at the battle of Perryville, Ky. In 1865 he joined 
the Sixty-fifth Illinois, Company D, and served four months. Under the 
first enlistment, he was made fourth sergeant. 

Silas H. Stevens, farmer, P. O. Pierson, was for many years actively 
engaged in the ministry, but for the past twelve years has been farming. 
He was born in Little Valley, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., April 18, 1838. 
His grandfather, Elijah, was a native of Vermont, but of Scotch descent, 
Lucinda Dodge, wife of Elijah Stevens, was also of Scotch descent. Elisha, 
twin brother of Elijah Stevens, went to Pennsylvania, after the war of 1812, 
and was lost track of by his relatives. Levi and Nancy (Van Tassel) Stev- 
ens, parents of the subject of this sketch, were natives of Vermont and New 
York, respectively, the latter of Dutch descent. S. H. Stevens was reared 
on a farm and received a common-school education. In July, 1861, he en- 
listed as a private in the Sixty-fourth New York volunteers, Company F, and 
served with the army of the Potomac. At the battle of Fair Oaks he was 
shot through the neck, but recovered in time to take part in the battles of 
Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In June, 1864, he was dis- 
charged on account of physical disability. Having been converted to relig- 
ion at the age of sixteen, he began exhorting in the Methodist Prostestant 
church early in the spring of 1858, and in the fall of the same year he was 
licensed to preach. In July, 1865, he located in Oakland county, Mich., 
where, a year later, he united with the Free- Will Baptist church, with which 
he is still identified. 

March 5, 1865, he married Angie M. Bassett, who has been his faithful 
co-worker. In 1874 they came to Correctionville, where they at once or- 
ganized a Sabbath-school, and Mr. Stevens began preaching the first Sunday 
after his arrival. He organized the first Free- Will Baptist churches at 
Sheldon, Aurelia, Cherokee and Le Mars, and preached alternately at those 
points and also at Correctionville for about three years. He preached two 
years at Monticello and Green's Prairie, Green county, Wis., and after 
spending two years on a farm in Dixon county, Neb., he returned to Wood- 
bury county, Iowa. 

In 1880 he bought one-fourth of section thirteen, Rutland township, to 
which he has since added eighty acres, and is actively engaged in preparing 
a home for his old age. In early life he acted with the abolitionists, and 
is now a prohibitionist, but acts politically with the republican party. Mrs. 
Stevens is a daughter of Dan C. Bassett, of Union Village, Washington 
county, N. Y., and Abigail Sanborn (Libbey) Bassett, of Epsom, N. H., the 



820 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

latter born in Persia, Cattaraugus county, N Y., April 5, 1838. Her sister, 
Miss Carrie A. Bassett, a former well known teacher and county superintend- 
ent of this county, is now an ordained preacher of the Free- Will Baptist 
church in Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are the parents of two children: 
Howard L., a painter in Sioux City, and Mabel Angie, wife of William N. 
Bedmon, of Le Mars, Plymouth county, Iowa. 

George C. Moffatt, an old settler and retired farmer now living in Cor- 
rectionville, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., July 11, 1833, and is a son 
of Melvin and Altania (Wilson) Moffatt, both natives of New York. Melvin 
Moffatt was of Scotch-Irish descent, and followed farming in Illinois until 
1861, when he retired from active work, and spent the remainder of his days 
in Woodbury county with his sons. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. 
The mother of our subject resides with him; her parents were natives of 
Connecticut and Massachusetts. 

George C. was born and reared on a farm in New York, receiving his 
education in the district schools there. He went to Illinois in 1853, where 
he engaged in farming in different parts of the state, until 1867, when he 
located in Woodbury county, Iowa, taking up a homestead of 160 acres in 
Union township, where he has engaged in farming ever since, though giving 
up active work in 1886; since then his son has had the management of the 
place. August 9, 1862, Mr. Moffatt enlisted in Company C, 104th Illinois 
infantry for three years, but on account of disability he was discharged Jan- 
uary 20, 1863, at Bowling Green, Ky. 

He was united in marriage with Julia L. Harrington, of Adams county, 111. 
March 27, 1856, and sis children have been born to this couple, four of whom 
are living, viz.: Ida, wife of Philip Carlin, of Sioux City; Hattie, wife of S. 
R. Bryant, a farmer of Union township; Frank, at home; and Carrie, wife of 
Martin McGowen, of Sioux City. Politically Mr. Moffatt is a republican, 
and has always supported the principles of that party. He was justice of 
the peace in Union township two terms. He is a member of the G. A. R. 

John M. Feeeman, one of the old pioneers now living in retirement in 
Correctionville, was born December 17, 1814, and is a son of Alexander and 
Experience (Adams) Freeman, both natives of Pennsylvania, the father of 
English and the mother of Irish descent. Mr. Freeman spent the early part 
of his life in the milling business, coming to Woodbury county, Iowa, in 
1860, where he engaged in farming until his retirement from business, hav- 
ing been identified with the history of the couDty for thirty years. He mar- 
ried Lydia Baughman, and they reared a family of nine children, viz. : Mary, 
Samuel, Martha, Henry, John, Enos, Sarah, Daniel and Amelia. His wife 
died December 23, 1872. 

In March, 1879, Mr. Freeman was again married, taking as his wife 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGHAPHY. 821 

Louisa M. Hammond, of Palo Alto county, Iowa. This couple are well 
known and respected by all. By his last marriage Mr. Freeman has one son, 
Brant Hammond, born June 4, 18S2. Politically Mr. Freeman is a repub- 
lican, and has always supported the principles of that party since its organi- 
zation, being formerly a whig. He has been justice of the peace of Union 
township several terms, also township trustee two terms. He is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he has been identified fifty-six 
years. 

John Kohlhauff, an old settler of Woodbury county, now residing in 
Correctionville, was born in Germany, August 27, 1814, and is a son of Mar- 
tin and Elizabeth (Mork) Kohlhauff, both natives of Germany. His father 
engaged in farming until his death, in 1876, in America, his wife having died 
in 1S24, before they left Germany. Our subject was born and reared on a 
farm in Germany, receiving his education at the common schools. 

He came with his father to America when he was eleven years of age, in 
the year 1824, and settled in Illinois. In 1856 he went to Missouri, where 
he resided until 1861, when he came to Franklin county, Iowa, living there 
until 1864. He then moved to Correctionville and started the first hotel, in 
a log house, which was the first dwelling-house in the place, outside of the 
stockade. He also conducted a farm while attending to hotel business, and 
continued to care for the weary traveler until 18S4, when he sold out and 
retired from active business. He votes the republican ticket and has held all 
the township offices. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

Mr. Kohlhauff married Margaret Bunderer, in August, 1849, and two 
children were born to them: Margaret, wife of John Bacon, now living in 
Kansas, and Katie, deceased. Mrs. Kohlhauff died April 8, 1884. 

Lorenzo Holmes, a retired farmer residing in Correctionville, was born 
in Palmer, Mass., March 14, 1818, and is a son of John B. and Demarus 
(Upham) Holmes, the former a native of Vermont, and the latter a native of 
Massachusetts. John B. Holmes engaged in farming in Massachusetts until 
his death, which occurred about 1882, his wife dying in 1855; both were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Lorenzo Holmes spent the early part of his life in Massachusetts, and 
there received a common-school education. In the fall of 1852 he went to 
New York, where he resided a year only, going thence to Illinois, where he 
farmed until 1S66, at which date he came to Woodbury county, and took up 
a homestead in Union township. In 1883, however, he gave up active work, 
and moved to Correctionville, and purchased a nice residence property, where 
he has since resided. He continued to have his farm operated until 1889, 
when he sold out. Mr. Holmes learned the trade of a molder in Lee, Mass. 
He married Alida Bortle, of Columbia county, N. Y., March 14, 1840, 



822 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

and to them were born eight children, two of whom are living: Albert, who 
is living at Hot Springs, Dak., and Ada, wife of Frank Watson, of Correc- 
tionville. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, with which they have been identified for over fifty years. He is a 
republican in politics, and has been trustee of the township two terms, also 
director, treasurer, and held other township offices. 

Charles Garner, an old settler and retired farmer now residing in Cor- 
rectionville, was born in Norwalk, Conn., May 15, 1820. He is a son of 
Charles and Betsey (Newcomb) Garner, both natives of Connecticut. The 
father was a farmer, which pursuit he followed in Connecticut until his 
death. The mother died in 1850. Charles Garner was born and reared on 
a farm in Connecticut, and received his education at the district school. He 
learned the hatter's trade, and was "employed at the same for nineteen years. 

He came to Winneshiek county, Iowa, in the spring of 1855, where he 
engaged in farming till 1866, when he came to Woodbury county, and took 
up a homestead of 160 acres of land in Union township. Here he farmed 
until 1884, when he gave up active work and moved to Correctionville, where 
he has since resided. He still owns 120 acres of the farm, which he rents. 

Mr. Garner married Emeline Jennings, of Fairfield county, Conn., and 
they have had six children, only one of whom is living, Emeline A., wife of 
Samuel Conway, and living in Woodbury county. He and wife have been 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church for twenty years; politically he 
is a republican, has always supported that party, and has been road super- 
visor and trustee of Union township. 

Alfred H. Petty, the genial landlord of the " Hotel Petty," and an old 
settler of Woodbury county, was born in Eaton Eapids, Mich., February 7, 
1843. He is a son of Charles B. and Louisa (Hutchinson) Petty. The 
father was a native of New York and of French descent, and the mother a 
native of Ohio, of English descent. Charles Petty was engaged in farming 
in Michigan until 1864, when he went to Whiteside county, 111., where he re- 
sided about three years. He then moved to Clinton, Iowa, and in 1868 to 
Woodbury county, and took up a homestead, where he engaged in farming 
until his death, which occurred July 5, 1889. His wife died while on the 
train going to California, in October, 1888. 

Alfred H. was born and reared on a farm in Michigan. He received his 
education at the common school in that state, and in August, 1862, at the 
age of twenty, he enlisted in Company D, Twentieth Michigan infantry, 
under Capt. C. B. Grant, who was principal of Ann Arbor college. He par- 
ticipated in the battles of South Mountain, Antietam, Harper's Ferry, Horse 
Shoe Bend, Cumberland Gap, Vicksburg, siege of Jackson, Strawberry 
Plains, Louden, Campbell Station, siege of Knoxville, and the battle of the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 823 

Wilderness, also Spottsylvania, at which latter place he was wounded in the 
left arm by a bullet and was taken a prisoner from the field. He was held a 
prisoner seven months, when he was exchanged. He served till the close of 
the war and received an honorable discharge June 16, 1865. 

He returned to Michigan in 1866, then came to Clinton, Iowa, where he 
remained until 1869, when he located in Woodbury county, and took up a 
homestead of 160 acres in Kedron township, where he was engaged in farm- 
ing for thirteen years, when he moved to Correctionville. He there started a 
hotel, which he has since retained, and has won a wide reputation as a first- 
class landlord. Politically he is a republican. He was justice of the peace 
twelve years, and president or secretary of the board of directors for twelve 
years. He was a charter member of the I. O. O. F., and was the first com- 
mander of the G. A. E., in Correctionville. 

In August, 1862, he married Esther A. Perrine, of Eaton Eapids, Mich. 
Of their twelve children, four only are living: Milton and Millie (twins), the 
latter the wife of Frank Ash, Hannah and Eddie. 

Daniel K. Freeman (deceased), late postmaster of Correctionville, and 
founder of the Sioux Valley " News," was born in Johnson county, Iowa, 
January 30, 1857, a son of John M. and Lydia (Baughman) Freeman, whose 
sketch may be seen on another page of this work. John K. was born and 
reared on a farm in Johnson county, Iowa. He completed his studies in the 
high school at Sioux City, after which he taught school for three years. He 
then tried the mercantile trade two years and a half. May 25, 1S82, he pub- 
lished the first newspaper in Correctionville, which was called the Sioux 
Valley "News," and which is still published under that name, and which Mr. 
Freeman made a first-class county paper. 

February 19, 1885, Mr. Freeman married M. Jane Orner, of Correction- 
ville, and they have two children: John I. and Fred C. Both parents were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, well known in the county, and 
held in the highest esteem by all. Mr. Freeman, who died August 19, 1 890, 
aged thirty-three years, six months and nineteen days, was a republican in 
politics, and was appointed postmaster of Correctionville in 1889. He was a 
member of the I. O. O. F., and had held the offices of school trustee and 
town clerk. 

George A. Bailey, banker, Correctionville, was born in Litchfield county, 
Conn., June 21, 1850, and is the second and youngest child of Joseph C. 
and Laura (Newton) Bailey, and a grandson of Levi Bailey, of old Con- 
necticut families, of English descent. In 1855 Joseph Bailey came with his 
family to Iowa, and after spending a year in Carroll county, settled at Des 
Moines, where he died in 1865, his widow surviving him only a year. 

George A. Bailey was reared in Des Moines, and made his own way from 



824 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the age of eleven years. His first employment was in a clothing store, and 
he subsequently spent several years in a book and stationery store. In 1867 
he went to Glenwood, Iowa, and was employed as book-keeper and cashier in 
a private bank. Later he became assistant cashier in the Mills county bank. 
He left that institution in 1882 to assist in founding the Sioux Valley State 
bank at Correctionville, of which he has ever since been cashier and resident 
manager. 

Mr. Bailey is a member of the Masonic order and a supporter of the 
Congregational church. Politically he is a republican. His public service 
has consisted of eight years in the Glenwood city council, and several years 
as president of the Correctionville school board. In 1870 he married Mary 
E. Tinkel, a native of Indiana, of German descent. They have two sons, 
named Edgar C. and George A., Jr. 

John M. McAllister, farmer, P. O. Sloan, who settled in Woodbury 
county as early as 1870, is a son of James and Mary (Martin) McAllister, and 
was born in Berks county, Pa., February 26, 1823. His father, who was of 
Scotch descent, was a collier up to the time of his death, August 5, 1834. 
His mother, who died May 30, 1848, was of German descent. 

John McAllister was born and reared on a farm in Berks county, Pa., 
receiving a common-school education, and assisting in the farm work until 
the death of his mother. Being then twenty-four years old, he started out 
in life for himself, and engaged in a blacksmith shop in his native village, 
where he worked for two years. He then spent four years in Lebanon 
county, and fourteen years in Schuylkill county, when, in 1865, he came to 
Linn county, Iowa, where he was engaged in blacksmithing for five years. 
Then he came to Woodbury comity and located in Sloan township, where he 
lived three years, then purchased thirty-seven acres of land in section thirty- 
four, Lakeport township, where he now lives, and which he has since been 
engaged in farming. In 1873 the Missouri river was a mile distant from his 
land, but since that time it has cut away its bank so that now it is partly on 
his farm. 

November 10, 1847, he married Mary A. Seitzinger, of Pennsylvania, and 
they were blessed with six children, namely: William T., Reuben R., Ellen 
R., Elwood M. (died in infancy), James H. and George M. Mr. McAllister 
suffered a great bereavement September 14, 1890, in the death of his wife. 
In politics he is a democrat, and has held the offices of trustee, constable and 
school director. 

William Richards, farmer, P. O. Sloan, is one of the old settlers of 
Woodbury county, having purchased 166 acres of land in section twenty-four, 
Lakeport township, in the year 1869, on which he still resides. He was 
born in Clark county, Ind., April 19, 1836, a son of George and Martha 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 825 

(Williams) Richards, the father of Welsh descent, the mother born in Ken- 
tucky. His parents were members of the Baptist church, but he and his 
wife affiliate with the Christian church. 

Mr. Richards was reared on a farm, receiving, such education as was ob- 
tainable in the common schools of the time. The building in which school 
was held was constructed of hewed logs, the seats being of split logs, having 
legs stuck in holes bored in the logs with a two-inch auger. He remained 
at home with his parents, assisting in the duties incident to farm life, until 
twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life for himself, and worked 
in various places until 1869, when he settled in Woodbury county, Iowa. 

J\rne 19, 1860, he married Sarah E. Washburn, of Indiana, and to them 
have been born five children, as follows: Rosa A., Charles W., Ida M., 
Bertha A., and Fred M. On his farm he raises live-stock of all kinds, but 
makes a speciality of Poland China hogs. In politics he is a republican. 

Louis Gr. Deeome, one of the old settlers, and a general farmer and stock- 
raiser now residing on section nine, Lakeport township, was born in Canada, 
March 24, 1839, a son of Louis and Bachel (Bruguier) Derome. The father 
has retired from business and resides in Canada; both he and wife are of 
French descent and members of the Roman Catholic church. 

Louis G. was born in St. Paul, Canada, and was there reared. He re- 
ceived a classical education, and at the age of twenty-one years became a 
notary public, which vocation he filled for three years. In 1865 he came to 
Woodbury county, Iowa, and located with Mr. Bruguier, his uncle, where 
he remained for seven years, then purchased 120 acres of land where he now 
resides, and which he has all under a good state of cultivation. He makes 
a specialty of Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs. 

In 1872 Mr. Derome was united in marriage with Evelina Gadbois, of 
Canada, and to them have been born thirteen children, viz.: Joseph E., Al- 
cide J., Louis G., Mary A., Joseph A., Josephine M., Theophilus J., Rachel 
M., Arthur J., Mary E., Thomas J., Anna M. and Gustave L. The parents 
are both members of the Catholic church. In politics Mr. Derome is a dem- 
ocrat, and has been justice of the peace and a school director. He is a member 
of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Joseph Choquette, an old settler, general farmer and stock-raiser, now 
residing on section nine, Lakeport township, Woodbury county, was born in 
Montreal, Canada, March 23, 1843, a son of Joseph and Thaiss (Lapointa) 
Choquette. The father is still living and resides near Montreal, but the 
mother died in 1878; they are of French descent, and members of the 
Roman Catholic church. 

Our subject was born and reared on a farm in Canada, and received a 
common-school education. He resided with his parents until seventeen 



826 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

years of age, when he started out in life for himself, going first to Montreal, 
where he clerked in a store for one year, then went to Vermont and attended 
an academy one year, after which he returned to Canada and located in 
Belocil, and engaged in a general store and kept a telegraph office for some 
time, altogether residing there six years. In 1871 he came to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, and purchased forty acres of land, and has since added 480 
acres, making in all 520 acres, all of which is under a good state of cultiva- 
tion, with the exception of 100 acres in timber. 

Mr. Choquette was united in marriage with Malvina Hubert, of Salix, 
Iowa, January 10, 1874, and to them have been born eight children, viz: 
Claophis, Borneo, Malvina, Albert, Philip, Joseph, Ernest and Olympia. 
Both he and wife are members of the Catholic church. In politics he casts 
his suffrage with the democratic party. 

Morris Joel Bogers, Oto, is a son of Joel and Eliza (Eals) Sogers, the 
former a native of New York state, and the latter from Kentucky, both de- 
ceased. Our subject was born on January 4, 1820, in the state of New 
York, and attended public school and helped his father on his farm until 
1844, when he left home, and after traveling from one place to another, 
finally located in Oto township, Woodbury county, Iowa, in 1856, and has 
remained here since. 

October 13, 1844, he married Charlotte Livermore, of New York state. 
Seven children blessed this union, three of whom are still living. Mr. 
Bogers has taken an active part in political affairs, and has held such offices 
as justice of the peace, on the democratic ticket. He is a Congregationalist. 

George Foster Waterman, M. D., was born in New York state, October 
21, 1836. He is a son of James and Bachel (Baynett) Waterman, the 
former of Providence, B. I., and the latter of Pennsylvania. He is the 
eldest of fourteen children, eleven of whom are still alive. In 1858 he went 
to Glenwood, Iowa, and taught school. In 1862 he was admitted to the bar 
and practiced law in the same place. He subsequently graduated from the 
St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons, and in 1882 came to Iowa 
and located at Oto, where he now has a large practice. 

He was first married to Eliza Ann Burkett, a native of Pennsylvania, 
who soon died. He then married Elizabeth Eliza Bradley, a widow, and had 
three children by this marriage. Dr. Waterman acted as coroner during the 
renowned Haddock murder case. He is a regular attendant of the Congre- 
gational church, and in politics votes the republican ticket. 

William Harrison Adams, farmer and stockman, Smithland, is a son of 
Elijah and Bacon (Button) Adams, among the oldest settlers of Woodbury 
county. Elijah Adams was born in Nicholas county, Ky., June 15, 1814, and 
after traveling from one place to another he finally located on 640 acres 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 827 

in Oto township, in 1856, and there he remained till his death, September 
22, 1889. 

Our subject was born in Boone county, Ind., December 11, 1843. His 
early life was spent with his parents, helping them on the farm in summer 
and attending school in winter. In 1864 he came to Iowa, where he was 
married to Helen Josephine Smith, daughter of the first settler in the county. 
Two children blessed this union. Mr. Adams is county supervisor and 
school treasurer. He votes the democratic ticket. 

A. L. Wilkinson, farmer, Danbury, is a son of William and Jane (Guthrie) 
Wilkinson, of English and German descent, respectively. The father was in 
the war of 1812, under Gen. Trimble. A. L. Wilkinson was born in Sanga- 
mon county, 111., July 2, 1840. Two years later his parents moved to Jo 
Daviess county, and here the subject of this article remained until he was 
nineteen years of age, when he started out to make his own living, having only 
the advantages afforded by the common schools. In the same year he went 
across the plains, and back to Jo Daviess county, where he then remained 
until 1869, when he moved to Stephenson county, and went into the agricult- 
ural implement business, but this not proving successful, he sold out and 
went to Boone county, Iowa, in 1875, and located on a farm, where he re- 
mained until 1879. In that year he came to Danbury and opened up a new 
farm, on which he still resides. 

Among the enterprises in which Mr. Wilkinson has taken an active part, 
is the establishment in 1889, of the Danbury State bank, of which he is sec- 
retary and a director. Having had this object in view for a number of years, 
he worked earnestly for its accomplishment. 

In February, 1S63, he married Myra, daughter of William and Hannah 
Leet, both Americans, and who ended their days in Illinois, as did Mr. Wil- 
kinson's parents. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson, two 
are living, George and J. Estey; those deceased are Norman, who died in 
Lisbon, Iowa, while en route to Freeport, 111., for better medical aid, in No- 
vember, 1879, at the age of fourteen years; Sherman, at the age of twenty 
months, and Theron, at two years of age. Mr. Wilkinson has been county 
commissioner, town treasurer, and justice of the peace. In religion, he is in 
sympathy with all denominations; in politics, a republican. 

Allen Clingenpeel, retired farmer, Danbury, was born in Preble county, 
Ohio, in 1822, the son of George and Elizabeth (Haileck) Clingenpeel, both 
of German descent. In 183S he went to Indiana, where he lived on a farm 
until 1874, when he moved to Iowa and located in the Maple valley, where 
he has since conducted a farm and mill. In 1888 he retired from active 
business and came to Danbury. 

In 1846 he married Sarah, daughter of James and Annie Curry, and they 



828 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

have been blessed with six children, five of whom are still living, namely: 
George W., married and farming; Annie, married Peter Moore; Mary, de- 
ceased; James, married and farming; John, who is a miller, also married; 
and William, the last child, is a farmer and married, all the children having 
married and gone to work for themselves. Mr. Clingenpeel is a member of 
the Campbellite church, and in politics is a democrat. 

Aaeon W. Hebbington, farmer and stock- raiser, Danbury, was born in 
Luzerne county, Pa., in 1837, came to Illinois with his parents in 1844, and 
remained there engaged in farming in Ogle and Lee counties for thirty-nine 
years, having started to work for himself at the age of twenty-three. In 
1862 he enlisted in Company H, Ninety-second Illinois infantry, and served 
under Capt. Nelson and Gen. Sherman; was in the army of the Cumberland, 
and in several battles, among them being Chickamauga and Lookout Mount- 
ain, besides being in Sherman's march to the sea. He was mustered out at 
Concord, and returned to Illinois, where he worked on a farm until 1878, 
when he came to Iowa and located on the farm where he now resides. His 
parents, who were probably French, are both dead. 

November 11, 1860, he married Eleanor N, daughter of Joseph and 
Catherine Eakle, both of German descent, and they have eight children: 
Cora F., Isabella M., Frank E., George E., Katie L., Clarence C, Alice P. 
and Albert W. Isabella married Bert Eathbun, and lives at Ida Grove, and 
Cora married William Brady. Mr. Herrington owns 160 acres of land, 
which is all under cultivation, and upon which is a fine new school-house. 
He is a member of the Evangelical church. Frank and George are members 
of the Sons of Veterans. 

C. F. Seibold, merchant, Danbury, is a son of W. F. Seibold, who was 
born at Stuttgart, Germany, March 31, 1839, and in 1855 came to Peoria, 
111, and worked on a farm. Subsequently W. F. Seibold worked two years 
and a half at the harness trade in that place, and then engaged in the grain 
business. In 1882 he came to Danbury, and dealt in lumber and grain, 
which business he has since followed. He was married in 1863 to Elizabeth, 
daughter of Jacob and Emma Krise, of German descent, and has sis children: 
Charles F., Fred, Emma, George, Edward and Harry. 

Charles F. Seibold was married in December, 1888, to Carry Ostrom, 
and they have one child, Dellie Hope. In his religious views he is in sym- 
pathy with the Lutheran church, and a member of the Masonic order. He 
and his brother Fred are engaged in the general merchandise business, 
which they entered in 1886. They both received their education at Chats- 
worth and Chicago, 111. 

Godfeey Duest was bom in Rueti, Canton Zurich, Switzerland, January 
31, 1847. His parents, Melchior and Bosina (Schiesser) Durst, were natives 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 829 

of Canton Grlarus. The mother died in Switzerland, and the father followed 
his son to America in 1868. Godfrey Durst was reared on a farm and at- 
tended school till seventeen years old. In 1866 he came to this country and 
located at New Glarus, Wis., where he took up milling. 

In 1870 he came to Oto, Woodbury county, Iowa, where he operated a 
mill, in which he owned a half interest, for two years. In 1873, in company 
with his brothers, he built the Battle Creek mill, but soon sold out his inter- 
est. He again secured an interest in the Oto mill, but in 1879 sold out, and 
built his present mill at Danbury, which is said to be the best mill in the 
interior of the state. It has a capacity of 150 barrels per day, and is oper- 
ated with power furnished by the Maple river. 

Mr. Durst is a member of the Masonic order, and a democrat. He holds 
Zwinglyanistic (so called after one of Switzerland's reformers, Zwingly) 
views on matters pertaining to theology. He has served as school director 
and township trustee and clerk. In 1876 he married Orient, daughter of 
Henry and Elizabeth Dicus, of Ohio. Mr. Durst's children are named, in 
order of birth, as follows: Rosa, Erne and Godfrey. 

Rev. Timothy Meaghek, who has faithfully served the Roman Catholic 
church in northwestern Iowa, has resided at Danbury since 1883, and is justly 
entitled to a notice in this connection. Regardless of religious beliefs and 
nationality, it is a common saying in the vicinity in which Father Meagher lives, 
that all are his personal friends. Like many another of his fellow countrymen, 
he not only possesses a large degree of good nature and kindheartedness, but 
he is also a thorough scholar, a devoted Christian and a strong factor in the 
church of his choice. America is proud of the many sons of Erin, who have 
come to our shores full of heart and intellect, with a determination to accom- 
plish something, not for themselves alone, but for the good of mankind. In 
time of war, this country appreciated the skill, bravery and loyalty of the 
Irish people. It has not been forgotten that scores of union army officers, 
whose names and deeds of heroism adorn the pages of military history from 
1861 to 1865, were sons of the Emerald Isle. What is true of military chief- 
tains is true of the great leaders of the church — they are ever earnest, ever 
loyal to the best interests of all that is moral, religious and educational. 

The man of whom we write — Father Meagher — was born at Brambles- 
town, county Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1855. He lived in the place of his birth 
until he came to Danbury, Iowa, in 1883. He received his education at St. 
Kierans college, Ireland. Upon coming to Danbury, he took charge of part 
of the seven northwestern counties of Iowa. At present, his work is confined 
chiefly to the parishes at Danbury and Oto. Of his parentage, it should be 
said that his father was Daniel Meagher, who was married to Ellen Delaney, 
both of whom were born, lived and died in Ireland. The family they reared 



830 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

consisted of eight children — five daughters and three sons. His brother Pat- 
rick and sister Margaret came to America. The latter became the wife of 
James Walker, who now resides in Sioux City. 

Considering the short time our subject has lived and labored in this 
country, together with his age, there are but few who have been instrumental 
in upbuilding the interests of the great church to the extent that he has. 
Future generations shall feel the effect of the corner-stones placed by the 
hands of this truly good man, for whom nature and education have done 
much. 

Patrick Collins, hotel-keeper, Danbury, was born in the parish of 
Bartholomew, county Cork, Ireland, July 8, 1831. His grandfather, Dennis 
Collins, was born in the same locality, as were his parents, John and Cath- 
arine (Curtin) Collins. In 1844 John Collins immigrated with his family to 
America, and settled at Fort Covington, Franklin county, N. Y., where he 
engaged in the occupation of his fathers — farming. In 1852 he removed to 
Dubuque, this state, where he died two years later at the age of fifty-seven. 
His widow still survives, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Jeff. Daly, in 
Oto, Woodbury county. 

Patrick Collins was the second of twelve children, and received a fair 
education. In 1860 he visited this county, going on foot from Council 
Bluffs to Sioux City, and thence to Waterloo. In 1863 he settled on sec- 
tion two, Oto township, where he owns 200 acres, and engaged in farming 
till 1885. He bought the Commercial hotel at Danbury in that year, and 
moved in November, and has conducted that house ever since. He is a lead- 
ing member of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church, and the A. O. H. Po- 
litically he is a stanch republican, and has been a member of the town 
council three years. While in Oto he served as township trustee and school 
director. 

February 17, 1857, he married Anna McKenna, a native of Fermanagh 
Parish, county Fermanagh, Ireland. Their children are John, Mary, Pat- 
rick Henry, Margaret Ellen and Susan Honore. The last is the wife of 
Michael O'Gorman, of Norden, Neb. 

Josh. H. Humphreys, farmer, Battle Creek, was born at Ogdensburg, N. 
Y., September 11, 1841. At the age of five years he was taken to London, 
Canada, and in 1S55 he went to Detroit, Mich. He received part of his edu- 
cation in Canada and part in Michigan. He also was in the United States 
secret service for three years. In 1865 he began teaching, and taught for 
twenty-four years in the states of Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Iowa; was 
principal of the Wayne schools, Michigan. He came to Iowa in 1880 and 
located on a farm where he still .remains. His father, John, died at the age 
of one hundred and five years, and his grandfather, John, lived to the age of 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 831 

one hundred and seven years, while his mother, Jane (Warren) Humphreys, 
still lives. His father was an English seaman, and of Welsh descent. 

Our subject was married in 1870, to Emma A., daughter of Valentine A. 
and Sophia (Taft) Lake, of American birth. They have three children: 
Frederick L., Minnie N. and Frank W. He is a member of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church and of the Masonic fraternity. In politics he is a 
republican. 

Nathaniel Edgae, farmer, Smithland, was born in Columbia county, Pa., 
October 21, 1821, and is the eldest of fourteen children born to Moses and 
Mary Edgar. Of this large family four are now known to be living. Na- 
thaniel, father of Moses Edgar, was a native of England, but bore many 
scars received in the struggle for American independence. Frederick Win- 
ner, father of Mary Edgar, was of German birth. 

He, whose name heads this sketch, was reared in Northumberland county, 
Pa., at a time when there were no free schools there, and is wholly self-edu- 
cated. He is recognized as a well informed and valuable citizen. In 1844 
he married Eliza Hill, a native of Northumberland county, daughter of 
Daniel and Margaret Hill, of English and German descent, respectively. 
In 1845, with their first-born, and the father of Mrs. Edgar, who died on the 
way, they set out with teams for Wisconsin. After two months' travel, they 
arrived in Green county, Wis., and located near Albany, where Mr. Edgar 
was engaged in farming operations until 1865, when he removed to Iowa. 
After two years' residence at Smithland he bought a farm near by in Monona 
county, which he tilled twelve years. 

Since 1879 he has lived in Little Sioux township, the last six years being 
in Smithland, and has owned various properties. He is a supporter of 
churches and a republican in politics. Following are the names and location 
of his children: Charles, Charlotte (Mrs. J. C. Buthroff), Luke J., Emma 
Jane (wife of T. B. Harris), Smithland; William H and Ida May (Mrs. J. H. 
Belden), Eodney, Monona county, Iowa. 

Daniel Pomeroy Billings, clergyman, Smithland, has been for over 
thirty years identified with religious work in and near Woodbury county. 
He is a son of Daniel and Sally (Stewart) Billings, and was born in North- 
ampton, Mass., in 1830. His ancestors were German, and were kin to the 
Guelph family, the present royal family of England. Their first settlement 
in this county was in Vermont, and Barnabas Billings, grandfather of our 
subject, removed in early life from Hardwick, in that state, to Northfield, 
Mass., where Daniel, his son, was born. 

Our subject received his early education in the academy at West Brat- 
tleboro, Vt., and finished at Troy Collegiate institute, Charlotteville, N. Y. 
In the spring of 1857 he removed to Iowa, arriving in Sioux City in April. 



832 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Two years later he began preaching in the Methodist Episcopal church, his 
first charge being at Smithland. He was twice subsequently returned by the 
conference to the same charge, and has also ministered at Algona, Alden, Sac 
City, Correctionville, Sloan and Charter Oak, having organized the work at 
the latter place. Being possessed of a farm near Smithland, that became 
his permanent abode, and not being able to accept some of the ideas main- 
tained by his brethren, he withdrew from their communion, and is now 
preaching to three Congregational societies : at Oto, Climbing Hill and Red- 
ing district, south of Correctionville. 

Mr. Billings is earnest and zealous in his work, and has refused some 
flattering financial offers, because he preferred to continue his work here. 
Politically he has always sustained the republican party. He was married 
at Smithland, October 7, 1859, to Mary Ann Van Zandt, a native of Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, and daughter of Jacob and Sarah Van Zandt, of German descent. 
Three children blessed this union, the eldest, Walter Pomeroy, being born 
at Alden, Hardin county, and the others, Ben Kirk and Nellie Mary Edith, 
at Smithland. The second died at the age of eleven years. 

Dr. Charles Ashwoeth, Smithland, was born in Northfield, Vt., May 21, 
1823, the son of Robert andRosina (Bishop) Ash worth. His father was born 
in Lancashire, England, in 1794, was a manufacturer of woolen goods, and 
was the father of six children, two of whom are still living. 

Dr. Charles Ash worth was reared in Northfield, Vt,, until he was ten years 
old, at which time his parents removed to Worcester, Mass., where he lived 
many years, engaged in different kinds of business. In 1846 he went to 
Manchester, N. H, where he spent two years, one of these years engaged in 
the study of medicine, in the office of Dr. W. W. Brown, then a leading phy- 
sician in Manchester. From Manchester he removed to Chicago, where he 
commenced the practice of medicine. He afterward took the three years' 
course in the Chicago Medical college, and graduated from that school in 
1869. In the great Chicago fire of 1871, he lost very heavily. 

In 1876 he removed to Fort Worth, Tex., where he established a good 
practice in his profession, and had the honor of being elected president of 
the Tarrant County Medical Society, and also president of the Northwest 
Texas Medical and Surgical Society. In consequence of failing health, the 
Doctor removed to Smithland, Iowa, in 1881, where he married Elizabeth 
Sheldon Scribner, a native of Sheldon, Franklin county, Vt. He is a repub- 
lican in politics, and is now (1890) mayor of Smithland, and president of the 
school board. 

John Rawlings, miller, Smithland, is an Englishman, having been born 
in Cornwall, England, January 9, 1839. He is the son of John and Mary 
(Tamlin) Rawlings, and is next to the youngest of their children. He came 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 833 

to America with his father in 1850, and located in Racine county, Wis., 
where they remained two years, farming. They then removed to Grant 
county, Wis. , where they remained eight years, and there the father died, in 
Platteville, in 1864. 

March 5, 1862, our subject married Margaret Tarary, in Platteville, Grant 
county, Wis., his wife's birthplace. They settled in Nevada, where they re- 
mained until 1866, when they moved to Monona county, Iowa, where they 
lived for five years, moving to Smithland in 1871, where they are now located. 
He is the father of seven children — all girls — and all of whom are living, 
three of them being married. In political matters he is a stanch democrat. 
He has been trustee of the township for the past thirteen years, and is quite 
prominent in business circles. 

Henry Harvey Hill, stock-breeder, Smithland, was born in Manchester, 
N. H, April 14, 1841, and is a son of Simon B. and Mary Hill, natives of 
Mt. Vernon and Manchester, N. H, respectively. John Hill, grandfather of 
Henry, dwelt in New Hampshire, and was a Revolutionary soldier, as was 
also Jonas Harvey, his maternal grandfather. Sir John Harvey, the father 
of Jonas, was one of the first settlers at Manchester, and his English lineage 
is made plain by his name and title. Simon B. Hill served through the 
Mexican and Civil wars, and is now living, at the age of eighty-three years 
(1890). He was a locomotive builder, and is now depot master at Spring 
street station, West Roxbury, on the Providence railroad. The father of John 
Hill was of Scotch and French extraction. The time of his settlement in 
New Hampshire is unknown. 

Henry H. Hill was educated in the Manchester schools. When nine years 
old, he left home, and worked several years for a farmer, for his board and 
winter's schooling. His first wages was six dollars per month. For more 
than twenty-five years, beginning at the age of fourteen, he was employed 
by a lumber dealer at Manchester, having charge of the yards and mills for 
many years. In 1881, while filling the place of an absent man, he had all 
the fingers of his right hand severed by a saw. In 1884 he came to Iowa 
and purchased a farm near Smithland, which he tilled two years, and has 
since sold. 

Since 1886 he has dwelt in the village of Smithland, and devotes much 
attention to the breeding of registered Berkshire, Poland and Victoria swine. 
April 22, 1861, Mr. Hill enlisted in Company C, Second New Hampshire in- 
fantry volunteers, and served four years and nine months as a soldier. He 
took part in the battles of Bull Run, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, 
Bermuda Hundred, Second Bull Run, South Mountain and Gettysburg. He 
was three times wounded, being shot in the foot at the first battle, through 
the hips at Second Bull Run, and through the left hand, crippling that mem- 



834 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ber, at Williamsburg. On account of his hip wounds, he was unable to 
march, and was transferred to the invalid corps, with which he remained till 
the close of the war. Mr. Hill takes an active interest in politics, working 
with the republicans, and March 2, 1891, was elected mayor of Smithland. 
He served five years in New Hampshire as selectman, and was four years in 
the city council of Manchester. In religions views he is a Methodist. 

He has been twice married, first in 1869, to Betsey Matterson, who died 
in 1873, leaving two children, Leora and George Washington, and in June, 
1880, to Helen Aldrich, who bore him a son, Bertie. Mrs. Hill is a daughter 
of Liberty and Helen Maria (Barse) Aldrich, of Vermont, and was born in 
Troy, that state. Liberty Aldrich served nearly a year during the Civil war, 
in a Vermont regiment, and is now deceased. 

Isaac Pridgeon, farmer, Oto, is the eldest of the seven children of Rich- 
ard and Elizabeth (Wiett) Pridgeon, of Lancashire, England, now deceased. 
Here our subject was born October 24, 1824, and, when old enough, worked 
with his parents, farming until August 5, 1856, when he sailed on the Isaac 
Bell for America, landing at New York. September 6 he went to Canada, 
and followed brick-laying until the war, when he enlisted in the Twenty- 
third Illinois regiment under Col. Mulligan. He was at the battle of Cedar 
Creek, and several skirmishes. After the close of the war he went to Illi- 
nois, remaining there until 1867, when he came to Miller township, Wood- 
bury county. 

Mr. Pridgeon married Nancy A. Wilcox, and of their fourteen children 
eleven are still living. Mr. Pridgeon holds the position of road supervisor, 
and votes the republican ticket. 

James Scott Miller, farmer, Oto, was born in Tippecanoe county, Ind., 
January 4, 1830. His education was sadly neglected. In 1837 he came to 
Clinton, Iowa, but remained only a short time and then went to Illinois in 1839. 
He returned to Iowa, and after shifting from one county to another, he finally 
located on his present place in Miller township, in 1855, being one of the first 
settlers in this county, and has many interesting experiences to tell of the 
early settlement. 

He was married to Ellen Collins, a native of Ireland, in 1853. Fifteen 
children blessed this union, thirteen of whom are still living. His parents, 
Samuel and Margaret (Scott) Miller, are Americans by birth, the former born 
in Indiana, and the latter in Ohio; both are deceased. Mr. Miller is not a 
believer in religion, in politics he votes the republican ticket. 

George Petek Hiller, retired farmer, Anthon, was born in Germany, April 
25, 1820, a son of Nicholas and Helen (Miller) Hiller, of Germany. In 1836 
he came to America, and landed in New York city June 19, and worked at the 
shoemaker's trade there till September 15, 1837, when he went to Ohio, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 835 

where he followed his trade for eight years. He went to St. Louis in 1844, 
where he followed his trade for a short time, then, in 1845, came to Iowa, 
and located in Dubuque. May 20, 1871, he moved to Woodbury county, 
where he was engaged in farming. 

April 25, 1848, he married Elizabeth McNear, and six children blessed 
their union. Mr. Hiller is a man of good intellect and judgment; while not 
radical in politics, he will take either side and argue with any man, and is 
considered well posted on the vital questions of the day. He attends the 
Catholic church. 

Edwik Hall, farmer, Anthon, was born at what was formerly called 
Hanford's Landing, where Rochester, N. Y., now is, August 27, 1833. In 
1853 he came west to Chicago, and worked at the carpenter's trade until 
1857. He came to Humboldt county, Iowa, in 1858, remaining there only 
until the fall of the same year, when he came to Woodbury county, in the 
Little Sioux valley. He built a saw-mill, the first water-mill in the county, 
and lived on the ground which is now called Oto, till 1866, when he located 
where he now is, in Miller township. 

April 15, 1865, he married Sally Livermore, and six children have been 
born to this union, two of whom are dead. Mr. Hall was one of the first set- 
ters in the county, and tells many experiences of pioneer life. In politics he 
is an independent. His parents, who were American-born people, were 
Nathaniel and Lucy (Walker) Hall, of Vermont, both of whom are now de- 
ceased. 

Charles J. Holman, senior member of the firm of C. J. Holman & Bro., 
dealers in general merchandise, live-stock, also manufacturers of Sergeant's 
Bluff brick, is a son of William P. and Louise B. (Grant) Holman, and was 
born in Vermont, March 1, 1840. His parents removed to Rockville, Tolland 
county, Conn., when he was but eighteen months old, and he lived with them 
there until he was sixteen years old, and attended the high school there. He 
then came to Woodbury county, where his parents moved in March, 1856. 

In the spring of 1858, he, in company with others, went in the interest of 
his father, to speculate in town sites in Dakota, and took a claim of 320 acres 
where the town of Yankton now stands. In October of that year the Indians 
burned their cabin and drove them across the river. He returned home, but 
in the next year he started with his uncle for Pike's Peak overland. They 
reached Omaha safely, but there they met so many returning from their 
objective point, that they gave up the trip and went to Kansas City, where 
they remained until the spring of 1860. They then went up the Arkansas 
river, making their way to the mines at South Park, Colo. From there they 
went to the Blue River mines, and were engaged in mining for three seasons 
at Gold Run, French Gulch and Delaware Flats. In the fall of 1862 he 



836 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

returned home, making the trip overland. The following sjDring he filled a 
wagon with provisions at Council Bluffs, and started for the mines with a 
team of oxen. The trip took him twenty-three days, but he sold his load of 
provisions and returned for another, continuing this business the entire 
season. 

During his trips he had several narrow escapes from the Indians, having 
to corral his teams and wagons, and drive them off at times. In the winter 
of 1864 he took a load of fresh pork overland from Council Bluffs to Denver, 
and in returning experienced some very cold weather, having to sleep in his 
wagon. In 1865 he started farming, living with his father at Sergeant's 
Bluff, but the grasshoppers took his entire crop, so the following spring he 
engaged in the cattle business with his father, which they have continued 
ever since. In 1868 he erected a small store building and put in a stock of 
general merchandise, the first day's receipts being but $1.55. In 1870 he 
formed a partnership with his brother, Albert, and in 1872 they built the 
large brick store they now occupy. 

In 1867 he commenced to manufacture bricks, and has continued that 
business ever since, the business having increased to such an extent that it 
requires his entire attention, and gives employment to from forty to fifty 
men. Besides making some tiling, they turn out 5,000,000 brick annually, 
shipping to all stations within a radius of 200 miles. Mr. Holman has been 
identified with the county since its earliest history, and has done much to aid 
its growth from wild prairie land to its present state of prosperity. The 
Holmans own about 1,000 acres of land, and have handled and sold over 
6,000 acres. 

In 1872, at Cedarville, N. Y., he married Meda E. Cole, who died in 
1874, leaving one child, a daughter, Clara, who died at the age of nine years. 
In 1879 he married again, his second wife being Kittie M. Carpenter, of 
Bridgewater, N. Y., who has borne him four children: Arthur P. (deceased), 
Alice M., Clarence J. and Helen J. He and his wife are both members of 
the Congregational church. In politics he is a republican, having voted that 
party's ticket since casting his first vote, which was for Abraham Lincoln. 

Lafayette Fostee, farmer, P. O. Sergeant's Bluff, is one of the oldest 
settlers in Woodbury county. He resides on section five, Liberty township, 
and was born in Litchfield county, Conn., July 23, 1824, a son of Albert and 
Clarissa (Maxson) Foster, the father a native of Massachusetts and the mother 
a native of Rhode Island. His great-grandfather was born in Scotland. 
His father was a farmer, and was engaged at that occupation until his death, 
which occurred in New York about 1875, his wife preceding him one year; 
both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Lafayette Foster moved from Connecticut to New York with his parents, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 837 

and located in Columbia county, N. Y. He received his education at the 
academy at Homer, Cortland county, N. Y. He continued to reside with his 
parents on the farm until 1864, when he came west with seventy families to 
Dakota, where he remained until September, 1864, when he came to Wood- 
bury county, and purchased forty acres of land in Woodbury township. He 
worked the land in summer, and taught school in Sergeant's Bluff and 
vicinity several years. He remained there until 1871, when he purchased 
120 acres of land where he now resides, which he has succeeded in getting 
under a good state of cultivation, and here he raises a general crop of farm 
produce, and gives considerable attention to live stock, such as Holstein cat- 
tle, Berkshire hogs and good horses. 

When he came to Liberty township there were about three settlers here. 
He has witnessed all the improvements in the county from its infancy, and 
the entire growth of Sioux City. Politically he is a democrat, and has held 
all the offices of the township. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. 
September 23, 1830, he married Sarah J. Ripley, of New York, and they 
have three children: Albro, Emma and Ernest. Mr. and Mrs. Foster are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

James C. Cdheiee, banker, Salix, the senior member of the firm of Cur- 
rier & Sons, also a farmer and stock-raiser in section two, Lakeport township, 
was born in Thompson, Orange county, Vt., May 2, 1830, and is a son of 
Moses and Mary (Carter) Currier, both natives of New Hampshire. Moses 
Currier was a farmer in Orange county, Vt., until his death, in 1845; his 
wife lived until about the year 1875, when she died, aged eighty-eight 
years, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

James C. was born and reared on a farm in Vermont. At the death of 
his father he started to learn the carpenter's trade, which he followed about 
twenty years, thirteen years of which he carried on business in Northampton, 
Mass. The last contract he took was to build the Memorial Hall at North- 
ampton, at a cost of $60,000. He then engaged in the mercantile trade at 
Pittsfield, Mass., for five years, and in 1878 came to Woodbury county, 
Iowa, and purchased 320 acres of land in Lakeport township. He has added 
to it since, and now owns 500 acres of land, all under a good state of 
cultivation. 

In 1886 he erected a building in Salix and engaged in the banking busi- 
ness. In 1887 he also engaged in the lumber business. Politically he is a 
republican, and has been township trustee about four years. Mr. Currier 
was married in 1853 to Sarah C. Harriman, and they have two children: 
Ethan B. and James W. Both he and wife are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

John B. Belfrage, farmer, Sergeant's Bluff, is a son of Robert and Ann 
(McLellan) Belfrage, natives of Scotland, but who lived in London, England, 



838 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

the latter part of their lives. Robert Belfrage was a cabinet- maker and up- 
holsterer, and had the contract for fitting up Buckingham Palace, the Queen's 
London residence, so moved to London, taking his wife with him. He died 
there November 5, 1846, and his wife remained near London until her death, 
which occurred January 23, 1869. Both were members of the Congrega- 
tional church. 

John B. Belfrage was born in Cairngorm, Scotland, June 16, 1837, and 
was only two years old when his parents moved to London. There he re- 
ceived his education at Maitland Park, also attending Christs Hospital college. 
He afterward engaged in surveying and the study of architecture, and drew 
the working plans of the Pompeian Court in the present Crystal Palace at Sy- 
denham, near London, England. July 14, 1855, he took passage for America, 
and went to nearly all the larger cities in the east, looking for employment 
in his line, working in various places until the breaking out of the war, 
when he enlisted for one hundred days in the Thirteenth Illinois volunteers, 
and afterward enlisted in the 105th Illinois infantry. He was in the battles 
of Shiloh, Resaca, Dallas, Cassville, Kenesaw Mountain, Culp's Farm, 
Golgotha Church, Ezra Church, New Hope Church, Peach Tree Creek, At- 
lanta, Lawtonville, Averysboro, and Bentonville. He was wounded at the 
battle of Shiloh. June 7, 1865, he was discharged, at Washington, D. C, 
and returned to Kane county, 111., where he was when he enlisted. 

In 1866 he went to Iowa county, Iowa., and was there eight years, farm- 
ing. He then went to Guthrie county, where he remained two years, and in 
1876 came to Woodbury county, and purchased 100 acres of land in section 
seventeen, Liberty township, where he has resided ever since. He was one 
of the early settlers here, and has held many of the township and county of- 
fices. He is secretary of the Soldiers Relief Commission, and was member 
of the legislature from Woodbury county in 1880. He is at present senior 
vice-commander of G A. R. Post, No. 22, (B. F. Smith), at Sioux City, a 
member of the Farmers' Alliance, and in politics a republican. 

November 21, 1865, he married Elizabeth J. Jones, of Kane county, 111., 
and they have six children: Anna S., Jennie A., Wilfred L., Evan M., Mary 
A. and Thomas L. 

Joseph Davis, an old settler and farmer now residing on section thirteen, 
Liberty township, was born in Adams county, Ohio, August 7, 1819, and is 
a son of William and Nancy (Zumalt) Davis. His father was engaged in 
farming in Polk county, Iowa, at the time of his death, which occurred in 
1875. His mother died in 1887; both parents were of Welsh descent and 
members of the Church of Christ. 

Joseph Davis was born in Adams county, Ohio, and received a common- 
school education in a log school-house in Rush county, Ind. He remained 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 839 

with his parents until twenty-four years of age, when he started out in life 
for himself. He went to Allen county, Ind., and engaged in farming, pur- 
chased 1 60 acres of land, and resided there about ten years. His next loca- 
tion was in Lucas county, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of land, 
having sold his farm in Indiana. He resided on this farm about nine years, 
then went to Madison county, Iowa, and resided there five years. 

In 1869 he came to Woodbury county and purchased 231 acres of land, 
where he now resides. Mr. Davis has seen this wild, uncultivated land trans- 
formed into fertile farms and comfortable homes, and has witnessed the in- 
troduction of the railroads, telegraphs, electric cars, and the growth of Sioux 
City from its infancy. Politically he is a democrat, and has held the office 
of school director. 

March 5, 1843, he was united in marriage with America Hood, of Indi- 
ana, and to them have been born seven children: Caroline, Arthur, Elias, 
Katherine, Parmelia, Emeline and McClellan. The parents are both mem- 
bers of the Church of Christ. Mr. Davis enlisted in the war in 1862, in 
Company G, Thirty-fourth Iowa infantry, and was honorably discharged in 
March, 1863, when he returned to his home in Lucas county, Iowa. 

Joseph B. Smith, one of the old settlers of Moville township, Woodbury 
county, and a farmer and stockman now residing on section nine, was born 
in Edgar county, 111., March 10, 1834. His parents, James and Artamesia 
(Edwards) Smith, were natives of Washington county Tenn., the former of 
English and the latter of Welsh and German descent. His father farmed in 
Illinois until his death, which occurred about 1876, while his mother lived 
until July 3, 1889; both were members of the Baptist church. 

Joseph B. was reared on a farm in Edgar county, 111., and received his 
education at the district schools. He resided at home until he was twenty- 
two years of age, when he went to farming in Clark county, 111., where he 
remained until 1879. He then moved to Woodbury county, Iowa, and pur- 
chased 200 acres of land, where he now resides, the land then being in a wild 
state. There were about thirteen families in the township when he came, 
and he has seen all the wild land transformed into fertile farms and com- 
fortable homes. He did his milling at Sioux City, twenty miles away, which 
then had but about 5,000 inhabitants. He has succeeded in getting 440 
acres of his land under a good state of cultivation and well improved. Polit- 
ically he is a democrat; is school treasurer, also trustee, while socially he is 
a member of the Masonic lodge. 

In 1859 he married Millie A. Ullery, of Clark county, 111., and they had 
three children: Calvin H, Amanda A. and Elizabeth B. The mother died 
January 7, 1866, and April 6, 1870, Mr. Smith married again, taking for his 
second wife, Sarah J. Lee, of Clark county, 111. They have five children: 
Era, Delia, Leona, Robert and Opal Ola. 



840 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Alonzo Depee, farmer, Sioux City, was born in Vigo county, Ind., June 
20, 1836, and is a son of Morgan and Delilah Depee, the former of French 
and the latter of English descent. He received his education in the common 
schools of Fayette township, Vigo county. In 1856, when but nineteen years 
of age, he left home, settling in Eichland county, Wis., where he purchased 
a large farm and worked it until the spring of 1869. He then sold his prop- 
erty and came to Iowa, locating in Concord township, Woodbury county, 
where he now resides. 

He married Lucinda Jane, daughter of Lemuel and Martha Joseph, No- 
vember 11, 1860. He enlisted in Company A, Forty-sixth Wisconsin volunteer 
infantry, February 11, 1865, and received his discharge in October of the same 
year. Mr. Depee is numbered among the leading farmers and most pro- 
gressive citizens of Woodbury county. He supports the democratic party, is 
a strong prohibitionist, and is a member of the Baptist church. 

Joseph Vaelet, the first butcher in Moville, now engaged in general 
merchandising there, was bom in England in 1839, and is a son of James 
and Eliza (Grillard) Varley, both natives of England. His father died there 
about the year 1870, and his mother about 1860. Joseph lived in England 
until he was twenty-eight years of age. He received his education in the 
common schools, and worked under his father as a weaver of fine cloths until 
he was twenty-one years of age. He was then employed as foreman, which 
position he held until 1867, when he came to America and located in Dale 
City, Guthrie county, Iowa, where he acted as foreman in a woolen factory 
for eleven years. From there he went to Audubon county, Iowa, and pur- 
chased a farm, where he resided four years. 

In 1882 he came to Woodbury county, and purchased a farm in Arlington 
township, and farmed until May, 1887, when he rented his farm and moved 
to Moville, and opened the first meat market there, which he continued six 
months, then went into the grocery trade, which he has continued ever since, 
now carrying a stock of general merchandise under the firm name of Varley 
& Son. Politically he is a democrat, and has held the position of school 
director. 

In 1860 he married Susan Scott, of England, and they have three chil- 
dren: Eliza H., Samuel L. and John W. Mr. and Mrs. Varley are members 
of the United Brethren church. 

Chbistophek A. Beaed, now running a meat market in partnership with 
E. E. Paris, at Moville, was born in Jackson county, Iowa, in 1852. He is a 
son of Edward and Elizabeth (Armitage) Beard, the father a native of Mary- 
land, of German descent, while the mother was born in Ohio, and is of Ger- 
man and English descent. His father was farming in Clinton county, Iowa, 
at the time of his death, which occurred in 1880. His mother is still living, 
and resides on the old homestead in Clinton county. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 841 

C. A. Beard was born and reared on a farm, receiving his early education 
in the district schools. He continued to reside at home until he was twenty- 
one years old, during which time he, engaged in teaching school in the winter 
time. He went to Elwood, Clinton county, and bought live stock and grain 
there until 1S82, when he went to Cedar county and farmed until the spring 
of 1887, when he came to Woodbury county, and located in Sioux City, but 
in the fall of the same year, he came to Moville and opened a meat market, 
which he has continued ever since. Politically he is a democrat. 

In the spring of 1S90 he was elected mayor of Moville. He has been 
constable two years, and was a member of the council in 1889. Socially he 
is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders. In 1878 Mr. Beard 
was married to Roseltha Elwood, of Jackson county, Iowa, and this union has 
been blessed with three children : Edith, Esther and Herbert. 

B. E. Boyd, manager of the Alliance store, and postmaster at Moville, 
Woodbury county, was born in Susquehanna county, Pa., in 1855, and is a 
son of John H. and Sarah A. (Tooker) Boyd. The father was a native 
of New York, of Scotch -Irish descent, the mother a native of Pennsylvania, 
of English and German descent. His father's occupation was that of a 
farmer, at which he was engaged in Crawford county, Wis., when he enlisted 
in Company H, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin volunteers. He served until March, 
1864, when he died, at City Point, Va., from chronic diarrhoea. His wife is 
still living, and resides at Westfleld, Plymouth county, Iowa, and is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Barton E. Boyd was born and reared on a farm, until he was six years of 
age. He received a common-school education, and at the age of sixteen years 
came to Sioux City, and secured a place in the dry goods store of E. R. Kirk, 
where he remained about eighteen months. In 1877 he went to Smithland, 
Woodbury county, and clerked three years. He then went into the mercan- 
tile business for himself, which he continued until 1880. He then came to 
the old town of Moville, and was in the mercantile business, besides being 
postmaster for three years. He then sold out, and farmed in Monona county, 
Iowa, two years. In 1887 he came to what is now Moville, and opened the 
first store, where he continued in business until June, 1890, when he sold 
out to the Farmers' Alliance, and has since managed the stock for them. 
Politically, he is a republican. November 20, 1889, he was appointed post- 
master; he was one of the first councilmen of Moville. 

July 14, 1879, he married Tabitha L. Fox, of Smithland, Iowa, and they 
have four children: Ethelyn B., Beatrice E., William E. and Zermah Gr. 
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are members of the Congregational church, and Mr. 
Boyd is a member of the I. O. O. F. 

John W. Davis, an old settler, farmer and stock- raiser, was born in Ohio, 



842 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

April 10, 1821. He is a son of Jeremiah and Patience (Ware) Davis, both 
of whom are deceased. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, and was 
engaged in farming in Ohio at the time of his death. The mother was a 
native of New Jersey, and a member of the Methodist church. 

John W. Davis was born on a farm in Ohio, and received a common- 
school education. He resided with his parents until twenty-three years of 
age, when he started out for himself. In 1869 he came to Madison county, 
Iowa, and engaged in farming there until he came to Woodbury county in 
1876, and purchased a farm of 160 acres of land in section twelve, Arling- 
ton township, on which he now resides. In 1864 he enlisted in Company H, 
Forty-seventh Ohio infantry, and participated in Sherman's march to the 
sea, the battles of Atlanta, Bentonville and Columbia. He was honorably 
discharged May 29, 1865. 

He was twice married, his first wife being Rachel Johnson, by whom he 
had seven children: Caleb, Elizabeth A., Hiram, Charles, George, Lucy and 
Amanda. This wife dying in 1862, he married Nancy Armstrong, August 
30, 1864, and they have one child, Lawrence. His wife is a member of the 
Methodist church. Mr. Davis is a member of the G. A. R., in politics is a 
republican, and has held the office of president of the school board for five 
years. 

Elias Sheaffer, farmer, residing on section fourteen, Arlington township, 
was born in Pennsylvania, October 4, 1827, a son of Henry and Elizabeth 
(Albright) Sheaffer, both of whom are deceased. Henry Sheaffer was a 
farmer of Lancaster county, Pa., at the time of his death, and both he and 
wife were of Dutch descent. 

Elias Sheaffer was born on a farm, and did not have the advantage of 
schooling, and therefore did not get a literary education. He resided with 
his parents until he was eight years of age, and then was put out among 
strangers, with whom he resided until fifteen years old, when he went to 
Perry county, Pa., and resided there with an uncle until twenty-two years 
of age. He then went to Darke county, Ohio, and engaged in farming for 
six years, at the expiration of which time he enlisted in the army, Company 
E, Fortieth Ohio infantry, and participated in the battle of Peach Creek and 
others. He was honorably discharged in September, 1864, and returned to 
Darke county, Ohio, where he continued farming for eight years more. He 
then came to Madison county, Iowa, and resided eighteen months, and 
thence moved to Woodbury county in 1874, and purchased eighty acres of 
land in section fourteen, Arlington township, where he now resides. 

Mr. Sheaffer was married in 1850 to Mary Boyd, and they have eight 
children: Mary E., Sarah L., Annie L., Ellen, George H, Rhodie K., Jo- 
seph C. and Thomas J. Both he and wife are members of the United Breth- 
ren church, and Mr. Sheaffer votes the republican ticket. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 843 

Anderson T. Wright, an old settler and farmer, was born on the Tippe- 
canoe river, in Indiana, October 18, 1833, and is a son of Moses and Matilda 
(Barnes) Wright. His parents are both dead. The father was a native of 
Kentucky, and was engaged in farming for twenty-five years, and then went 
into the brick-making business, which he continued until his death. The 
mother was a native of Tennessee, and a member of the Methodist church. 

Anderson T. was born and reared on a farm in Indiana, and received his 
education in the common schools. He remained with his parents until 
twenty-one years of age, and then came to Iowa county and commenced 
farming, and resided there until 1870, when he came to Woodbury county, 
and located in Arlington township. He lived on that property until 1880, 
when he moved on section twenty, and remained there until 1890, when he 
located on section twenty-nine, his present home, where he has built him a 
fine house with all modern improvements, which is surrounded with forty 
acres of land in a good state of cultivation. Mr. Wright has held the office 
of school director, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Politically he 
is a republican. 

Mr. Wright was united in marriage with Martha Brown, but she died in 
1870, leaving four children: John, Charlie, Raphael and Arretta. He was 
again married in 1872, taking as his wife Rosie O'Connor, who bore him 
three children: Anderson T., Matilda and Enos. His second wife died in 
1887, and he married his third wife, Mary Smith, in 18SS, and they have one 
child, Edna. Mr. Wright came to this county when it was all wild prairie, 
and has shot the elk, deer and wolf, and has helped to cultivate a good share 
of this township. 

Robert J. Anderson, farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section thirty- 
five, Arlington township, was born in Canada, July 1, 1855, and is a son of 
William and Alice (Lieper) Anderson. The father was engaged in farming 
at the time of his death. The mother is still living and resides in Ontario, 
Canada. They were of Scotch descent, and both were members of the 
Presbyterian church. 

Robert J. was born and reared on a farm in Canada, and received a com- 
mon-school education there. He resided with his parents until fifteen years of 
age, when he left home and started out for himself. He first spent five 
years sailing on the lakes, after which he lived four years in Canada, engag- 
ing in lumbering; thence he went to Minnesota, where he was engaged in 
lumbering six years. He came to Woodbury county in 1886 and commenced 
farming, purchasing 160 acres of land where he now resides. He aims to 
keep a good grade of stock, and the farm is also under a good state of culti- 
vation. Politically he is a republican. In 188S he was united in marriage 
with Nellie Irish, and they have two children: Addie C. and Robert J. 



844 HISTOKY OP WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

William H. Bakto, banker, Moville, is interested in the Farmers' bank, 
in connection with E. M. McCarter. He was born in Perry county, Pa., 
April 6, 1859, and is a son of Isaac and Frances (Shellenberger) Barto, both 
natives of Pennsylvania, the father being a farmer in Montgomery county, 
Iowa, having moved to Iowa from Pennsylvania in 1875. Isaac Barto and 
wife are members of the Dunkard church, and the former is a republican in 
politics. 

William H. Barto resided with his parents in Perry county, Pa., until he 
was sixteen years of age, when he came with them to Iowa, where he resided 
until twenty-one years old. He then went to Sac county, Iowa, and was 
engaged in farming until the fall of 1888, when he moved to Woodbury 
county, and located in Moville, where he has since been engaged in the 
banking business. In 1879 Mr. Barto married Amanda M. McCarter, and 
they have two children: Irvin and Ida May. In politics he is a republican. 

A. B. Thatchee, editor of the Moville "Mail," was born in Kalida, Put- 
nam county, Ohio, August 14, 1860, a son of John T. and Jane (Dicus) 
Thatcher (a sketch of the former appears on another page of this work). 
Almon B. Thatcher came with his parents to Woodbury county in 1860, and 
resided with them in Wolf creek township until he was twenty-one years of 
age. He attended the public schools, and at the age of sixteen years he 
commenced to teach during the winters, and continued this until he was 
twenty-two years of age, at which time he started a newspaper at Lucky 
Valley, Woodbury county. From there he moved to Sloan, and published 
the Sloan "Star" fpr six years, which parser he founded. 

In 1889 he came to Moville, and took charge of the Moville "Mail," on 
the first of August, and there he is still engaged. He was the first recorder 
in Moville, and was appointed justice of the peace for Arlington township in 
March, 1890, to which office he was re-elected in the fall of 1890, for a term 
of two years. In politics he is a republican. Socially, he is a member of the 
I. O. O. F. August 28, 1881, Mr. Thatcher married Annie M. Ashby, and 
they have a family of four children : Harold, Llewellyn, Mabel and Grace. 

W. G. Harcourt Vernon, banker, Sioux City, was born in England, in 
October, 1860, and is the son of E. H. H. Vernon. He received his educa- 
tion at Uppingham school. In 1883 he left his native country for America, 
and upon his arrival here, located at Kingsley, Iowa, where he began the bank- 
ing business. He came to Sioux City in 1889, and holds the position of vice- 
president of the Corn Exchange National bank. 

In December, 1884, he married Helen Bebecca, daughter of J. W. Traer, 
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and they have issue, Evelyn Maude, born November 
5, 1887. Mr. Vernon is a Free Mason, and belongs to the Episcopal church. 

George P. Day, cashier of the Merchants' National bank, Sioux City, was 
born in Mona, Iowa, in 1860. He was sent to the University of Iowa to be 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 845 

educated. For three years he held the position of book-keeper in the First 
National bank, and was afterward teller for four years, until 1888. In that 
year the Merchants' bank was organized as a private bank, and Mr. Day was 
made cashier. In 1890 the bank was reorganized under the name of the 
Merchants' National bank, with E. W. Rice, president; E. B. Spaulding, 
vice-president; George P. Day, cashier; G. N. Swan, assistant cashier, and 
E. G. Burkam, William Wells, N. Tiedeman, Alexander Larson and T. J. 
Stone as directors. 

H. M. Bailey, president of the State Savings bank, Sioux City, was born 
among the hills of Vermont, at Rutland. His education was acquired at a 
New Haven (Conn.) Scientific school, from which he graduated at the age of 
twenty-one. His education ably fitted him for the banking business, into 
which he entered, holding the position of assistant cashier of the Security 
National bank of Sioux City, Iowa. 

November 1, 1889, the State Savings bank was organized, and Mr. Bailey 
was made president of this institution, with S. T. Davis, vice-president; D. 
L. Pratt, Jr., cashier; and Charles F. Haines, D. L. Pratt, Jr., Jeff. H. Cul- 
ver, C. C. Thelander, C. C. Wales, S. T. Davis, and our subject, as directors. 

Rev. Timothy Teacy is a native of Ireland. He was educated at Water- 
ford, Ireland, at Milwaukee, Wis., and Dubuque, Iowa. In September, 
1880, he graduated from St. Joseph's seminary, Dubuque, and was ordained 
by Bishop John Hennesy,on the above date, and after seven years' pastorate 
at Maquoketa, Iowa, came to Sioux City in October, 1887, and presides over 
St. Mary's Catholic church at this place. 

W. A. Ejfer, county treasurer, Sioux City, is a son of David Kifer, who was 
a farmer and miller. W. A. was born in Washington township, near Dubuque, 
Iowa, August 7, 1860, where he received his instruction in the public schools. 
He chose as his occupation telegraphy, and held a position as operator on the 
Pennsylvania Central R. R., for five years, and after that came to Sioux City. 
He was elected to the position of county treasurer in 1889 by the democratic 
party, of which he is a member. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, the Masonic and Royal Arcanum orders, and is an elder in the 
Grace Reformed church. May 2, 1889, he married Miss Lula B. Camp, and 
they have one little girl, named Hattie. 

E. R. Smith, secretary and treasurer of the Union Loan & Trust Com- 
pany, Sioux City, is a native of Indiana. He was educated in Sioux City, to 
which place he came in 1866 when but a boy. He was one of the corpor- 
ators of the Union Loan & Trust Company, and was elected secretary and 
treasurer of the company, and has held the position ever since. 

This company has a capital of $1,000,000. The officers are George L. 
Joy, president; A. S. Garretson, vice-president; our subject, secretary and 



846 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

treasurer, with George L. Joy, J. W. Ellis, William L. Joy, A. S. Garretson 
and subject as directors. He is a member of the order of Knights of 
Pythias, also of the First Baptist church. In 1885 he married Angie E. Whit- 
ney, of Altoona, 111., and they have one child, Zellah, now three years old. 

Iowa Loan & Improvement Company, Sioux City. The president of this 
company is Mr. C. S. McLaury, of Sheldon, Iowa, well known as a very 
shrewd financier. He is president of the First National bank and the Em- 
pire Loan and Investment company, of Sheldon, and holds the same position 
in two Lyons county banks. Mr. H. G. Fowler, of Hartford, Conn., is vice- 
president of this organization. The active management of affairs devolves 
on the secretary, John F. Ford, of Sioux City. 

Mr. Ford is a native of Ross county, Ohio, and came to Sioux City in 
1887, and engaged in the real estate business. November 1, 1889, he was 
made secretary of the Loan & Improvement company. He is a member of 
the Masonic order and is an Odd Fellow. The capital of this company is 
$500,000, and they are engaged in negotiating farm loans, municipal bonds, 
and other first-class securities, and in buying and selling real estate in Sioux 
City. 

A. D. Hallock, commercial agent for the Illinois Central railroad, Sioux 
City, was born in Port Jervis, Orange county, N. Y. He first entered the 
railroad business as a clerk at Waterloo, Iowa, in December, 1869, and 
he remained there six years. At the end of that time he removed to Le 
Mars and there served as agent for one year. He then removed to Cedar 
Falls, continuing in that place three years, and then for the same length of 
time was stationed at Fort Dodge. In 1883 he came to Sioux City as local 
agent, and while there was appointed by the Illinois Central railroad com- 
pany, as commercial agent for the road. 

December 14, 1875, he married Olivia Inman, and to them have been born 
four children — three girls and a boy. Mr. Hallock is a member of the Uni- 
tarian church, a Mason, member of the Chapter and Commandery, and also 
belongs to the.K. of P. and A. O. U. W. A republican in politics. 

Austin I. Batcheldee, attorney at law, Sioux City, son of Hon. Ira D. 
and Anna W. Batchelder, natives of America, was born at Beverly, Mass., in 
1864. He is a graduate of Harvard and Yale Law schools, and was admit- 
ted to the Connecticut bar in 1889. He practiced ten months in his own 
state and then removed to Sioux City in 1890. He is engaged in the prac- 
tice of law, making a specialty of patents and patent litigation exclusively. 

Charles A. Lambert, harness dealer, Sioux City, was born here January 
23, 1858, a son of F. J. Lambert, who was a notary public in this place. 
He was one of the first white boys born here, and his entire life has been 
spent in Sioux City. He had the educational advantages afforded by the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 847 

public schools. When quite young he learned the harness-making trade, and 
has been in business for himself twelve years. Mr. Lambert stands among 
the best harness manufacturers of Sioux City, and gives employment to three 
men besides his own labor. In 1889 he was married to Mina, daughter of 
Christian Schultz, of this city. 

Charles E. Goetz, assistant postmaster, Sioux City, is of German origin, 
and was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849. His father was Adam Goetz, a 
lumber dealer of that city. Our subject was educated in the eastern part of 
Iowa, and commenced his business career as a merchant. In 1869 he came 
to Sioux City, and followed the mercantile business until 1871. During the 
spring of 1871 he removed to Beloit, Lyons county, Iowa, and there opened 
a store, with Thomas Thorson as partner, and remained at that place eight 
years. 

In the same year (1871) he was elected county auditor, and was married 
to Miss Gora Thorson, April 14, 1874. For eight years Mr. Goetz held the 
position of station agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul K. R., at 
Beloit, Iowa, and Canton, S. Dak., and while at the latter place was a mem- 
ber of the board of education five years, and a member of the city council 
two years. In 1888 he returned to Sioux City from Canton, S. Dak., and 
was engaged in the real estate office of McFaul & Co. In September, 1889 
he was appointed assistant postmaster of Sioux City, which position he now 
holds, he having filled the office of postmaster at Beloit for five years. He 
is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge Chapter. In politics he is a repub- 
lican. He is a believer in the doctrines held by, and is a member of, the Con- 
gregational church. 

A. Holt, manager of the Sioux City Plow company, forms the subject of 
this notice. Nine years ago this company was organized, the original found- 
ers being Andrew Peterson, Oloff Hurt, N. G. Osterman, A. O. Berg, C. A. 
Brostrom, August Halt, L. C. Johnson, Andrew Jackson and A. H. Brown. 
The ground site of the building occupied by this company is 200x150 feet. 
The building is a two-story brick structure, the main room being sixty by 
eighty feet, and the smaller one forty by sixty feet. They are engaged in 
manufacturing plows, cultivators and harrows, employing twenty-five men. 
This business has steadily increased since its organization, and their trade 
extends over western Iowa, South Dakota, northern and eastern Nebraska 
and Minnesota. Five gentlemen now constitute the board and stockholders. 

A. Holt, secretary, treasurer and manager of this company, is a native of 
Illinois, where he remained until twenty years of age. He was educated in 
the public schools, and began his career as a railroader. He afterward en- 
gaged in the lumber and hardware business. Mr. Holt came westward to 
Yankton, Dak., in 1875, and then removed to Sioux City in 1878. He has 



848 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

been employed two years and a half by this company, and is also interested 
in the lumber business in Dakota. He belongs to the Masonic order 

H. C. McNeil & W. E. Powell, real estate and insurance agents, Sioux 
City. Mr. Powell is a native of Covington, Ivy., and came to Sioux City 
about fifteen years ago. At that time he was engaged in dealing in stock 
and mercantile business. He has been engaged in the insurance and real 
estate business with Mr. McNeil for five years. Their insurance business 
extends over Nebraska, Dakota and Iowa, and throughout Sioux City, and 
they are actively engaged in buying and selling real estate. 

Mr. Powell has been a member of the city council since 18S2. He be- 
longs to the Masonic order, and is democratic in his political views. The 
companies which this firm represent are the Insurance Company of North 
America; Liverpool, London and Globe; Home; Royal; Phoenix; Commer- 
cial Union; Norwich Union; Traders; Franklin; Western; Farmers; Mil- 
waukee Mechanics; American; City of London; Peoples; Security and Fi- 
delity and Casualty. 

De. S. C. Hatch, dentist, Sioux City, is a native of Vermont, and was 
born in 1854. After attending the regular schools of his native state, he 
determined to become a dentist, and commenced the study of that profession 
in 1878. In 1880 he came to Sioux City and opened an office here, where 
he has since remained. He is a member of the Hawkeye club, and has been 
initiated into the secrets of the Knights of Pythias, and the Order of Elks. 

W. L. Hundt, druggist, Sioux City, was born in Olpe, Germany, in May, 
1858. In 1871 he left his native land, and, coming to this country, attended 
the Chicago College of Pharmacy, from which he obtained his diploma in 1878. 
The following year he moved to Sioux City, having spent the intervening 
time as clerk in Chicago. In 1884 he embarked in the drug business for 
himself, and has made such a success of his venture that he now has four 
men in his employment. He is an excellent chemist as well, and received a 
medal for proficiency in that science, while attending the Chemical college. 

E. E. Wightman, dentist, Sioux City, was born in Ohio in 1857. When 
but sixteen years of age he entered a dentist's office, and since that time has 
devoted his whole life to that profession. He began the practice of his pro- 
fession in Ohio, and moving westward was engaged in practice in Chicago 
for a year and a half. He then moved to Iowa in 1878, and located in 
Clarence. From there he moved to Monroe, Iowa, and from there to Huron, 
Dak., where he remained until 1887, when he came to Sioux City, and has 
been engaged in the practice of his profession at this place since that time. 
He belongs to the Masonic order. 

August Andeksen, of foreign ancestry, was born in Sweden, July 5, 1854. 
He came to America in 1870, and came at once to Sioux City, where for nine 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 849 

years he was engaged in railroading. After that he engaged in stock-rais- 
ing a short distance out of Sioux City. In 1883 he commenced his present 
business enterprise, that of furniture dealing, and now occupies three floors, 
50x150 feet deep, of the fine new block known as the Massachusetts building, 
corner of Fourth and Jackson streets. He is the oldest member of the 
Swedish Augustana church in Sioux City. 

J. J. Jordan, county auditor, Sioux City, son of Jeremiah and Anna Jor- 
dan, of Irish descent, was born September 12, 1857, and was elected to the 
official position which he holds in Woodbury county, by his democratic friends 
in November, 1887. He filled the position with such satisfaction that the 
party re-elected him in 1889. He was born in Schenectady, N. Y., but 
received his education in La Porte and Elkhart, Ind. He is a machinist by 
trade, but has had quite a varied business career. He selected Sioux City 
as his home, and settled there in 1881, and September 8, of the same year, 
married Mary Reilley. 

F. X. Babue, contractor, Sioux City, was born in Canada in 1842. He 
received an education at Brothers college, Montreal. After serving his 
apprenticeship in New York, he began contracting in Springfield, Mass., 
twenty-five years ago. Mr. Babue came to Sioux City in 1875, and has since 
resided here. He had the contract for the construction of the Peavey Grand 
Ojoera house, the Metropolitan block, the Major block, Krumann block, 
Badgerow block, Tacoma block, Hampton block, Merchants Club house, Toy 
building, and other buildings throughout the city. Mr. Babue gives employ- 
ment to some forty men. 

E. C. Wakefield, contractor, Sioux City, a son of Jonathan and Calista 
Wakefield, is a native of New York state, where he was born in Essex county, 
but when a child of five years came with his parents to Scott county, Iowa. 
He received his education in the public schools. When nineteen years of 
age he learned the carpenter trade, and for ten years was a ship carpenter. 
For five years he lived in Dubuque, where he had charge of the construction 
of bridges and buildings for the railroad company, having in the meantime 
continued house carpentering. 

After leaving Dubuque he followed farming for two years, and in 1880 
left that occupation and came to Sioux City and took charge of the construc- 
tion of bridges and buildings for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha railroad company, and built the first two winter bridges across the 
Missouri river. He remained in their employ for a year and a half, and then 
began contracting for himself. He built the Linseed Oil Mill, the Water 
Works building, Planters house, Martin block, Hogan building, Hills build- 
ing, and many residences in the city. He also built the Minnekota hotel at 
Hot Springs, Dak., and Congregational church, Sioux City, and superin- 
tended the building of the Hotel Garretson of this city. 



850 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

He then formed a partnership with D. W. Townsend, and with him was 
engaged in building the Security National bank, Haakinson Packing house, 
the trestle work of the approach to the Missouri bridge, and many of the 
finest residences throughout the city. Mr. Wakefield is now engaged on the 
stone work of the Bay State and Boston blocks, and has contract for the 
Public Library building. November 30, 1871, he married Sadie E. Hen- 
thorn, who passed from this life January 7, 1886. 

Peank Clabk, contractor, Sioux City, a son of William B. and Sarah A. 
Clark, was born in New Hampshire, January 24, 1856. He learned the 
carpentering trade when but fifteen years old. He has been a contractor for 
sis years. Mr. Clark came to Sioux City in 1880, and has built many fine 
buildings, among them being the Bolton block, the Commercial bank build- 
ing, the Tremont block, and many handsome private residences. He is now 
engaged on the work for the Stove works at Leeds. June 14, 1888, he mar- 
ried Anna J. Falkenhainer. 

John A. Swanson, contractor and builder, Sioux City. In the life of our 
subject can easily be traced those qualities that go so far to make up the 
strength of this nation — pluck, industry and uprightness, combined with busi- 
ness sagacity. He was born at Asheda, near Vexio, Sweden, December 7, 
1853, and there remained until 1879, when he came to America to better his 
condition. He arrived in Sioux City without a dollar, and later on, when he 
married, he borrowed money with which to buy his furniture. 

Twelve years later we find that he ranks among Sioux City's leading con- 
tractors and builders, as the following monuments to his skill will amply 
testify. He was the contractor for N. C. Sorlie's building, Bice & Cochran 
block, Peter Kappes block, F. C. Thompson block, Lerch block, City Water 
Works building, G. D. Perkins' residence, Bank Exchange block, John Hori- 
gan's block, Sioux City & Pacific railroad passenger depot, express building 
and the freight house for same company, the Electric street railway power 
house, Schenkberg wholesale grocery block, Trinity English Lutheran church, 
Bancroft school building, P. H. Hogan building, Friendship hotel, Hose 
house for city fire department, Sergeant's Bluff school building, Close Brothers 
block, at Sibley, Iowa, Calumite hotel at Pipe Stone, Minn., and many beauti- 
ful residences throughout Sioux City, besides the mason work and plastering 
on residences too numerous to mention, and his own brick residence at the 
corner of Eleventh and Jackson streets. 

He was one of the corporators of the Sergeant's Bluff & Sioux City 
Terra Cotta, Tile & Brick Co., and the treasurer and manager of the same for 
three years; one of the corporators of the Scandia Loan & Trust Co., and 
one of the board of directors, and an executive, and is also vice-president and 
a director of the Scandia Building association, an organization that has 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 851 

proved itself the best paying of any in this part of the country, and which 
has been the means whereby many thousand families in this city have pro- 
cured their own homes. 

Mr. Swanson was married February 25, 1881, to Miss Annie Thompson, 
a native of Norway, who came to America in 1879 with her parents. Hex- 
father, Lars Thompson, died in 1881, but her mother is still living. Mr. 
Swanson's father resides in Stockholm; his mother is dead. Our subject's 
family now consists of two children, viz. : Algoth W. L. and Emil Komanus. 
In 1887 they had the misfortune to lose three children with diphtheria. Mr. 
Swanson is a member of the I. O. O. P. and K. of P., and is a democrat in 
politics. He and his wife take an active part in the Lutheran church, of 
which they are members. 

Hans Leandek, city assessor, Sioux City, is a native of Sweden, and was 
born March 8, 1846. He came to America in 1872, and in that same year 
came to Sioux City. For ten years Mr. Leander was employed as foreman 
by the St. Croix Lumber company, and for the same number of years was a 
carpenter. 

He was married to Betsey Larson, and to this union were born six chil- 
dren: Nellie, Emily, Jennie (deceased), Luther Nathaniel, Serphey, Sophia 
(deceased). Mr. Leander has been assessor for the city for the past three 
years, and is now serving the fourth, which position he ably fills. He is also, 
at the present time, contractor for water mains. He is a member of the 
order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, and belongs to the English 
Lutheran church. It has been entirely through his own efforts that our 
subject has met with success in business. 

Heney Mielke, was born in Prussia, in 1834. He came to this city from 
New York city in 1863. After settling here, Mr. Mielke engaged in farm- 
ing for fifteen years, and for eight consecutive years the grasshoppers de- 
stroyed his entire crops. He then engaged in the hotel business for eight 
years. For the past two years Mr. Mielke has been dealing in musical in- 
struments, in partnership with his son-in-law, Mr. Pelle, but has now retired. 
He fought against the Indians in the early days of this country, under Gen. 
Sully. 

He was joined in marriage to Caroline Gulouff, who was born in 1840, 
and to them were born seven children: Charles, Lydia, Julia, Mary, Edward, 
Greorge (now in Chicago) and William. His success in life has been through 
his own perseverance and industry. He is a member of the Unitarian church; 
a democrat in politics. 

J. J. S. Millspaugh, laundryman, Sioux City, was born in Middletown, 
Orange county, N. Y., in 1852. He began his business career in Kansas 
City, Mo., and remained there three years. He was then employed by a 



852 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

railroad company itntil 1880, when he came to Sioux City, and August 15, 
1885, opened the Millspaugh steam laundry, and has since continued in that 
business. He purchased the James Lynch building for his laundry work, 
and receives a liberal patronage. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and 
the Railroad Conductors organization, and is a republican, politically. 

Jenkinson Bros., brick contractors, Sioux City. This firm consists of 
three brothers: William, Edmund and Albert. They are all natives of 
Canada, and Edmund is the youngest. They came to Sioux City in 1872. 
This firm has had charge of the brick work of the Peavey Grand Opera 
house, Ballou block, the Hotel Gordon, the Krumann block, the Wales block, 
the Lexington block just completed, the tile works, the Leeds Stove works, 
and other prominent buildings. Edmund and William are members of the 
Masonic order. 

Syvebson & Johnson, contractors, Sioux City. Both members of this 
firm are natives of Norway. Mr. Syverson was born in 1852, and Mr. John- 
son in 1850. The former has been thirteen years in America, and came to 
Sioux City in June, 1885. Mr. Johnson came to Sioux City in November, 
1871, and was employed by Mr. Halseth for eight years. Mr. Syverson built 
and rebuilt the Union Stock Yards and Packing houses, and superintended 
the entire work, and Mr. Johnson was foreman of the construction of the 
Silberhorn packing house. Mr. Syverson, in 1889, had the contract for 
building Mr. Garretson's ranch barns for cattle, etc. These were 40x320 
feet, and 60x575 feet, corn crib 36x180, and a two-story mace house 24x54 
feet. This partnership was formed in 1890, and July 28, 1890, they were 
given the contract for the Corn Palace of 1890, which was the largest and 
finest that had yet been built. They have also built some of the finest resi- 
dences in the state. 

D. P. Chenet, hotel proprietor, Sioux City, was born in New Hampshire, 
July 27, 1841. His early life was spent in his native state, until at the age 
of twenty-one, he enlisted in the Federal army, in Company E, Twelfth New 
Hampshire volunteers, and was in the service three years, having fought in 
all the engagements on the Potomac, James river, and in Virginia. He re- 
turned to New Hampshire with his regiment. He then removed to Dixon, 111., 
and took charge of a hotel, and from that place removed to Sioux City, in 
May, 1878. He became proprietor of Cheney's Depot hotel, and has since re- 
mained such. 

He was married to Miss Henrietta Bowell March 3, 1864, and to them 
were born three children, only one of whom, Berenice, is now living. The 
wife and mother died September 28, 1889, from the effects of nervous pros- 
tration, produced by the falling of Rock river bridge at Dixon, 111., where 
forty-two persons were drowned. He is a member of the G. A. R., and a 
republican in politics. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 853 

C. Borman, proprietor of the Columbia hotel, Sioux City, was born in 
the Fatherland in 1826. He carne in America in 1854 and located at Johns- 
town, Pa., where he followed his trade, that of a shoemaker. He came to 
Sioux City in 1S68, and worked at his occupation until 1870, when he built 
the Columbia house, and has been its proprietor ever since. He was mar- 
ried to Fredericka, daughter of Charles Keller, in 1854, and they became 
the parents of five children: Lena, Mena, Ellis, Charlotte and O. C. As- 
sisted by his wife, Mr. Borman has been quite successful. He is a member 
of the German Lutheran church, while he takes the democratic side in 
politics. 

Payette & Comean, contractors and carpenters, Sioux City. Joseph 
Payette, the senior member of this firm, was born in Canada in 1845. He 
came to America in 1863, and located in Troy, N. Y., where he engaged in 
carpentering. In 1866 he removed to Sioux City, where he entered into 
partnership with Mr. Babue, a contractor. This partnership lasted eight 
years, previous to which partnership Mr. Payette was engaged in contracting 
by himself. 

M. A. Comean, the junior member of this firm, is also a native of Canada, 
where he was born in 1848. He came to America in 1865, and settled in 
Massachusetts. In 1878 he came to Sioux City. Mr. Comean has been en- 
gaged as a contractor for ten years, and has built a number of school-houses 
about Sioux City, and many handsome residences throughout the city. This 
partnership was formed in March, 1890, and, with such enterprising men as 
members, is certain to meet with success. 

J. F. Gearen, plumber, Sioux City, was born in Chicago in 1857. At the 
early age of sixteen years he learned the plumbing trade. In the fall of 
1880 he came to Sioux City, and for seven years was employed as a journey- 
man plumber. In the spring of 1887 he began business for himself. He has 
a liberal share of the plumbing business of the city. He executed the plumb- 
ing work for the St. Joseph hospital, D. T. Hedges', J. H. Nason's, and Mr. 
Fletcher's residences, besides that of many other prominent buildings. Mr. 
Gearen gives employment to thirteen men, and gives his own entire time 
and attention to his business. In 1885 he married Miss Mina Griffin, of 
this county. He is a member of the Boman Catholic church, and a liberal 
democrat in politics. 

Ben Davidson, Sioux City, was born in September, 1858, in Sluzk, Bus- 
sia. In 1880 Ben Davidson resided in a Bussia town named Kovno, where 
he held a position as chief clerk with a rich concern, which had large gov- 
ernment contracts. The merit of his work soon brought about jealousy with 
the other employes, and Ben was discharged. He knew what he could do if he 
had an opportunity, and at once prepared to come out to this great country, 



854 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH "COUNTIES. 

and take the chances of success. On June 28, 1880, he landed in New York, 
friendless, and without a dollar, but at once set out to find work, and three 
days later he found employment in the India rubber comb factory, in Col- 
lege Point, Long Island. He worked hard for sixty to seventy-five cents a 
day, but he was learning the ways of the people of the new country, and felt 
satisfied, but not. for very long, as he heard of the west, and decided to try 
it, and work his way up. He procured a quantity of tinware, and peddled 
these goods from town to town, until he reached Omaha, where he was taken 
sick, and had to stop. 

After a three months' illness, he started out again, with $8 worth of the 
same stuff, and on July 10, 1881, he reached Sioux City, where he decided 
to make his home, as the kind city mayor, W. Z. Swartz, had given him per- 
mission to peddle without license, and F. H. Peavey, then in the wholesale 
hardware business, had given him a small credit, but the main thing was 
that he was attracted with the city, so he resolved to anchor here, and make 
his mark, if such a thing were possible. For two years he sold merchandise 
from house to house, then he bought a horse and wagon, and started out in 
the neighboring country, where he made large acquaintances and lots of 
friends. He saved the nickles and dimes, and soon found dollars. Mean- 
while, he sent after his brother Dave and sister Sippe, and in August, 1883, 
he rented a little storeroom, eight by twenty, on the corner of Fourth and 
Jennings streets, where he displayed the goods he was carrying around, and 
started out in the American way. 

He had hand bills printed, and gave them to everyone that passed the 
store, and scattered them all around the city, and in two months the store 
was too small, and he was compelled to move into larger quarters, at the 
corner of Fourth and Jackson streets, in a room twenty by forty, where he 
enjoyed a very big trade. The room became too small again, and in May, 
1884, he removed to the corner of Fourth and Nebraska streets, where at 
first he occupied the corner, 25x100, but six months later he took in the 
next room, 25x100 more, and twelve months later he took the second floor 
and basement, and Davidson's corner was the most popular store of any in 
the city. 

The immense room, all in one, got to be too small for the business, and 
in January he rented the store at the corner of Fourth and Pierce streets, 
40x100, and leased the ground back of the building, the same amount of 
space, and on this he erected a building, remodeled the one on the corner, 
and April 16, 1891, the great store of Davidson Bros, is not only the finest, 
but is the most popular, and central shopping place of Sioux City. On July 
16, 1888, Ben Davidson married Miss Ida Frank, daughter of A. H. Frank, 
of this city, a girl of eighteen, and to-day Ben, Ida and the two-year old, 
beautiful, little Thressa are as happy a family as there is in Sioux City. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 855 

The Sioux City Daily "Times," of April 16, 1891, had in an editorial the 
following to say: ' 

Truth is stranger than fiction. 

The "Times" has the history of at least a dozen Sioux City men, the tales 
of whose lives would make absorbing books, if the general reader could be- 
lieve them. We have given a brief account of the Davidson Bros., Ben and 
Dave. The "Times" has no hesitation in calling attention to its remarka- 
ble success and statement, for they are true. Bight here we have an illus- 
tration of the boundless opportunities which this country, especially the west- 
ern part, offers energetic young men. Just think of a man coming to Sioux 
City ten years ago, a foreigner, unable to speak our language, and com- 
pletely ignorant of the ways of the country, with a pack on his back, who is 
to-day one of the leading merchants of the leading city of the state, and 
whose success seems ephemeral, but has been proved. It reads like a fairy 
tale, but it is simply a story of hard work and native ability. 

Feed Kneebs, horse shoer, Sioux City. Few men in this business have 
become so proficient as Mr. Kneebs, and throughout the city and county, he 
is recognized as the most reliable man in the city engaged in his business. 
He is a native of England, born fifty-three years ago. In 1855 he settled in 
Wisconsin, then moved to Iowa, and as early as 1870 came to Sioux City. 
At the age of fourteen he learned his trade, and has made a specialty of horse- 
shoeing. He married Mary Bright, of Wisconsin, who bore him three chil- 
dren: Elva, Mary and Nettie. Through hard work and perseverance Mr. 
Kneebs has been able to build up a lucrative practice, and is the owner of a 
fine home in the city. 

M. W. Stabks, photographer, Sioux City, was born in Bradford, Lee 
county, 111., in December, 1851; a son of Charles F. and Bachel (Hulbert) 
Starks, who were natives of Pennsylvania. In 1872 he engaged as an ap- 
prentice in photography, which business he has since followed. In October, 
1883, he came from St. Louis to Sioux City, and opened the Genelli gallery, 
and has been successful in building up the largest trade in the city, and has 
a reputation for fine work throughout the adjoining towns. 

Mr. Starks was married in January, 1881, to Miss Hattie I. Harvey, 
daughter of Leonard and Cornelia (Whittlesey) Harvey, living in Kendall 
county, 111. One son, Henry Harvey, born June 13, 1887, is their only child. 
Mr. Starks is a member of Sioux Lodge No. 14, K. of P. 

John F. Means, proprietor of the Pearl steam laundry, Sioux City, was 
born in Indiana, December 28, 1855, a son of Otho and Catharine (Crouse) 
Means. His grandparents on his father's side were of Scotch descent, and 
on his mother's they were Pennsylvania Germans. He came to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, in 1880, and December 25, 1S84, married Alice Hose, of Dal- 



856 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

las Center, Iowa. They have one child, Samuel Otho, born in Danbury, in 
1885. His wife's grandparents were of French and German descent. 

Mr. Means came to Sioirx City in 1888, and a short time since became 
identified with the Pearl steam laundry, which was the first of the kind in 
Sioirx City, and until one year ago, the only one having mangle machinery. 
Besides giving his own energies to the business, he has twelve persons in his 
employ. He has made this laundry rank with the best in Sioux City. He 
belongs to the Masonic order, being a member of the Due Guard Lodge, No. 
384, Danbury, Iowa. 

Frederick Spencer, boiler-maker, Sioux City, is a native of England, 
having been born there in county Sussex, in 1837. When fifteen years of 
age, he went to work in the dock yards of the British government, to learn 
the trade of a boiler-maker. He worked at this occupation in that country 
until 1867, when he came to America, settling in Dubuque, where he re- 
mained seven years. In 1882 he came to Sioux City, and was employed as 
foreman of the boiler-makers, in the shop of the Sioux City Foundry and 
Machine company. When this company moved their works to Leeds, Mr. 
Spencer severed his connection with them, and entered'into business for him- 
self. He built all the lard tanks for the packing-houses, and the greater 
number of the large boiler plants in the city. In 1857 he married Emma, 
daughter of John Bagshaw, master rope-maker in one of her Majesty dock 
yards, England. Mr. Spencer is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 

Louis Kettleson, plumber, Sioux City, was born in Denmark in 1848. 
He was educated in his native country, and when fourteen years of age com- 
menced the study of mechanical engineering, and this has been his occupa- 
tion for twenty-two successive years. In 1870 he came to America, and 
located in Chicago, where he remained until 1874, when he moved to Sioux 
City. For five years after coming here he was employed by the Sioux City 
Foundry and Machine Co. as a journeyman, then was appointed foreman, 
which position he held for seven years. He then entered into business with 
R. E. Purslow & Co., which partnership) existed three years. 

April 15, 1889, he started in business for himself, doing mechanical 
engineering and a general steam heating and plumbing business. He was 
appointed superintendent of the construction of the Water Works plant. In 
religious faith he affiliates with the Lutheran church, of which denomination 
he is treasurer; votes with the republican party, and is a member of the 
Odd Fellows. 

Isaac Newton Stone was born in Madison county, N. Y., July 20, 1839, 
being the second of five children born to Anson and Cornelia (Adams) Stone, 
natives of Madison county, N. Y. They left there in 1844 and moved to 
Fort Atkinson, Wis., where Isaac received his entire education, attending the 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 857 

public schools until twenty years of age, when he engaged in teaching in 
connection with the nursery business for the following ten years. He then 
abandoned the profession of teaching, and gave his entire time to his 
nursery. Mr. Stone originated and introduced the famous Stone's Hardy 
blackberry and the encouragement he received from it, and his general nurs- 
ery business, kept him there until the spring of 1884, when he took a trip 
of investigation to Sioux City. 

Being well satisfied with the future outlook of this place, he at once 
engaged in the same business here, and in the following year returned to 
Fort Atkinson, disposed of his possessions there, and returned with his family 
to Sioux City to attend to his already well-established business. Here he 
has been engaged ever since, each year bringing him an increased jaatronage. 
At present his intent is that of disposing of his nursery and entering into 
the real estate business. Mr. Stone was married September 23, 1862, to 
Susan L., daughter of E. P. and Lavina Dye, of Madison county, N. Y. 
Both are members of the First Baptist church. Mr. Stone votes the repub- 
lican ticket. 

John E. Todd was born in Montgomery county, 111., May 5, 1850, and is 
the son of Willard and Emeline (Dryer) Todd, who were among the pioneer 
settlers of the above named county. His early education was received in 
the public schools there, which he attended until eighteen years of age, pre- 
paring for college. He entered the Ashby university at Greencastle, Ind., 
but after one year's attendance he abandoned his studies in order to satisfy 
a "western fever," and came to Sioux City, where he worked at the car- 
penter's trade for the following six years. 

He then engaged in the service of W. E. Caton, as* contractor, and went 
to Rosebud Agency, Neb., where the firm was putting up a government 
building; later on he returned, and in the spring of 1879 he engaged as a 
bridge foreman in the service of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad 
company, with which he remained four years, then returned to Sioux City 
to engage in his present occupation, that of house mover. His work has 
not only given him a reputation in Sioux City second to none, but his serv- 
ices are in demand in the surrounding towns. 

Mr. Todd was united in marriage May 5, 1877, to Miss Florence E. Haw- 
ley, of Sioux City, and this union has been blessed with five children: 
Mabel, Clarence, Arthur, Ray and Ethel. The family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Todd is identified with the Masonic fra- 
ternity, and votes the republican ticket. 

Fred Munchbath, Jr., hotel-keeper, Sioux City. Of the twenty-one 
children born to Fred and .Gertrude (Krudwig) Munchrath, our subject is 
one of the seven who are living. He was one of the first children born in 



858 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Sioux City, his parents having settled here in 1858. He attended the pub- 
lic schools of the time until sixteen years of age, when he began to earn his 
living, working at lathing and plastering until 1884. 

January 27, 1885, he married Mary Fortman, a native of Germany, and 
they immediately engaged in the hotel business and took the Tremont hotel, 
which he now runs. Although a young man, Mr. Munchrath shows great 
ability as a landlord, as is well attested by his hotel, which at all times has 
all the guests for whom he has accommodations. 

Charles J. Chambeelin is a son of George W. and Martha Chamberlin, 
and was born in Sioux City, August 18, 1858. His parents were both natives 
of Vermont. His father came to Sioux City in 1854, with Dr. John K. Cook, 
on a government survey, and was killed by a cyclone in 1881. Our subject 
attended the high school until seventeen years of age, when he accepted a 
position with the First National bank, where he remained five years. For 
the following two years he was employed by the Weare Cattle company in 
Montana, and on his return to Sioux City in September, 1887, bought out 
George E. Westcott's livery stable, which he still owns, and which is con- 
sidered one of the finest stables in the northwest. Politically he is a demo- 
crat. 

Ebastus D. Allen is a son of Amzi and Elizabeth (Johnson) Allen, na- 
tives of Morris county, N. J., and was born January 7, 1845, in that county. 
When about four years old they moved to Walnut Grove, where our subject's 
early education was obtained, and where he attended school until sixteen 
years old. He then worked one year on the farm for his parents, then left 
home and came to Morristown, N. J., where he served three years' appren- 
ticeship to a sign painter and decorator. 

He remained with him until 1866, then went to St. Louis, Mo., where 
he served one year under the instruction of a very skillful decorator ; he then 
returned to Morristown and established himself in business, which he con- 
ducted until 1879, when he sold out to accept a position in a trade school, 
which the government was contemplating establishing at the Rose Bud In- 
dian agency in Dakota, but which never materalized. This is said to be the 
only appointment of a mechanic ever proposed by the government, coming 
through the work of Carl Schurz, then secretary of the interior. 

The following year he returned to Morristown and engaged in business 
again, remaining there until the fall of 1882, when he established himself 
in business in Sioux City. Since his residence here he has done the decorat- 
ing of the finest buildings in the city, his skill being so pronounced that it 
led to his being selected to do the decoration on the first Corn Palace in 1887, 
and also the one of 1888, which was much larger and finer than the first. 

In 1889, at the installation of President Harrison, a train of cars was 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 859 

fitted out at Sioux City, decorated entirely with corn, under his direction. 
This train visited all the important cities in the east, and everywhere was 
pronounced the most novel and finest decorated train ever attempted. When 
the people of Ft. Worth, Tex., were seeking an artist to do the decoration 
of the Spring Palace in 1889, our subject was chosen. In 1890 another, 
which was nearly twice the size of the one preceding it, was built, and Mr. 
Allen did the work on that also. In 1890, when Sioux City's third Corn 
Palace was contemplated, he was again chosen to do the work. This was 
the grandest and finest of 'any ever erected. The peculiarity of this work has 
reached such a high artistic standard, that it has made his name famous 
throughout the world. 

November 7, 1866, Mr. Allen married Almira Louisa Valentine, a native 
of New Jersey, and two children have been born to them : Minnie and Ed- 
ward. Mr. Allen is a member of the M. E. church, and is known as a very 
prominent Mason, having filled for five terms the office of worshipful master 
of his lodge, one in New Jersey, and four successive years in Sioux City, 
besides offices in the chapter and commandery of Knight Templars. 

David A. Williams, hotel proprietor, Sioux City, is a son of Daniel and 
Margaret (Reese) Williams, natives of Wales, where their ancestors have 
lived for a great many years. David was born in Pennsylvania, September 
27, 1846, but while he was yet an infant his parents moved to Pittsburgh, 
where he attended the public schools until he was eleven years of age. He 
then went to Iowa, and there enlisted in Company D, of the Ninth Iowa 
cavalry, in which he served two years and a half. 

When he received his discharge he returned to Iowa and engaged in stock- 
raising for the next three years in Marshall county. He decided to engage 
in the hotel business, so sold out his stock, and after running hotels in several 
places in the state, finally located in Sioux City, where he built the hotel 
Garretson, one of the finest hotels in the state. On October 1, 1878, he mar- 
ried Miss Lizzie H. Martin, of Columbus, Ohio. He is a member of the G. 
A. E., K. P., and a Thirty-second degree Mason. 

Michael J. Dillon, hotel proprietor, Sioux City, was born in county 
Clare, Ireland, May 17, 1852, where his father, Martin, prior to his coming 
to America, was engaged in farming. They immigrated to America in the 
spring of 1853, settling on a farm near Dayton, Ohio, in which city the edu- 
cation of our subject was conducted. In^the spring of 1870 he came west, 
settling at Sioux City. The first three years of his residence here he was 
engaged in several pursuits, but principally in railroading and steamboating 
on the Missouri river. In the fall of 1873 he abandoned railroading, with 
a view to farming, and took up a homestead in Canton county, Dak., where 
he remained but one season, then sold his right, and again returned to Sioux 
City. 



860 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

In 1881 he bought out the Central house, and conducted this hotel for 
four years. Wishing to improve his location, he sold out, and bought the 
Planter house property, of which place he is still manager. In June, 1873, 
Mr. Dillon married Miss Annie C. McKenny. To this union have been born 
five children, namely: Mamie, Joseph, Michael, Annie and Robert. Mr. 
Dillon and family are members of the Roman Catholic church, and in j:>olit- 
ical views he sides with the democratic party. 

Chables Bornschien was born in Saxony, Germany, July 7, 1846, where 
his parents, Carl and Louisa (Dackert) Bornschien, were farmers. He at- 
tended the schools there until fifteen years old, when he went to Leipzig, 
Saxony, where he worked in a hotel three years, then went to Bremen, Ger- 
many, and Hesse, Prussia, remaining at each place but a short time. Later 
on he went to Hanover, where, after working one year in a hotel, he was called 
back to his old home, to serve his time in the service of the German Army. 
His father being an ex- army officer, he was able to get our subject mustered 
out before his time had expired, in order that he might accompany the family 
to America, where they landed June 28, 1866, and immediately went to 
Davenport, Iowa, where he remained until 1878. 

In that year he removed to Sioux City and did general labor for some 
time, then kept a private boarding house, and later on engaged in the hide 
and fur business, which he conducted until 1882. He was city assessor for a 
time, and was employed in various ways until 1888, when he established him- 
self in a billiard hall, which he has conducted ever since. 

On June 19, 1868, Mr. Bornschien married Miss Frederica Clauson, of 
Germany. Seven children were born to this union, viz.: Charles, Mary, 
Freda, Lillie, Ida, Fred and Willie. The family are members of the Ger- 
man Lutheran church. Mr. Bornschien is a member of the K. of P. lodge, 
and in politics is a democrat. 

Elbert H. Hubbard, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born August 19, 
1849, at Bushville, Ind., and is the son of Judge A. W. Hubbard, whose 
biography and portrait will be found elsewhere in this volume. He gradu- 
ated at Yale college in 1872, and soon after came to Sioux City, where he 
read law and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He is now a member of the 
firm of Wright & Hubbard, and commands an extensive and lucrative prac- 
tice. He served as a member of the lower house in the Nineteenth general 
assembly of Iowa, having been elected on the republican ticket, and dis- 
charged his duties with credit to himself and his constituency. 

On June 6, 1882, Mr. Hubbard married Miss Eleanor H, daughter of 
Nathaniel B. and Charlotte Kirtland Cobb. Mrs. Hubbard's parents were 
respectively from Massachusetts and New York. Mr. Hubbard's family 
includes two sons and a daughter, viz.: Elbert H, Charlotte and Lyle. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 861 

John Adams Magoun, retired dairyman, Sioux City, was born January 19, 
1828, in Somerville, Middlesex county, Mass., receiving his education there. 
In 1863 he came on a prospecting tour to Iowa, and returned in 1861 for his 
family and removed to Sioux City, where he opened a paint shop, the first 
of the kind in the city or Woodbury county. He continued this business for 
three years, then engaged in the dairy business, which he carried on from 
1870 to 1890. He then sold his interest and since that time has lived a re- 
tired life. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., having joined the order at 
Sioux City in 1868. 

He married Miss Ella C, daughter of Thomas and Martha W. Woodbury, 
of Somerville, Mass., December 12, 1853. By this union there were three 
sons and one daughter, two of whom are still living, John A., Jr., and Har- 
riet A., the latter, wife of Wm. Smith of Sioux City, and the former, assistant 
cashier in one of the principal banks of Sioux City. Mrs. Magoun died April 
16, 1884, at Sioux City. Later, Mr. Magoun married Miss Elizabeth Muel- 
bach of Sioux City, by which union there is one son, Walter C. 

John Fkanklin Albright, county treasurer, Le Mars, is a native of Iowa, 
having been born in Charlotte, Clinton county, December 6, 1861. His fa- 
ther, Benjamin Franklin, and his grandfather, Emanuel Albright, were born 
in Juniata county, Pa., of Grerman descent. His mother, Mary Albright, 
is a native of Ontario, Canada, of French and Irish parentage. The parents 
now reside in Grant township, this county, where they settled in 1871. 

John Albright is the second of their four children, and was in his tenth 
year when they came to Plymouth county. He was educated in the common 
schools, and gave his attention to farming, till his election to his present of- 
fice in 1889. He had previously served Grant township as assessor, and as- 
sumed his present duties in January, 1890. Mr. Albright has always affili- 
ated with the democratic party, and is a member in good standing of the 
Roman Catholic church. In June, 1890, he was married at Sioux City, to 
Miss Susie Pierce Mallon, a native of Dubuque county, this state. 

Henry Richardson, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing in section seventeen, 
Elkhorn township, was born in Westmoreland county, England, December 
23, 1832, a son of John and Mary (Hornsby) Richardson, both natives of 
England. The father was a farmer and gardener, which business he followed 
until his death. Our subject resided with his parents until 1857, when he 
took passage for America, and located near Buffalo, N. Y v and worked on a 
farm for a short time. In the spring of 1858 he went to Pennsylvania, and 
worked in the lumber mills one year, and in 1859 went to Lafayette county, 
Wis., and engaged in mining until 1864. About this time gold was discov- 
ered in Montana, so he went there and mined until 1868, then went to Mis- 
souri, and thence to Illinois. 



862 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Ill 1869 he returned to his former home in Lafayette county, Wis., and 
in 1880 came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres, 
whereon he now resides. Since then he has added 200 acres to his farm, 
and now keeps a good grade of stock in connection with his farming. 
Politically he is a republican, and is at present a trustee of Elkhorn town- 
ship, and has been school director four years. He is a member of the 
Farmers' Alliance, of which he was the first president. Mr. Richardson 
married Ann Winskill, March 28, 1861, in Shelby county, 111., and they 
have six children: Albert W., Joseph H., Sarah A., Walter W., Newton and 
Mary J. Mrs. Richardson has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church since 1854. In 1889 she united with the United Brethren, but as 
there is now a Methodist Episcopal church convenient in Union township, she 
and five of the children have united with the Methodist Episcopal church. 

James McDoejgall, farmer, P. O. Struble, was born in Scotland, March 2, 
1818, a son of Alexander and Margaret (Graham) McDougall. He was 
reared in Scotland, and received his education in the public schools of that 
place. He learned the carpenter's trade early in life, but never made it 
his permanent occupation. He has been engaged in various lines of busi- 
ness, and has met with financial success. In 1832 he came to Canada, and in 
1837 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and the same year to St. Louis, Mo., and 
engaged in railroading. In 1839 he went to La Salle county, 111., and pur- 
chased eighty acres of land near Troy Grove, and remained there until 1846, 
when he went to Iowa county, Wis., and engaged in farming. 

In 1870 he came to Iowa, where he now owns 160 acres of land in sec- 
tion two, Grant township, ten miles from Le Mars. Besides owning a good 
farm in Grant township, he owns one of the best buildings in Le Mars, 
which is now occupied by the Security bank. In 1840 he married Annie 
Adeline Howard, of American birth, and they are the parents of six children: 
Alexander, Matilda, Mary, James, Sarah and John. Politically he is a re- 
publican. 

Silas Shoemate, farmer, P. O. James, one of the prominent men of Hun- 
gerford township, Plymouth county, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, 
March 18, 1841, and is a son of Parkason and Abigail (Null) Shoemate 
natives of Virginia. He was reared on a farm, attending the district school, 
and has made farming his business. March 12, 1868, he married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Samuel Yeager, of German origin. Their children are Stella 
J., Prancis, May, Edgar, Adolphus, Clarence, Wallace, Rosie, Walter and 
Lillie. Mr. Shoemate is a republican in politics, and has been justice of the 
peace and trustee of Hungerford township. 

Jacob Rubel, farmer, Le Mars, one of the pioneers of Plymouth 
county, was born at Baden, Germany, April 17, 1836, a son of Joseph and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 863 

Mary Eubel, who were born in about the same vicinity. He attended school 
there until he was about sixteen years of age, when he came to America, lo- 
cating at Newark, N. J., where he remained until 1867. He then removed 
to Elgin township, Plymouth county, Iowa, where he took up an eighty-acre 
homestead, in section thirty-four, where he has carried on general farming 
ever since. During the time that he has lived here, he has added to his farm, 
having at present 280 acres. 

Mr. Eubel was united in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Margaret, 
daughter of Maleo and Jane Clark, and four children have blessed their 
home: Joseph, William, George and Henry. Mr. Rubel is a member of the 
Catholic church, and in politics a democrat. 

Duncan McAllister, farmer, P. O. Hinton, the fifth of eleven children 
born to James and Sarah McAllister, was born in Kings county, New Bruns- 
wick, Canada, November 14, 1823. His father was a native of Ireland, hav- 
ing been born in Belfast, while his mother was born in New Brunswick, 
where our subject was reared and received his education, attending school 
until he was fifteen years of age. He then commenced to learn the carpen- 
ter's trade, which, with farming, was his occupation until November, 1867, 
when he removed to Council Bluffs, Iowa ; remaining there but a short time, 
he went to Honey Creek, where for the winter he was engaged in falling 
timber. 

In the spring he went to Sioux City, where he followed his trade, that of 
a carpenter, until March, 1869, at which time he came to Plymouth county, 
and took a homestead of eighty acres in Liberty township. Here he carried 
on general farming until about 1881, when he rented his farm and went to 
live with his son-in-law, who is a farmer in the same township, and now 
occupies his time at the carpenter's trade. 

In December, 1845, he married Ann, daughter of William and Eleanor 
Madden, of New Brunswick. This union has been blessed with eight chil- 
dren, six of whom are still living. The names of their children, in the order 
of their birth, are John, Margaret, Sarah, Duncan (deceased), Eleanor, Will- 
iam, Mary, and a baby that died. In political questions Mr. McAllister 
takes the views advocated by the democratic party. He is a member of the 
Roman Catholic church. 

Oliver King, farmer, Adaville, Johnson township, is one of the old pio- 
neers of this district, and was born at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, February 5, 1843, 
a son of Samuel and Ruth King, of Whiteside county, 111. He received his 
early education in the district school in Whiteside county, and when the war 
broke out enlisted in the Eighth Illinois cavalry, with which he served eighteen 
months. After his discharge he worked on the farm for his father, until the 
fall of 1867, when he attended the Illinois Soldiers' college for nine months. 



864 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

January 1, 1867, he married Olive Ann Heaton, of Whiteside county, 
where they lived on a farm until the following spring, when they came to 
Liberty township, Plymouth county, and took up 160 acres of land, in the 
northeast corner of section six, where he still carries on general farming. 
He has since added eighty acres to his farm from Johnson township. Mr. 
and Mrs. King have been blessed with nine children, eight of whom are now 
living: Ruth, Alfred, Samuel, Warren, Frank (deceased), Abraham, Blaine, 
Vernon and Bessie. In politics he is a republican, and has been trustee and 
school director in Liberty township for six years, and in Johnson township 
was school director one year. He is a member of the G. A. B. 

Frank M. Boseberry, attorney, was born September 19, 1857, at Belvi- 
dere, N. J. He completed his literary education at Princeton college, New 
Jersey, from which he graduated in 1881. He afterward entered the law 
department of the State University at Iowa City, Iowa, and graduated there- 
from in 1883. He was then admitted to the bar, and began the practice of 
law at Le Mars, Iowa. He is an active member of the republican party, and 
a member of the K. of P. September 16, 1885, he married Delia M., 
daughter of L. L. Page, of Plymouth county. 

E. D. Brower, dentist, Le Mars, was born in Leesville, Carroll county, 
Ohio, January 15, 1858. In 1872 his parents removed to Ackley, Iowa, 
where he completed his literary education, and in 1881 he graduated from 
the dental department of the "University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, with the 
class of that year. In the same year he began practice at Le Mars. He is 
a member of the State Dental Society, and is one of the State Board of 
Dental examiners, a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is a past chancel- 
lor, and was representative to the Grand Lodge in 1888. November 26, 
1884, he married Jessie C, daughter of Capt. A. C. Stebbins, of Le Mars. 

W. S. Freeman, druggist, Le Mars, was born in Chittenden county, Vt., 
June 6, 1848, and is a son of Samuel and Elmira (Stephens) Freeman, who 
were natives of Vermont. He left Vermont with his parents at a very early 
age, and came to Genoa, 111., where he attended school until sixteen years of 
age, when he enlisted in the Eighth Illinois cavalry, Company B, in which 
he served until July 22, 1865, taking part in every engagement in which that 
celebrated regiment was engaged during his term of service. He received 
his discharge in July, 1865, and returned to his old home. Here he re- 
mained until March 1, 1869, when he removed to Le Mars, Iowa, taking up 
an eighty-acre homestead in section eight, Fredonia township, where he car- 
ried on general farming until the fall of 1882. At that date he was elected 
county recorder on the republican ticket, which position he held four years, 
when he was defeated by the democratic candidate, Mr. W. Winslow, by two 
votes. He then returned to farming, which pursuit he followed until 1889, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 865 

when he rented his farm and removed to Le Mars, where he bought Hoff- 
man's drug store, and now carries on the drug business. 

He was married September 2, 1875, to Josephine, daughter of William 
and Nancy Knowlton, of Iowa, by whom he had one child. His wife died 
in 1882, and October 18, 1884, he married Mary, daughter of John and Char- 
lotte Adams, of Le Mars, and by this marriage has one child also. Politically 
he is a republican, and is a member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias 
orders. 

Clakence Wood, a merchant of Kingsley, was born in Clarke county, Va., 
in 1860. He is a son of Joseph and Eebecca L. (Shepherd) Wood, both 
natives of Virginia, and of English and Scotch descent. Joseph Wood was 
a farmer, which occupation he followed in Jones county, Iowa, imtil his 
death, which occurred July 3, 1884; his wife still lives, and resides on the 
old homestead in Jones county. 

Clarence Wood was brought up to assist his father on the farm, and at- 
tended school regularly until he had passed through the district schools, 
when he went to Lenox college, at Hopkinton, Delaware county, Iowa. He 
also took a course in the Dubuque Business college. For four years after- 
ward he worked on his father's farm in the summer time, and taught school 
during the winters. In the spring of 1884 he engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness, which he has continued ever since. Later he combined with his grocery 
stock, a line of boots and shoes. Politically he is a republican, and has al- 
ways supported the principles of that party. 

M. C. Evans, a dry goods merchant of Kingsley, was born in Jackson 
county, Iowa, December 8, 1859, and is a son of William and Agnes (Hip- 
shen) Evans, both natives of Germany. William Evans' occupation was that 
of a farmer, which he followed in Jackson county, Iowa, until his death, 
which occurred there February 3, 1891, having come to America in the fifties. 
His wife died about the year 1878. 

Michael C, our subject, was born in a log house on the farm in Jackson 
county, and assisted with the work on the farm, attending school meanwhile, 
until he reached the age of eighteen or nineteen years. He then attended 
the college at St. Donatus, Iowa, for two terms, after which he taught school 
three terms. He then went to Bellevue, Iowa, where he clerked in a store for 
Michael Attfilisch, about a year, going thence, in 1880, to Le Mars, where he 
clerked for his brother, N. C. Evans, three years. 

He then formed a partnership with N. Kilburg, and carried on the mer- 
cantile trade at Ireton, Iowa, for two years, at the end of which time he sold 
out to his partner, and started on a prospecting tour through different states. 
In 1885 he came to Kingsley and erected a store building, in which he opened 
up a general stock of dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes. Mr. Evans mar- 



866 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ried Lizzie, a daughter of Peter Kass, of Belleviie, Iowa, April 22, 1883, and 
they have three children: Odie N., Julian P. and Gilbert W. They are 
members of the Roman Catholic church, and in political questions Mr. Evans 
'votes the democratic ticket. 

Chris. Stortz, of the firm of C. Stortz & Co., merchants of Kingsley, was 
born in Kendall county, 111., November 29, 1862. His parents were Michael 
and Elizabeth (Wentz) Stortz, both natives of Germany. He was born and 
reared on a farm, during which time he received a common-school education 
at the district schools, completing his studies at the Academy of Blairstown, 
Iowa, after which he came to Remsen, Plymouth county, Iowa, and clerked 
in a store three years. He then came to Kingsley and engaged in the gro- 
cery business in partnership with Marion Doan, which he carried on one 
year, when he purchased the interest of Mr. Doan, and the firm is now known 
as C. Stortz & Co. Mr. Stortz married Mattie Lilly, of Remsen, Iowa, Oc- 
tober 27, 1885, and they now have two children: Lillie and Pearl. Polit- 
ically Mr. Stortz is a democrat, and he and wife are supporters of the Roman 
Catholic church. 

William Rieke, dry goods dealer of Kingsley, was born in Lake county, 
Ind., January 29, 1863. His parents were Frederick and Dena (Prussner) 
Rieke, both natives of Germany. Frederick Rieke died in November, 1890, 
on his farm in Kankakee county, 111., where his wife still resides and is a 
member of the Evangelical church. William Rieke was born on a farm and 
helped his father in the preformance of the duties incident to farm life. He 
attended the district schools, but finished his education at Bailey's Business 
college, of Dubuque, Iowa. He came to Le Mars in 1880, and clerked in a 
general store, where he remained until December, 1883, when he came to 
Kingsley and opened a general dry goods store, in partnership with Charles 
H. Kluckhohn, of Le Mars, which he continued until 1886. Since then the 
firm has been known as Rieke & Co.,-until 1890, when the name was changed 
to Rieke Brothers, he having taken his brother, Charles C, into partnership 
with him. 

September 25, 1887, Mr. Rieke married Miss Carrie S. Unz, of Reddick, 
HI, by whom he has one son named Ray. Mr. Rieke usually attends the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member. In politics he 
follows the lead of the republican party. He is at present (1890) presiding 
officer of the K. of P. 

Levi H. Johnson, one of the most prominent farmers of Plymouth coun- 
ty, residing on section twenty-seven, Garfield township,' was born in St. Jo- 
seph county, Ind., January 7, 1850. He is a son of Robert and Carrie 
(Young) Johnson, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Ohio. 
Robert Johnson is engaged in farming in Marshall county, Iowa, having 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 867 

moved there in 1859. Politically he is a republican. He has reached the 
age of seventy-two years, and his wife that of seventy years. 

Levi H. came with his parents to Iowa in 1859. He assisted on the farm 
until he was twenty-one years old, in the meantime having attended the dis- 
trict and high schools. He then engaged in farming in Marshall county for 
himself, about ten years, after which he sold out, and entered the drug busi- 
ness at Ida Grove, which he carried on two years. He then purchased 335 
acres of land in Plymouth county, where he now resides. He deals quite ex- 
tensively in cattle and hogs. Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with 
Amanda Kennedy of Marshall county, September 23, 1872, and they have 
two children: Harry and an infant. In politics he is a republican. Socially 
he is a member of the I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, and is also a 
member of the Legion of Honor. 

Calvin R. Wiseman was born February 1, 1843, in Lawrence county, Ind. 
His father died when our subject was quite young, and, his mother marrying 
again, he, at the age of seven years left home and went to live with Mr. E. B. 
Chitty, a relative. With him he remained until he was about fourteen years 
' of age, moving with him from Indiana to Whiteside county, 111. He then 
went to Lee county, 111., where he worked on a farm until 1862, when he 
moved to Carroll county, same state, and farmed until February 3, 1864, 
when he enlisted in Company A, Thirty-fourth Illinois infantry. He par- 
ticipated in the battles from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from there he was 
in Sherman's march to the sea. He lost his health through exposure, and 
has never fully recovered. 

He was mustered out at Louisville, Ky., July 19, 1865, and returned to 
Carroll county, where he was engaged in farming until 1872, when he went 
to Carroll county, Iowa, and farmed until the fall of 1875, when he took 
charge of a hotel for one year. He then returned to Carroll county, 111., 
and farmed until 1885, when he again came to Iowa and purchased 160 
acres of land in section twenty-one, Garfield township, Plymouth county, 
where he has since resided, and has been engaged in farming and stock-rais- 
ing. He was married December 31, 1869, to Mary A. Deuel, of Carroll 
county, III, and they have two children: Ira J. and Theodore S. Mr. Wise- 
man is a member of the G. A. P., and the Iowa Legion of Honor; a repub- 
lican in politics. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. 

John Grieve, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty -three, 
Garfield township, was born in Scotland in March, 1S34, and is a son of 
John and Elizabeth (Robinson) Grieve, both natives of Scotland. He came 
to America with his parents when ten years of age, and resided with them 
in Scott county, Iowa, until twenty-one years old. He then went to farming 



SOS HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

for himself in the same county, where he remained until 1883, when he came 
to Plymouth county and purchased 320 acres of land in Garfield township, 
where he now resides. 

October 13, 1859, he married Georgina Murrison, of Scotland, and to 
them have been born eight children: Isabella J., Ellen, Georgina, Elizabeth, 
Annie, Agnes, Jessie and Lundy L. All the members of the family belong 
to the Christian church. Mr. Grieve is a republican, and has always sup- 
ported the principles of that party. Mrs. Grieve is a daughter of William 
and Isabella (Gordon) Murrison, both natives of Scotland, who came to 
America in 1S51. The father engaged in farming in Scott county, Iowa, and 
from there moved to Poweshiek county, where he farmed until his death in 
1875; his wife died in the same county in 1886. 

William Geieve, a farmer and stock- raiser, resides on section thirty-five, 
Garfield township, Plymouth county. He was born in Scotland in 1841, a 
son of John and Elizabeth (Robinson) Grieve, both natives of Scotland. 
When he was but three years of age his parents came to America, and set- 
tled in Scott county, Iowa. Here he remained with them assisting in the 
farm work and receiving his education, until he was twenty-seven years of 
age, when he started to farm on his own account, in the same county in which 
his father was located. This he conducted until 1883, when he came to 
Plymouth county, and purchased 320 acres of land in section twenty-six, 
Garfield township, which he farmed two years, and then leased his land and 
moved to Kingsley, where he engaged in the livery business four years. 

He then purchased 320 acres of land in section thirty-five, where he now 
resides, and erected a large dwelling-house and a good barn, and now has it 
well improved. He still retains 160 acres of his first purchase of land, which 
gives him 480 acres in Garfield township. He also owns 240 acres of 
land in Beadle county, Dak. On his home farm he keeps a good grade of 
stock. He married Elizabeth Gilmour, of Canada, and they have five chil- 
dren: Nettie, Minnie, Willie, Olive and Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Grieve are mem- 
bers of the Christian church. Politically he is a republican. He has been 
trustee of the township, and was a member of the council four years, during 
his residence in Kingsley. He is a member of the K. of P. 

Peteb Steele, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is a son of John and Mary (Clark) 
Steele, natives of Scotland, and was born in that country, June 13, 1840. His 
father, who was a farmer, came to America in 1856, and settled in Scott 
county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming up to the time of his death, 
1870. Our subject was but sixteen years old when he left Scotland with his 
father. He stopped in Canada and engaged in farming and lumbering until 
1865, when he came to Scott county, where he farmed until 1870, at that 
date coming to Plymouth county and taking up a homestead of eighty 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 8by 

acres in section thirty, Union township, where he has since resided. He 
planted trees, broke ground and has been continually improving his land 
since. 

December 20, 1870, he married Agnes Hendry, of Iowa City, Iowa, and 
to them have been born nine children, as follows: John H., Mary J., Agnes 
H, Harry P., Frank J., George E., Flora A., Allen E. and Maggie M. In 
politics Mr. Steele is an independent, choosing his candidates from the men, 
not from the party. He has been school director, road supervisor and treas- 
urer of the school board. 

George W. Severance, a general farmer and stock-raiser, residing on 
section twenty- eight, Union township, was born in Kane county, 111., May 
22, 1844, a son of Franklin and Hannah (Winslow) Severance, both natives 
of Massachusetts. Franklin Severance was a farmer, which occupation he 
followed until 1869, when he retired from active work and moved to Hinck- 
ley, De Kalb county, 111., where he resided until his death in 1888; his wife 
died in May, 1848; both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

George W. Severance was reared on a farm in Kane county, 111., and 
continued to reside with his parents until their retirement, when he pur- 
chased the old homestead, where he lived until 1876, when he moved to De 
Kalb county, where he lived two years. He then purchased 320 acres of 
land in Union township, Plymouth county, where he now resides, engaged 
in farming and stock-raising, having increased his farm to 480 acres of land. 
He feeds about one hundred head of cattle every year, also deals in Montana 
horses and Poland China hogs. 

October 20, 1869, he married Mary A. Moore, of Aurora, 111., and to 
them have been born three children: Albert, Edith and Bertha. Mrs. Sever- 
ance is a daughter of William and Anna (Prentice) Moore, both of whom 
reside in Le Mars, the father a native of New York state and of Irish descent, 
the mother a native of Erie county, Pa. 

James Morgan Howes died July 19, 1890, in Washington township, 
Plymouth county, where he had settled in 1868. He was a grandson of 
James, and son of Thomas Howes, of London, England, where he was born 
May 21, 1812. After serving some years in the British army, he came to 
America about 1840, and in 1842 settled in La Fayette county, Wis., where 
he engaged in lead mining till his removal to Iowa. He took a homestead 
on section twenty-six, Washington township, in March, 1868, and settled 
thereon with his family the same year. He served as trustee, and usually 
acted with the republican party. In religious views he adhered to the tenets 
of the Episcopal church. At Cincinnati, Ohio, October 31, 1841, he married 
Mary, widow of Eobert J. Betts, known before her first marriage as Miss 
Battle, of the same nativity as himself. She died in 1879, aged sixty-seven. 



870 HISTOfiY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Their children all reside in this county: John R. B. is in Washington town- 
ship; Ann Eliza Chandler (Mrs. Wm, R. Kidd), in Portland township; 
A. J. and George T. in Washington. The second, Mary Ann (wife of John 
Russell Smith), died in 1875, at the age of thirty years. 

Algernon James Howes was born in Benton township, La Fayette county, 
Wis., April 26, 1851, and was in his seventeenth year when he came to Iowa, 
and was at an early age employed at farm labor, and is an intelligent farmer 
and citizen. He took a homestead on section twenty-six, and is now pos- 
sessed of 200 acres, which he cultivates in mixed farming. He is at present 
a township trustee, and has always upheld the republican party in politics. 
In religion he embraces the faith of his fathers. In 1875 he married a native 
of Will county, 111., Miss Emily Jane, daughter of Alexander and Minerva 
(Jennings) Calhoon, of Scotch and English descent. They have six chil- 
dren, as follows: Edwin Algernon, William Alexander, George Henry, David 
James, Mary Ellen and Walter Russell. 

William L. Sanboen, grain buyer, Moville, was born in Winnebago 
county, 111., in 1865, and is a son of George W. and Grata N. (Emery) San- 
born, the father a native of Vermont, and the mother of Canada. His father 
also deals in grain and resides at Pecatonica, 111. His mother is a member of 
the Universalist church. 

W. L. Sanborn was born in Pecatonica, 111., where he was educated at 
the high schools, but afterward attended business college at Rockford. Sub- 
sequently he bought grain for his father, and was employed by him keeping 
books. In the fall of 1887 he came to Moville, and erected a large elevator, 
since which time he has been engaged in buying and shipping grain quite 
extensively. He was one of the first aldermen of Moville. In politics he is a 
republican. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Sanborn was married 
in August, 1887, to Isabelle V. Sloan, of Pecatonica, 111., and to them have 
been born two children: G. Clifford and Florence A. 

W. H. Lee, merchant, Moville, was born in Clark county, 111., January 10, 
1856, a son of Levi and Nancy J. (Randal) Lee, the father a native of Craw- 
ford county, 111., and the mother of Kentucky. His father was a farmer, at 
which occupation he was engaged at the time of his death, which occurred 
in Clark county, 111., April 11, 1881. His mother died September 20, of the 
same year. Both were members of the Baptist church. 

William H. Lee was born on the farm in Clark county, 111., receiving his 
education at the district schools, and assisting his father on the farm until he 
was twenty-two years of age. He then engaged at farming for himself until 
1884, when he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, where he farmed until June, 
1888, when be moved to Moville, and went into the mercantile trade, which 
he has carried on ever since. Politically he is a democrat, and is a member 
of the I. O. O. F. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 871 

January 19, 1879, Mr. Lee married Lida J. McCrory, a daughter of 
Wash, and Eliza (West) McCrory, the former a native of Indiana, and of 
Irish descent, and the mother a native of Kentucky, and of Scotch descent. 
Wash. McCrory is now farming in Clark county, 111., and both he and wife 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically Mr. McCrory 
is a republican. 

Robert M. Menzies, merchant, Luton, was born in Ontario, Canada, Feb- 
ruary 19, 1858, a son of John and Mary (McFarlane) Menzies. The father 
is county registrar of Lanark county, Providence, Ontario. The mother died 
March 6, 1888 ; both were members of the Presbyterian church, and of Scotch 
descent. 

Robert M., our subject, was born and reared in the town of Almonte, 
Ont., and attended college in the city of Guelph two years. He resided with 
his parents until twenty- two years of age, then went to Grand Forks, Dak., 
and resided there four months, and from there went to Sheldon, Iowa. Here 
he resided one year, then, in 1887, came to Woodbury county, and located at 
Luton, where he is now doing business. He is a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows lodge. He was united in marriage with Eliza Pike, of Guelph, Canada, 
April 30, 1888, and they have two children: John G. and Robert M. Mr. 
Menzies is a member of the Presbyterian, and his wife of the Episcopalian 
church. 

H. C. Winterringer, farmer, P. O. Peiro, was born in Knox county, Ohio, 
November 16, 1833, and located in Iowa as early as 1850, and has since lived 
in this state. His parents, John and Sally (Byram) Winterringer, both de- 
ceased, were farmers in this country. Our subject was reared on the farm 
occupied by his parents in Ohio, assisting in the farm work and attending 
the common school. In the fall of 1850 he came to Iowa, and located at 
Tipton, Cedar county, where he lived for ten years, then came to Woodbury 
county and spent the nest ten years in the Sioux valley. When he first came 
here there were plenty of Indians, and deer, and wild turkeys in abundance. 
He next went to Kansas, but returned to Iowa the same season, and bought 
a man out on Wolf creek, and homesteaded the farm whereon he now lives. 
He has since added to his farm, on which he raises all lands of grains, and 
has also a fine grove of eight acres. 

In 1857 he married Catherine, daughter of Nathan Cerfing, of German 
descent, and they have had ten children, five of whom only are living, 
namely: John N, Alie V., Ervin Boog, R. B. Hayes and Thomas H Har- 
rison. Those deceased were named Aurila, Oliver, Jessie, Mattie and Nellie. 
Of the children living, the two younger ones are the only ones living at 
home, the others having grown up, married, and gone to work for themselves. 
Mr. Winterringer votes the republican ticket, is a member of the Farmers' 



872 HISTOEY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Alliance, and, with his wife and three oldest children belongs to the M. E. 
church. September 21, 1889, he had his leg broken, which has disabled him 
so that he will be unable to do any hard work for the balance of his life. 

Platt Smith Hall, farmer and stockman, is a son of Isaac Cook and Jane 
Elizabeth (Livermore) Hall, the former of Vermont, and the latter of Ohio. 
He was born in Jackson county, Iowa, January 28, 1850, and in 1856 
moved with his parents to Woodbury county, and at that time there were 
about ten Indians to one white man there. Here, in Grant township, he has 
remained ever since, and says he expects to end his days here. He was mar- 
ried to Catharine A. Gillett, December 30, 1869, at Smithland, Iowa. Seven 
children have blessed this union, six of whom are still living, and at home. 
Our subject is one of the earliest settlers of Grant township, and is a man 
highly esteemed by his neighbors. He is a republican, and attends the 
Methodist church. 

Benjamin W. Luse, farmer and stockman, Moville, was born in Mercer 
county, Pa., Mai-ch 3, 1852, a son of O. Perry and Mary E. (Hoobler) Luse. 
On his father's side, he is of Irish, and on his mother's of German descent. 
In 1855 the Luse family went to Grant county, Wis., and in 1865 to Jack- 
son county, Iowa, where Benjamin engaged in farming. In September, 1882, 
he came to his present place. He was married in Jackson county, to Clara 
Matthews, by whom he had two children, one living, named Jessie May, born 
April 12, 1881. 

Mr. Luse's second marriage took place in Clinton county, to Retta Estey, 
daughter of C. B. and Lucinda (Pulcif er) Estey. To this union are born two 
children, viz.: William Arthur, January 13, 1884; and Frank Elmer, April 
14, 1886. Mr. Luse holds the positions of justice of the peace and trustee 
of the township. He is a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Good Tem- 
plars and the Farmers' Alliance. He received his education in Lenox col- 
lege, Delaware county, Iowa, and has taught school in Jackson and Wood- 
bury counties. He has a farm of 440 acres, and is engaged in farming, 
stock-raising and the breeding of Englishshire and Norman Percheron horses. 

Joseph Law, one of the oldest settlers of Banner township, a farmer and 
stock-raiser residing on section thirty-two, was born in Yorkshire, England, 
December 16, 1826, and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Grayson) Law, both 
natives of England. The father was by occupation a shoemaker, which he 
followed until he died, in England, in 1877, the mother dying the following 
year; both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Joseph Law was born and reared in England, where he was educated. 
At the age of twenty-four years he came to America, and located in Greene 
county, 111., where he engaged at his trade, that of tailoring, which he had 
learned in England. He resided there two years, then went to Minnesota 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 873 

and pre-empted some land, which he resided on seven years, then returned to 
Illinois, where he remained four years, and returned to Minnesota again. In 
1877 he came to Woodbury county, and purchased 140 acres of land, where 
he now resides; since then he and his sons have purchased 260 acres, making 
400 acres in all. The land is all under a good state of cultivation and has a 
fine grove of ten acres, which he planted himself. Mr. Law has witnessed 
the wild lands transformed into fertile farms and comfortable homes. In 
jDolitics he is independent. At present he is township clerk and school 
treasurer, and has been township trustee. He is a member of the Masonic 
order, also the I. O. O. F., and the Farmers' Alliance. July 12, 1848, Mr. 
Law married Mary A. Chapman, of Yorkshire, England, and to them have 
been born four children : Martha, Isaac, Joseph C. and Mary A. 

Frederick W. Prouty, farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section 
thirty-two, Banner township, was born in New York, in 1848, a son of Galen 
and Sarah (Russell) Prouty, both natives of Massachusetts. The father was 
by occupation a farmer, at which occupation he was engaged until he entered 
the mercantile business at Oneida, 111., where he continued until his death in 
1876. The mother died seven weeks previous to her husband's death; both 
were members of the church. 

Frederick W. was born in New York, and came with his parents to Ohio 
when he was six years of age; there he resided eight years, then went with 
them to Knox county, 111., where he was educated in the public schools, 
finishing in Ohio. He continued to reside with his parents until 1865, when 
he enlisted in Company K, Seventh Illinois cavalry, and served until August 
of the same year, when he was discharged on account of disability. He re- 
sided home two years, then went to Kansas, and from there to Texas for his 
health. He returned to Illinois in eighteen months, and six weeks later went 
to Monroe county, Iowa, and weighed and shipped coal for a mining com- 
pany about five years. He was also a telegraph operator in connection with 
his other work. 

In 1879 he came to Woodbury county, and located on section thirty- two, 
where he now resides, and has continued farming ever since. Politically he 
. is a democrat, and is now secretary of the township, which office he has held 
eleven years ; he was justice of the peace two years and road superintendent. 
He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In 1873 Mr. Prouty married 
Eleanor Prosser, and they have eight children : Albert, Frank, Estella, Arthur, 
Walter, Emery, Frederick and Eva. 

John Law, an old settler and general farmer and stock-raiser, residing 
now on section twenty-eight, Floyd township, was born in England, April 8, 
1824, and is a son of Isaac and Mary (Grayson) Law, both of English de- 
scent, and members of the church of England. He was born and reared in 



874 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Yorkshire, where he received his education, and remained with his parents 
until twelve years of age, at which early age he commenced work on a farm 
by the year. He continued to farm until twenty-seven years of age, when 
he, in 1851, came to America and located in Greene county, 111. He hired 
out by the year to a farmer, and there worked for three years, then rented 
farms in Morgan and Cass counties, until 1865, when he came to Woodbury 
county and located on the Little Sioux. 

In 1874 he purchased 160 acres of land, where he now lives, and has since 
added 240 acres, making his farm now one of 400 acres. In 1856 he mar- 
ried Jane Murphy, of Greene county, 111., who died September 30, 1882, 
leaving him six children: Annie J., John F., Julia, David D., Isaac W. and 
Benjamin. Both he and wife are members of the Christian church. Polit- 
ically he is a republican, and has held the office of school director and trustee. 
He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, of which he has been treasurer. 

Albert M. Holman, of the firm of C. J. Holman- & Bro., dealers in gen- 
eral merchandise, Sergeant's Bluff, was born in Kockville, Conn., March 25, 
1845. He is a son of William P. Holman, whose sketch will appear on 
another page of this work. Albert Holman lived in his native place until 
eleven years of age, when he came with his parents to Woodbury county, 
Iowa, in 1856. He received his education in such schools as the county 
afforded in an early day. In 1865 he went to Montana territory, where he 
engaged in merchandising and mining for three years. He then returned to 
his home and engaged with his father and elder brother in dealing in stock. 
In 1872 they erected their large brick store building and put in a general 
stock of merchandise. 

They also started the manufacture of brick in 1867, which they have con- 
tinued since. They turn out about 50,000 a day, and employ forty to fifty 
men. W. P. Holman & Sons own about 1,000 acres of land, 800 of which is 
in Woodbury township, and 200 in Sloan township; 600 acres of it is under 
a good state of cultivation. In 1S75 our subject erected a large and com- 
modious brick dwelling with fine improvements. He has been identified 
with the county from its infancy, coming here with his parents when there 
were scarcely half a dozen settlers. He has seen all the wild land trans- 
formed into fertile farms and comfortable homes, the entire growth of Sioux 
City, and the introduction of the railroads, etc. Politically he is a repub- 
lican, and has always taken an active interest in the success of his party. In 
1889 he received the nomination for representative to the legislature from 
Woodbury county, but was defeated, with the entire republican county ticket. 
Mr. Holman was one of sixty-five men who went with Col. James A. Sawyers' 
expedition that crossed the plains from Sioux City to Virginia City, Montana, 
the object being to open up a wagon road. They suffered a great many 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 875 

privations and hardships on the plains during their trip of seven months, 
besides being compelled to fight the Indians, several of the company being 
killed by them. In June, 1872, he was united in marriage with Emma 
Webster, of Woodbury county, and to them have been born four children: 
Edna, Mabel, Abbie and Webster. Mr. Holman is a member of the Masonic 
lodge, and is a thirty-third degree Mason. His wife and children are mem- 
bers of the Congregational church. 

Benjamin P. Yeomans, is a son of Prentice and Margaret (McKenney) 
Yeomans, and was born July 15, 1828, in Herkimer county, N. Y. His 
parents, both of whom are now dead, were brought up in the Presbyterian 
faith, the father of English and the mother of Irish descent. Our subject 
remained on the farm with his parents, until he attained his majority, when 
he went to Oregon, crossing the plains with an ox-team. After a year's stay 
there, he went to California and worked in the gold mines at Indian Creek. 
He remained two years in California, then after visiting Crescent City, San 
Francisco, San Juan, Virgin Bay, Castilo Bapids and Greytown, he took 
passage at the latter place for New York, aboard the "Northern Light," 
which touched only at Key West, Fla., on the trip. He went to Chicago, 
from there to Burlington, and finally to his home at Lowell, Henry county, 
Iowa, reaching there October 20, 1855. 

In the following year he located on section twenty-four, Woodbury town- 
shij), Woodbury county, buying 130 acres, where he now lives. It was mostly 
wild land at that time, and the Indians were quite numerous in the locality 
then too. January 31, 1856, he married Elizabeth Smith, of Agency City, 
and they have seven children: Nellie, Fannie, James A., Charles P., William 
T., Flora M. and Bessie. Mr. Yeomans, who is one of the oldest settlers, is 
a republican in polities, and has held the office of assessor and trustee. He 
is also a trustee in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which both he and his 
wife belong. 

David M. Beed, an old settler and a general farmer .and stock-raiser, now 
residing on section thirty-six, Woodbury township, was born in Washington 
county, Vt., October 2, 1819, a son of David and Bhoda (Goodwin) Beed. 
His father was engaged in farming in Vermont, at the time of his death, 
which occurred in January, 1869, his mother dying about three weeks later. 
They were of English descent and members of the Baptist church. 

David M. was born and reared on a farm in Vermont, and received a 
common-school education. At the age of nineteen, he commenced to teach 
school in Vermont, and taught for eleven terms. At the age of twenty-one 
he started out for himself, and worked at various occupations, and finally 
came to Bureau county, 111., and engaged in farming, which he continued 
there for sixteen years. In 1869 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and 
purchased 390 acres, where he now resides. 



876 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mr. Reed was united in marriage with Dolly A. Welch, of Vermont, No- 
vember 21, 1S50, and they have a family of five children: Rhoda L., Frank 
M., Minnie D., Albert D. and Herbert O. Mr. Eeed came to this county 
when it was nearly all wild prairie, and has done his share of work in help- 
ing to cultivate it into fertile land, as we now see it. He has hired many an 
Indian to hoe and gather in his corn for him, and do other work around the 
farm. In 1884 Mr. Reed met with a bad accident, as a railroad train ran 
into his wagon, and he was thrown ten feet in the air, and about three rods 
off, and when picked up he was insensible and was taken to the Central 
house, and he lay there three weeks before he could be moved home, where 
he soon recovered. Politically he is a republican, and has held the office of 
justice of the peace. He is a member of the Baptist church, and his wife of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 

James A. Tatt, merchant and postmaster, Sergeant's Bluff, was born in 
Rochester, N. T., in 1846, and is a son of James V. and Elizabeth G. (Fair- 
child) Taft, the father a native of Vermont and the mother of New York. 
His father was a merchant and carried on business until his death, which oc- 
curred atDansville, N. Y., in 1853. His mother is still living and resides at 
West Exeter, N. Y., and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

At the age of four years our subject removed with his parents to Dans- 
ville, N. Y., where he received his early education, completing it at West 
Exeter, N. Y. He continued to reside with his mother, his father having 
died, until 1862, when he enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Twenty- 
first New York infantry. He participated in the first and second battles of 
Fredericksburg, the battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spott- 
sylvania, Cold Harbor, Winchester, Cedar Creek, siege of Petersburg and 
Sailors Creek, and remained in the army until the close of the war, when he 
was discharged, July 9, 1865, as second lieutenant, having been promoted 
from a private. 

He then returned to his home and remained there until 1868, when he 
came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and purchased 200 acres of land in Wood- 
bury township, and engaged in farming about three years. He then went 
to the depot at Sergeant's Bluff as station agent, and three years later com- 
menced clerking in a store, which he continued until 1881, when he went in 
the cheese business. In 1884 he purchased a stock of merchandise in Ser- 
geant's Bluff, and has continued in business there since that time. Politic- 
ally he is a republican, and has been township clerk. In December, 1889, 
he was appointed postmaster of Sergeant's Bluff, having held the office be- 
fore from 1884 to 1886. 

Mr. Taft was united in marriage with Josie H. Huntley, of West Exeter, 
N. Y., in 1867, and they have one child, Laura G. Mrs. Taft is a member 
of the Congregational church. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 877 

Nehemiah Welch was born in Benton county, Iowa, March 15, 1860, and 
is a son of Robert F. G and Anna I. (Spaulding) Welch, the father a native 
of Vermont, of Welsh descent, and the mother of German- Irish descent, born 
in Sandusky, Ohio. 'His father is now engaged in farming in Cherry coun- 
ty, Neb. ; his wife died in South Dakota, July 2, 1879, a member of the First 
Baptist church. At the age of six years our subject was taken by his parents 
to Boone county, Iowa, thence to Arkansas, where they remained two years, 
and then returned to Benton county, Iowa. In the spring of 1871 they 
moved to Clay county, S. Dak., where he remained with them until twenty- 
one years of age, during which time he received a part of his education. 

In the spring of 1881 he left home and came to Woodbury county, Iowa. 
He worked in the summer, attended school in the winter, and saved enough 
money to go to Keokuk, and take a business course in the college there. He 
then went to Sioux City, where he was employed in the accounting depart- 
ment of the Illinois Central freight office eighteen months, also for one year 
for the C. M. & St. P., going thence to Harrison county, where he engaged 
in the mercantile business one year, after which he sold out and engaged in 
the newspaper business at Missouri Valley six months. In March, 1887, he 
came to Sergeant's Bluff and engaged in the butchering business. 

There being no barber in the village he learned the trade, and in 1889 
gave up the butchering business and opened a good barber shop, also put in 
a good stock of confectionery, which business he has carried on ever since. 
Politically he is a democrat, and in the fall of 1888 was elected township 
assessor, in the fall of 18S9 was elected justice of the peace, and the same 
year was appointed notary public. He also places insurance of all kinds, 
loans money, and does general collecting. He is now preparing to take a 
course in law at Sioux City. He is a member of the K. of P., I. O. O. F. 
and Knights of Labor. 

Eknest E. Huntley, merchant, Salix, is postmaster, and a dealer in gen- 
eral merchandise, grain and live stock. He was born in Otsego county, N. 
Y., August 5, 1861, and is a son of Calvin and Olive (Huntley) Huntley, 
both natives of New York. His father was a farmer in New York until 1872, 
when he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and located at Sergeant's Bluff, 
where he resided until his death, in 1879. His mother is still living, and 
resides at Sergeant's Bluff; she is a member of the Congregational church, 
and the father was a deacon of the same. 

Ernest E. Huntley was born in New York, where he lived with his par- 
ents until he was twelve years of age, when he came with them to Iowa, and 
resided with them at Sergeant's Bluff. He there received his early educa- 
tion, completing his studies at Iowa college, Iowa City. He then engaged 
as clerk for one year, after which he moved to Omaha, where he engaged as 



SIO HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

book-keeper in a wholesale house for three years. He subsequently pur- 
chased an interest in a general store at Sergeant's Bluff, but sold out two 
years later, and moved to Salix, where he erected a store building, and put 
in a stock of general merchandise, and here he has been engaged in the mer- 
cantile business ever since. He also deals in grain and live stock quite 
extensively, and has recently built a grain elevator there, to facilitate his 
already extensive business. Politically, he is a republican, and is now school 
treasurer. 

October, 1S89, he was appointed postmaster, and is also notary public. 
Socially, he is a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Huntley was united in mar- 
riage with Anna Giacomini, November 2, 1887, and to them have been born 
two children: Olive L. and Mabel A. 

D. Steeling Wendel, farmer, Oto, was born in Luzerne county, Pa., 
March 23, 1833, a son of John Conrad and Mary (Eathborn) Wendel. He 
remained at home until the outbreak of the war, in 1861, when he joined the 
Second Iowa cavalry. He was taken prisoner near Ripley, but was shortly 
exchanged, and took part in the battles at Corinth, which lasted three days, 
Coffeeville, Booneville, the West Point raid, and many other engagements 
and skirmishes. At the close of the war, he went to Jackson county, Iowa, 
and rented a farm, remaining on it three years, when he moved to Little 
Sioux township, Woodbury county, by ox team, and bought 160 acres, where 
he is now living. 

February 12, 1867, he married Martha Gordon, in Jackson county, Iowa, 
and three children have been born to them, all now living, Mr. Wendel is a 
Methodist, and is liked by all who know him. He casts his suffrage with the 
republican party. His father, John C. Wendel, a native of Germany, came 
to America in 1825, and during the war in this country was a tailor for the 
soldiers. His death occurred in 1865. Mr. Wendel's mother is now living 
in Woodbury county, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. 

William A. Dunlap, farmer, Oto, was born in Clay county, Mo., May 26, 
1837, and is a son of James and Rachel Dunlap, and the first of their four 
children. He was born and reared on his father's farm, and was educated 
in the public schools. At the age of eighteen he went to California, and en- 
gaged in mining. In December, 1857, he came to Iowa, and November 24, 
1859, he married Miss Sarah A. Lewis. Five children were born to this 
marriage. His first wife died December 31, 1870, and December 15, 1872, 
he was married to Mrs. Martha L. Rimel, of Nodaway county, Mo. Six 
children have been born to this last marriage. Mr. Dunlap is a well-to-do 
farmer, owning 200 acres of land in Little Sioux township, Woodbury county. 

Beebick Bennett, farmer, Smithland, is one of nine children born to 
Alvah and Charlotte (Wilson) Bennett, natives of New York state, both de- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 879 

ceased. He was born in Illinois, February 16, 1846, remaining at home with 
his parents until 1868, when he came to Iowa, and has remained here since. 
He was married at Smithland, October 12, 1870, to Laura McDonald. They 
have four children, one deceased. Mr. Bennett votes the republican ticket 
and attends the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a man of good judg- 
ment and well liked by his neighbors. 

Dorleans Warner, farmer, P. O. Smithland, was born in Noble county, 
Ind., in 1848, a son of Erastus and Malvina Warner, who are now residents 
of Smithland. When six years old his parents decided to go west and grow 
up with the country, so they moved to Bremer county, Iowa, and until he 
was twenty-one years old he remained with his father, helping him on the 
farm. He then thought he would try the world for himself, and finally set- 
tled in Mills county, where he rented a farm and remained on it two years. 
He then bought eighty acres of land in Pottawattamie county, where he lived 
five years, and then moved to Little Sioux township, Woodbury county, 
where he purchased his present farm of 240 acres. 

While in Mills county Mr. Warner married Emma Christo, daughter of a 
sailor in the British navy, whose family came to Mills county, Iowa, from 
La Fayette county, Wis. Two children have blessed this union: Alverzo E., 
a boy of twelve years, and Ambertes Bay, a boy eight years of age. Mr. 
Warner is a republican, and is a man of good standing. 

John Bichard Oldis, hotel- keeper, Smithland, was born in London, Eng- 
land, March 17, 1852, and is a son of Frederick Augustus and Mary Ann 
(Pheasant) Oldis, also natives of London. John, father of Frederick Oldis, 
was of Irish birth, as were his ancestors for many generations, while the 
Pheasant family came of ancient English lineage. In 1853 F. A. Oldis 
brought his family to America and spent two years in Chicago, engaged in 
mercantile business and auction and commission. There and in Peoria and 
Jacksonville, he pursued his occupation of paper-hanger and decorator at 
times. In 1864 he came to Iowa, and engaged in mercantile business for 
eighteen years in Kennebec township, Monona county. 

John B. Oldis was twelve years old when he came to Iowa, and has fol- 
lowed farming most of the time since. In 1886 he established a livery busi- 
ness at Castana, and two years later removed to Smithland. In April, 1890, 
he opened the St. George hotel, which he conducts in addition to the livery 
business. For many years he was a member of the I. O. G. T., and still 
maintains his temperance principles. Politically he is a republican, and has 
served as constable and school director in Monona county. In August, 1889, 
he married Susie A. Foster, who was born at Saxonville, Mass., and is a 
daughter of William and Susan A. (Tibbetts) Foster, natives of Germany 
and New Hampshire, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Oldis have a daughter 
named Susan Elizabeth. 



88U HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

A. Livekmoee, farmer, Oto, was born in Jackson county, Iowa, in 1834, 
and is a son of Abraham William Liverrnore. In his early life he worked 
for his father on the farm until the outbreak of the war, when he enlisted 
in Company L, Iowa infantry. He participated in the battles at Columbia 
and Macon, Ga., and the three days' siege at Tupelo. He was wounded in 
three places, and had three horses shot from under him. After the close of 
the war he came home and bought the place where he now lives, in Little 
Sioux township, Woodbury county. 

August 9, 1866, he married Anna Wetherman, of Jackson county, and 
seventeen children were born to them, sixteen of whom are living. Mr. 
Liverrnore is living in the first frame house built in Woodbury county. The 
shingles were cut by his father with a draw-knife. He votes with the demo- 
cratic party. 

William Hakrison Nichols, farmer, Smithland, was born in the state of 
New York, January 1, 1820. He is a son of Simon and Polly (Gleason) 
Nichols, both deceased. Simon Nichols was married four times, our subject 
being the child of his second union. William H. did not locate in this county 
until 1875, as, being of a roving disposition, he kept moving back and forth 
through Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Iowa. He married Mary Squires, 
April 28, 1840, and six children blessed this union, five of whom are living. 
In politics he votes the democratic ticket. He is a member of the Farmers' 
Alliance. 

John Mathers, one of the oldest settlers of Woodbury county, and a 
general farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section twenty-eight, Liber- 
ty township, was born in Suffolk, England, in 1827. He is a son of William 
and Ann (Mathers) Mathers, the father a native of England and the mother 
of Ireland. William Mathers came to America in 1848, and settled in Wood- 
bury county in 1865, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising until 
his death, November 2, 1886; his wife died November 12, 1880; both were 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

John Mathers came with his parents to America, and resided with them 
until he was seventeen years old. In 1865 he came to Woodbury county, 
Iowa, and has been engaged in farming ever since. He purchased 323 acres 
of land where he now lives, which is well improved. Politically he is a 
democrat, and has been justice of the peace. Mr. Mathers was married in 
June, 1859, to Honore Smith, of Jackson county, Iowa, and to their union 
have been born twelve children: William A, Mary A., John, Jane, Thomas, 
Lizzie, Annie, Joseph, Eebecca, Kate, Edwin and George. Mr. Mathers is 
one of the old settlers here, and has witnessed the development of the county 
from almost a wilderness to the present time, and has done much for the im- 
provement of it. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 881 

Abiel T. Bigelow, farmer, Salix, is a son of Aholiab and Rebecca (Brey) 
Bigelow, who were natives of Massachusetts and Maine, respectively. Aho- 
liab Bigelow was of English descent, by trade a carpenter, in which line he 
was employed in Bureau county, 111. He died in 1855. His wife was of 
Spanish and Welsh descent. Her death occurred in 1880. Both were mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. A. T. Bigelow was born in Maine, in 1840, 
where his parents remained until he was eleven years old, when they moved 
to Bureau county. He resided with them, and upon the death of his father, 
took charge of the family, which he supported by farming. In 1862 he 
moved to Monona county, Iowa, and for four years he had charge of a hotel 
in Onawa, in connection with which he had a livery and sale stable. 

In the fall of 1869 he moved to "Woodbury county, and located in section 
thirty-three, Liberty township, on the farm where he now resides, which he 
had purchased in the spring, consisting at that time of 200 acres, but which 
he has added to until he now owns 1,600 acres all in one body, and all well 
cultivated. He planted corn on 700 acres this year (1890). He has built 
tenant houses on some of his land, and rents part of it out. He has been a 
very heavy sufferer by fire, having lost about $30,000 during the last seven 
years. He makes a specialty of raising fine carriage horses and shorthorn 
cattle. Mr. Bigelow is essentially a self-made man, as he started in life with 
his mother and sisters to support, but by perseverance and energy he has 
steadily worked his way, up until he is now one of the largest farmers in the 
county. In politics he is a democrat; socially, a member of the Masonic 
order. In 1863 he married Sarah E. Beers, of Onawa, and they have a fam- 
ily of nine children: Bose, Charlie H, Warren, Belle, George, Fannie, Laura, 
Madge and Nettie. 

Michael Harrington, an old settler now residing in Salix, Woodbury 
county, was born in Ireland about 1842, a son of Michael and Mary (Egan) 
Harrington, both natives of Ireland. Michael Harrington, Sr., died about 
1849 in Massachusetts; his widow is still living and resides near Fort Dodge, 
Iowa; both were members of the Kornan Catholic church. Our subject came 
with his parents to America when he was five years of age, and resided with 
his mother until he was twenty-two years old. He received a high-school 
education, and attended college in Wisconsin one year. He then engaged in 
teaching school about two years, after which he took contracts for railroad 
work for seven years. He built part of the railroad between Salix and 
Sergeant's Bluff. 

In 1877 he moved to Sioux City, where he resided three years, then 
moved to Salix, where he has remained ever since. He owns 200 acres of 
improved land in Liberty township, which he has rented; he also loans 
money. Politically he is independent in his views; he is a member of the 



882 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Farmers' Alliance. Mr. Harrington married Jane O'Connor in 1879, and to 
this nnion were born four children: Thomas M., Mary, Agnes T. and 
Ignatius. Both he and wife are members of the Roman Catholic church. 
September 26, 1876, Mr. Harrington was admitted to the bar to practice 
law. 

Petek Ivekson, farmer, P. O. Sergeant's Bluff, is one of the old settlers 
of Woodbury county, and resides on section eight, Liberty township. He 
was born in Denmark in 1845, a son of Thompson and Anna M. (Simpson) 
Iverson, both natives of Denmark. His father, who died in 1856, was a 
farmer in Denmark, and his mother died in 1851; both were members of 
the Lutheran church. 

Peter Iverson was born and reared on the farm in Denmark, where he 
received a common-school education, and resided with his parents until their 
death, after which he lived with his grandparents until he was seventeen 
years of age. He then worked on a farm three years, and came to Amer- 
ica in 1865, and located in Dane county, Wis., where he worked on a farm 
about nine months; then went to Omaha, where he remained about five 
months. He worked at teaming on the railroad between Little Sioux and 
Sioux City for a time, and then, in the winter of 1868, worked for Hurlburt 
Brower, in Woodbury county, until the following spring, when he rented a 
farm on which he resided six years. 

In 1874 he purchased eighty acres where he now resides, since which 
time he has added to it, and now owns 340 acres of land in Liberty town- 
ship, twenty of which is in timber. He has succeeded in getting his land all 
under a good state of cultivation, and has a good grade of stock of all kinds. 
He has witnessed all the improvements that have taken place in the county. 
Politically he is independent in his views, and is a member of the Farmers' 
Alliance. April 2, 1869, he married Sarah E. Brower, and to them have been 
born ten children: Frank O, Mary L., Albert B. and Hurlburt P. (twins), Car- 
rie A., Willie P., Sarah E., Nellie G, George T. and Wood C. Mr. and Mrs. 
Iverson are members of the Methodist church. 

E. O. B. Chadwick, druggist, Salix, was born in Eaton county, Mich., 
May 6, 1847, a son of Jonathan and Lucia (Allard) Chadwick, the father a 
native of New Hampshire, of English descent, the mother of Vermont, of 
French descent. Jonathan Chadwick was a farmer in Eaton county, Mich., 
until his death, which occurred April 9, 1890, while his wife's death occurred 
just a week before; both were members of the Baptist church.' 

E. O. B. Chadwick was born and brought up on a farm in Michigan, and 
received a common-school education. He resided with his parents until he 
was twenty-two years of age. March 1, 1865, though but eighteen years of 
age, he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-fourth Michigan infantry, and served 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 883 

until discharged, August 1, 1865. In April, 1S69, he came to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, and purchased 144 acres of land in Kedron township, and en- 
gaged at farming five years. He then sold out and purchased eighty acres 
of land in Grange township, which he farmed until 1884, when he moved to 
Salix and entered the dry goods business with E. E. Huntley, which he con- 
tinued five years, then purchased the drug store he now owns. Mr. Chad- 
wick affiliates with the democratic party, has been justice of the peace, and 
also assessor of Kedron township. He and his wife are identified with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of the Masonic order. Jan- 
uary 1, 1869, he married Libbie A. Perrine, of Ingham county, Mich., and to 
them have been born five children, three of whom are now living, namely: 
John B., George E. and Emery O. W. 

John W. Ritz, one of the oldest settlers of Woodbury county, a general 
farmer and stock-raiser, resides in Sergeant's Bluff, while his son operates 
his farm, which is in Liberty township. He was born in Lancaster county, 
Pa., December 21, 1819, a son of Jacob and Susan (Wagner) Bitz, both 
natives of Lancaster county, Pa., of German descent. The father was by 
occupation a farmer, which vocation he followed in Lancaster county until 
his death, which occurred about 1860. He and his wife, who died about 
1872, were both members of the Presbyterian church. 

John W. Bitz was born and reared on a farm, and received his early edu- 
cation in the district schools, completing it at the seminary. He remained 
with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, then engaged in teach- 
ing school about nine years, in different places in Maryland, Ohio and Iowa. 
In 1855 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and built the first house that 
was made of lumber sawed in the county. He entered 640 acres of land in 
what is now Liberty township, and one year later he moved to his farm and 
resided there a year, then rented and moved to Harrison county, Iowa, and 
taught school two years. Afterward he settled in Sergeant's Bluff, where 
he has resided ever since. Mrs. Bitz owns eighty acres of land, all under a 
good state of cultivation. In politics Mr. Bitz is a republican, and has held 
several of the township offices, and was postmaster in Sergeant's Bluff for 
nearly ten years. He married Carrie Morrison, near Cincinnati, Ohio, July 
26, 1851. They have five children: John A., Charles W. (the first boy born 
in the western part of Woodbury county), Philip E., George E. and Willie 
M. Mrs. Bitz is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

David Tangeman, grain dealer, Danbury, was born in Hanover, Germany, 
October 27, 1827, and is the second child of a family of eight. His parents 
were John G. and Adeline (Morman) Tangeman, both natives of Germany. 
They came to America in 1832, and located on a farm in Auglaize county, 
Ohio. John G. Tangeman was a farmer and general tradesman. In 1848 



884: HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

he moved to McGregor, Iowa, and opened up a new farm. David started 
out to work for himself when he was nineteen years of age, and lived on a 
farm for fourteen years, then he went to Allamakee county, Iowa, and went 
to milling on the Yellow river. In 1878 he sold a half interest in the mill, 
and came to Crawford county, and again located on a farm, which he re- 
tained but three months, when he traded it for an office and lumber yard in 
Danbury, where he now is. In 1882 he sold the yard and turned his entire 
attention to buying and shipping grain. 

In 1842 he married Minnie, daughter of Henry Wheeler, who was a 
German, and of a very long-lived family. This couple had four children: 
Louisa, Fred, Annie and August. All these children are married and in 
business for themselves. Louisa married E. Mensing, and is the mother of 
six children; Fred and August each have one child. Mr. Tangeman's first 
wife died in 1856, and in 1858 he married a second time, his wife being Mary 
Radeneker, who bore him five children: Edward, Elsford, Mahony, Minnie 
and Attle. The eldest is married and lives on a farm. Elsford deals in live 
stock. In 1889 Mr. Tangeman went to Texas and purchased an entire sec- 
tion of land. In religious belief he is a Lutheran; in politics a democrat. 

George Nicholas Castle, hotel-keeper, Danbury, is a grandson of John 
Castle, a Bavarian architect, who superintended the building of the fortifica- 
tions of his native kingdom for many years. George, -son of John Castle, is 
a cooper and builder. He married Catharine Deitzer, and in 1845 they came 
to America and located at Rosendale, Ulster county, N. Y., where George N. 
Castle was born to them April 6, 1848. In 1867 they settled on a farm in 
Maple township, Monona county, this state, and now reside with their son at 
Danbury. The latter received most of his education in the schools of Louis- 
ville, Ky., and New York city. He took a homestead in Monona county, 
which he sold in 1879, and then bought the hotel which has been known as 
the Castle house ever since. 

In November, 1871, he married Almira, daughter of Benjamin and Sally 
Ann Smith, all of Pennsylvania birth and German descent. They have three 
children living, viz. : Josephine, Mack and William. Three boys died of 
diphtheria within one week. Mr. Castle's parents were reared in the Roman 
Catholic church, but joined the Methodist in this country. He is a man of 
liberal mind. He was formerly a republican, but is now a democrat, on ac- 
count of the tariff issue. When a candidate on the democratic ticket for 
county recorder, he was defeated by only thirty-four votes. He has served 
twice as mayor of Danbury. He is scribe of the Masonic chapter at Maple- 
ton, and an active member of his home lodge. 

Isaac B. Santee, cashier of the Danbury State bank, was born in Monon- 
galia county, W. Va., March 7, 1852, and was educated at the State, univer- 



GENEALOGY AND BJOGEAPHY. 885 

sity at Morgantown, W. Va., but afterward graduated from the Iron City 
commercial college, at Pittsburgh, Pa. He then came to Illinois and man- 
aged a general store for I. B. Santee & Co., and afterward traveled about 
one year, for Boyes, Fay & Conkey, of Chicago. 

In 1883 he come to Danbury to manage a general store for Shepard, 
Field & Cook, where he gave five years' faithful work, and afterward accepted 
the position as cashier of the Danbury State bank, which has a paid-up 
capital of $40,000. His father, Andrew J., and mother, Lucy (Shriver) San- 
tee, were native Americans. He was married, June 16, 1877, to Addie M., 
daughter of James and Mary (Anthony) Gibson. Mr. Santee is a member 
of the Masonic fraternity, and votes with the democratic party. 

Charlie C. Cook, merchant, Danbury, is a grandson of Philander Cook, 
of New York, probably of Dutch descent. His parents, Wells and Caroline 
F. (Williams) Cook, were also natives of New York, the latter being a de- 
scendant of Roger Williams, of Providence colony. C. C. Cook was born 
at Java Lake, Wyoming county, N. Y., July 28, 1855. He is the second of 
four children, and received his education in the schools of Eau Claire, Wis., 
to which city his parents moved when he was eight years old. When fifteen 
years of age he went to Lacon, 111., and found employment with a railroad 
surveying party. Three years later he went to Council Bluffs, and began 
traveling as a salesman for a wholesale dry goods house. In 1882, with two 
partners, constituting the firm of Shepard, Field & Cook, he opened a gen- 
eral stock of merchandise at Danbury, and two years later he retired from 
the road and gave his whole attention to the store. 

In 1886 Shepard & Cook bought out Field, and two years later Mr. 
Cook became sole proprietor of the stock, which is a large one. Politically 
Mr. Cook is a democrat, and entertains liberal religious views. He was mar- 
ried at Coimcil Bluffs, in 1880, to Maud Knepper, of German descent, and 
they have a son seven years old, named Adelbert. 

John Holmes Ostkom, attorney, Danbury, is a grandson of John Ostrom, 
of Dutch descent, who moved from Dutchess county, N. Y., to Canada. 
Here was born Andrew Ostrom, who married Joan, daughter of John 
Holmes, of English descent. They located at Castile, N. Y., where was born 
to them the son whose name heads this article. In 1838 they removed to 
Illinois, and settled on a farm near Galesburg. Andrew Ostrom was a shoe- 
maker and also a plasterer, and plastered the first house in Galesburg. 
John H. Ostrom attended the country schools, and spent a year in Lombard 
university at Galesburg. When twenty years old, he went on the road, sell- 
ing lightning rods, and later returned to the farm. 

August 6, 1862, he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Second 
Illinois volunteer infantry, and served in the army of the Tennessee. 



88b HISTOKY OF WOODBU11Y AND PLYMOUTE COUNTIES. 

Throughout the Atlanta campaign, he was under fire nearly every day, 
from June to September, but escaped any injury. Immediately following his 
discharge, June 15, 1865, he came to Iowa, and remained four years on a 
farm near Victor. He then sold out and went to Brooklyn, Poweshiek county, 
Iowa, and read law a year, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1870. After 
practicing at Brooklyn four years, he went to Colorado and spent six years in 
mine prospecting and kindred pursuits. 

Since 1880, he has been engaged in law practice and the real estate busi- 
ness at Danbury. Mr. Ostrom is a member of the Masonic order, and has 
always been a republican. He has been school treasurer four years, and is 
now serving his second term as mayor of Danbury. In theological matters 
he is inclined to fatalism, believing that whatsoever is, is for the best. May 
24, 1866, he was married to Lydia A., daughter of William Korns, both of 
Pennsylvania birth and German ancestry. The children of Mr. and Mrs. 
Ostrom are named Stella, Ernest, Carrie and Elmer. The younger daugh- 
ter is the wife of C. E. Seibold, of Danbury, and the elder son is editor of 
the Danbury " Criterion." 

Joel B. Lake, farmer, Battle Creek, was born in Winnebago county, 111., 
in 1852, where he remained until twenty-eight years of age, during which 
time he made a trip to Nevada, where he prospected for a year, and also came 
to Polk county, Iowa, but did not locate. In 1880 he came to Woodbury 
county, and located on a farm in Morgan township, where he has since re- 
mained. He was educated in his native county, and attended high school at 
Rockton, 111. His father, V. A., is deceased, but his mother, Sophia (Taft) 
Lake, still lives; the former was a grain and stock dealer at Rockton. 

Mr. Joel Lake was married in 1880, to Eva, daughter of Philip and Lou- 
isa (Grleasman) Gebhard, of German descent, and- has one child, Roy P., now 
eight years old. In politics Mr. Lake is a republican; a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and in sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal church. 

J. H. Smith, farmer and stockman, Battle Creek, was born in Lawence 
county, Pa., March 9, 1837, a son of John and Sarah (Right) Smith, of Ger- 
man and Irish descent, repectively, both of whom are dead. His grand- 
fathers, Philip Smith and Alexander Right, were both soldiers in the Revolu- 
tionary war, while his two older brothers lost their lives in the late war. Mr. 
Smith was married in 1858, to Miss E. J. Harbison, by whom he had four 
children: Addison, Amelia, Joseph and William C. His wife died in 1879, 
and he was again married in 1884, this time to Mrs. Etta Warner, whose 
maiden name was Smith; she had two children by her former husband, 
Frank and Cora, and they have two children, Harry and B. Mr. Smith is in 
sympathy with the Presbyterian church, in politics is a republican, and a 
member of the Farmers' Alliance. . His farm consists of 240 acres, all of 
which is under cultivation, and he deals quite extensively in stock. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 887 

Peter Paulson, farmer, Danbury, was born in Schleswig, Denmark, April 
14, 1852, and there lie was educated and afterward learned the tinner's trade. 
In 1869 he came to America, and for two years followed the peddling trade 
in Chicago. He then went to California, where he was engaged handling 
brick, and also handled lumber in Washington. In 1874 he returned to Chi- 
cago, where he worked at his old trade until 1S84, when he came to Wood- 
bury county, Iowa, and located on a farm in Morgan township, where he now 
resides. His father and mother, John P. and A. (Kastisen) Paulson, were 
Danes, and he is the fifth of twelve children, six of whom are in America. 
He was naturalized and became an American citizen in 1876. 

In 1871 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Matthew and Dorothea Muss, 
of German descent. They have eight children: Mary, John, Emma, Christ., 
Henry, Paul, Anthony and Hettie. Mr. Paulson is an Odd Fellow, and he 
and wife are members of the Lutheran church. He is one of the substan- 
tial farmers of this section, having a farm of 400 acres, 300 of which he 
cultivates, besides handling cattle and hogs extensively. 

John G. Billee, M. D., a prominent physician of Correction ville, was 
born in Kent county, Ontario, March 6, 1859, and is a son of David and 
Ellen (Atkins) Biller, the former a native of Germany, and the latter of 
Canada; both are still living in Ontario. He was reared in Ontario, where 
he received his early education. At the age of twenty-two he commenced 
the study of medicine, attending the University of Michigan, and graduated 
from the Detroit Medical college in 1884. He commenced the practice of 
medicine in Hillsdale county, Mich., in the fall of 1884. He went to Washta, 
Iowa, where he practiced until April, 1887, when he came to Correction- 
ville, where he has since been engaged at his profession, and has gained a 
good reputation as a physician. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
In 1884 he married Caroline Gleason, and they have four children: Howard, 
Nettie, Edward and Minnie. 

Thomas Fkazier, farmer, P. O. Eock Branch, is a pioneer of Rutland 
township. He was born in Salt Creek township, Muskingum county, Ohio, 
December 27, 1819, and is a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Dew) Erazier, 
natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively. His grandfather, Will- 
iam Erazier, was a native of Pennsylvania, and was the son of a Scotchman, 
who came from Inverness, and served as a colonial soldier during the Revolu- 
tion. A brother of this soldier was at the same time a colonel in the British 
army. Our subject was reared on a farm, receiving a limited education, as 
there were no free schools in his time. 

In July, 1841, he married Martha Ward, a native of Perry county, Ohio, 
and daughter of William and Sarah (Drennan) Ward, of English descent. 
In 1842 they removed to Missouri, and the next year to Pike county, 111., 



858 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

where they remained four years. After living twenty-one years on a farm in 
Jackson county, Iowa, they settled on section thirty- six, Rutland township, 
in 1868, where they still reside. In 1850 Mr. Frazier made an overland trip 
to California, where he remained nearly three years, engaged in moderately 
successful mining. 

He secured the organization of Rutland township as soon as it had suf- 
ficient population, and has served as clerk, assessor and justice of the 
peace. He is an uncompromising democrat, and sympathizes with the Evan- 
gelical church, of which his wife is a member. He was many years an Odd 
Fellow, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Following are the names 
and residences of his children: Almira (Mrs. B. L. Flathers), Philena (widow 
of J. J. Woods), Wolf Creek township; Mary (wife of Thomas Beckon), Rut- 
land; Martha (Mrs. Alfred Bryant), Moville; Alice (Mrs. Sidel), Wolf Creek; 
Thomas B., at home. 

J. C. Foley, stockman, Climbing Hill, was born in county Down, Ireland, 
in the year 1834. His parents' names were Matthew and Elizabeth (Cope- 
land) Foley, both of Irish nativity. Mr. Foley was married in England, 
May 27, 1865, to Rosena Cleland, of Irish birth and parentage, a daughter 
of Robert and Elizabeth Cleland. In the same year Mr. Foley immigrated 
to America, and engaged in farming in Wisconsin. He went to England on 
a three years' visit, returning to Wisconsin, from whence he went to Kansas, 
remaining five years, and returning again to Wisconsin. In 1877 he came 
to Sioux City, and engaged in the dairy business until 1887, when he came 
to his present place, the Glenview stock farm, West Fork township, where 
he is engaged in farming and the breeding of trotting and French draft 
horses. Mr. and Mrs. Foley have six children — four girls and two boys, viz. : 
Elizabeth, aged twenty- four years, a milliner in Sioux City; Mary, aged 
twenty-three years, principal of one of the Sioux City schools; Sarah, aged 
twenty-one years, a teacher in Sioux City; Grace, aged nineteen, milliner at 
Sioux City; William, aged seventeen, attending business college in Sioux 
City; and Johnny, aged thirteen, at school in Sioux City. 

Prof. N. E. Palmer was born in Sullivan, Ashland county, Ohio, Novem- 
ber 26, 1838. His parents were Thomas M. and Aldis (Ladd) Palmer, both 
of whom were from Vermont. His grandfather's name was Thomas, and his 
great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolution. He is of English descent 
on his father's side, and a mixture of German on his mother's. In 1844 the 
Palmers moved to Noble county, Ind, and in 1852 to Wisconsin. Here the 
Professor received his education, graduating in the scientific course of the 
Point Bluff academy. Here he engaged in teaching and in the lumber busi- 
ness, and held the position of clerk of the board of supervisors of Adams 
county. In 1869 he came to Sioux City, walking from Fort Dodge, and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHT. »»y 

worked for his board, until he secured a position as teacher, and afterward 
taught in different parts of the county. For three terms, including the 
years 1879 to 1883, and 1887 to 1889, he ably filled the position of county 
superintendent of schools. While in office he graded the normal institute 
of the county, and compiled the first syllabus for institute work used in the 
county. He has been closely connected with the school work of the county 
for more than twenty years. He was the candidate for the republicans in 
1883 for representative, but was beaten by a small plurality. 

Mr. Palmer was married October 31, 1877, to Miss Amelia Gillett, who 
was born in Clinton county, Iowa, in January, 1858, a daughter of Henry 
and Sarah (Sleeper) Gillett. Three children have blessed the union, namely : 
Hertha Edite, born April 30, 1882; Bessie May, born January 19, 1885; 
Edna Mabel, born August 16, 1888. When fifteen years old, Mr. Palmer 
lost his right arm by the accidental discharge of a gun, but even with this 
disability is making quite a success of farming on his half section, near 
Peiro, where he is at present located. 

William T. Woeth, farmer, P. O. Climbing Hill, was born in Morgan 
county, 111., April 28, 1844, a son of David B. and Margaret (Eades) Worth. 
On his father's side he is of German, and on his mother's, of English ancestry. 
He came to Marion county, Iowa, in 1846, and engaged in farming there 
until 1880, when he came to his present place in West Fork township. He 
married, in Marion county, Iowa, November 28, 1868, Miss N J. Gifford, 
who was born February 6, 1845. Her father, Manly Gifford, was a member 
of the legislature for Polk and Jasper counties, when the capital of Iowa 
was at Iowa City. Her mother's name was Sarah E. Davis. Mr. and Mrs. 
Worth have four children, viz. : Manly, born October 26, 1869 ; Minnie, 
born October 2, 1873; Elvan, born November 21, 1883; and Floy, born 
September 23, 1886. Mr. Worth enlisted, August 10, 1862, in Company H, 
Fortieth Iowa infantry, and was in the battles of Prairie D' Anne and Jen- 
kins Ferry. He owns property in Sioux City, and has 200 acres of land in 
his farm. He is engaged in farming, stock-raising and horticulture. The 
many varieties of apple, grape, evergreen and forest trees that Mr. Worth 
has on his place, demonstrate the capabilities of northwestern Iowa's soil. 
In politics Mr. Worth is an independent. 

Rev. Caboline A. Bassett was born in Cattaraugus county, N. Y., 
in the year 1841. At the early age of fifteen years, she commenced her 
labors as a teacher, and by careful economy and industry, saved enough to 
enable her to attend the State Normal school of Albany, where she graduated 
with honor in 1862. 

In 1868 she resigned her position as principal of the Gowanda Union 
school and came to Correctionville, Iowa. Shortly after reaching the state, 



890 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

she was engaged as principal of the Onawa school, which position she held 
for one year. At the close of the spring term she was appointed by the state 
superintendent to conduct the Monona County institute, it being the first 
teachers' institute ever conducted by a lady, and so successful was she that 
her services were sought in many of the counties of the state, and in Dakota, 
conducting their Territorial institute in December, 1873. 

In 1870 she was appointed principal of the grammar department of the 
public schools of Sioux City. In the - fall of 1870, she was elected by the 
people of Woodbury county, to the office of county superintendent of schools, 
which office she held for two years, retaining her place, however, in school, 
until the close of 1873, when she resigned to devote herself more fully to the 
duties of the office, and institute conductor. Under her superintendency, edu- 
cational conventions were held at Correctionville, Smithland and Sioux City. 
These consisted of lectures, discussions, papers and illustrated lessons. 
Besides these conventions, two institutes were held in Sioux City — the 
first commenced October 7, 1872, and continued one week, conducted by 
Prof. James Johonnot, of the Warrensburg Normal school, Mo., and Miss 
Helen Potter, of New York. A normal institute was held, commencing 
November 17, 1873, and continued two weeks, in charge of Miss Bassett, 
assisted by Mrs. Randall Diehl, of New York, and the teachers of the county. 

In 1871, at a celebration in Correctionville, she won the honor of being 
the first lady to deliver a fourth-of-July oration. Miss Bassett was promi- 
nently connected with all the educational interests of the state. In August, 
1872, she presented a paper at the State Teachers' association at Iowa City, 
upon " Normal Training in the High School." She presented " Reading and 
Elocution" at the first State Normal held in Des Moines, and a paper before 
the same institute at Clear Lake. She also established an educational bureau 
at Des Moines. 

In January, 1874, Miss Bassett entered the University at Evanston, 
111., for a theological course, but receiving an injury from a fall, she was 
unable to complete the course. In 1878 she assisted in a normal institute at 
Sioux City. Miss Bassett is at present pastor of the Free Baptist church of 
Lisbon, Mich., having been ordained by that denomination in June, 1881. She 
is also state superintendent of Sunday-school work in the Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union. 

Lorenzo D. Wellington (deceased) was a son of Ashley and Sarah (Ford) 
Wellington, of German and Irish descent, and was born in Erie county, N. Y., 
June 11, 1824. He was reared on a farm, and resided with his parents until 
twenty years of age, when he started out to earn his own living. He worked 
in different localities until 1857, when he came to Woodbury county and pur- 
chased 160 acres of land in section twenty-nine, West Fork township, where 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 891 

his family now reside. January 1, 1857, he married Elizabeth Lee, of Illi- 
nois, and to them were born eleven children, namely: Charles A., Sarah H., 
Loretta A., David E., Elmer L., Chester M., Nellie J., Florence L., Gracie, 
Willie A. and Ida L. In politics Mr. Wellington was a republican, and held 
the office of constable, and belonged to the Engineers' Association. He and 
his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. His death oc- 
curred April 15, 1885. He had his farm under a good state of cultivation, 
and well stocked with a good grade of horses, cattle and hogs. 

Chakles Bkown, an old settler and general farmer, now residing on sec- 
tion fourteen, Grange township, was born in Berkshire county, Mass., Janu- 
ary 28, 1833, a son of Samuel and Susan (Joslyn) Brown. Samuel Brown 
was engaged in farming in this county at the time of his death, January 7, 
1879; his wife died on the same farm, October 5, 1890, at the age of eighty- 
five. They were of English descent, and true Christian people. Our subject 
resided with his parents until twenty-six years old. He came to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, in 1864, and located at Sioux City, but the following year 
■ went to Smithland, where he lived three years. He then purchased eighty 
acres of land where he now lives, which he has under a good state of cultiva- 
tion. He has seen the wonderful development of the country and the growth 
of Sioux City from its infancy. The first school meeting of the three town- 
ships, Willow, West Fork and Grange, was held at his house. In 1857 he 
married Minerva West, of Pennsylvania, and to them have been born six 
children: Viola, Emma, Alice, Bachel, Samuel and Tillie. Viola, the eldest 
child, died October 26, 1875. In politics Mr. Brown is a republican. He 
has a record of his family extending back through five generations in Amer- 
ica, and through six generations prior, while they were in England. 

Chakles B. Netjpauer, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section sixteen, 
Moville township, was born in Austria, February 8, 1855, and is a son of 
Charles and Gabriella (Badstuber) Neupauer, both natives of Austria. 
His father is the owner of large estates in Austria, comprising between three 
and four thousand acres of land, and raises a large amount of grain, besides 
being engaged quite extensively in stock-raising. 

Charles B. received a first-class education in his native land, attending 
the University at Prague two years, and graduating from Magyar Ovar in 
Hungary, and subsequently from the University of Halle, Germany. After 
completing his collegiate studies, he engaged in farming in Austria two years, 
and in 1882 sailed for America. He located in Plymouth county, Iowa, 
where he remained until 1889, when he purchased 320 acres of land in 
Moville township, Woodbury county, where he now resides, engaged in farm- 
ing. He also superintends land which belongs to gentlemen in the old coun- 
try. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 



892 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Parley Morris, farmer, P. O. Oto, was born in New York state, June 14, 
1830, and is the only living child of six children born to John and Dorcas 
(Webb) Morris, the former of Connecticut, and the latter of Vermont. He 
remained at home with his parents until 1844, when he went to Ohio, and 
worked out at farming until he became of age, then went to Wisconsin 
and engaged in the lumber business, remaining until 1856, when he came to 
Iowa. He located on his present farm in Grant township in 1864, and has 
remained here since. April 26, 1865, he married Jane Elizabeth Livermore 
a widow. She had three children by her first marriage, but Mr. Morris has 
no children of his own. In politics he is a republican. 

Charles A. Hall, farmer, P. O. Oto, was born April 25, 1859, in Jack- 
son county, Iowa, and is a son of Isaac and Jane (Livermore) Hall, both of 
whom are deceased. He received a good college education, and, after mov- 
ing from one place to another until 1881, he located on his present farm of 
120 acres of choice land, where he raises the best of crops. He is well liked 
and highly esteemed by his neighbors. Mr. Hall married Josie Greener, and 
three children have blessed this union. In politics he is a republican. 

Palmer Hall, farmer, Smithland, was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., 
July 22, 1831, and is a son of Thomas and Lida (Palmer) Hall, natives of 
New York. His father was a Whig, and followed farming. Of their two 
children, our subject was the elder. He was reared on a farm in Jefferson 
county, N. Y., and attended school until he came west in 1856. He married 
Elizabeth Jane Adams, who was born October 9, 1839, in Boone county, Ind., 
March 4, 1858. His farm consists of 405 acres, situated in the Little Sioux 
valley, three miles northeast of Smithland, 130 acres being under cultivation, 
130 acres in pasture, 70 acres meadow, and the remainder in timber. He 
also has an orchard of one and one-half acres of apple trees and various kinds 
of small fruit. The buildings and orchard are protected on the north by a 
grove of three acres, consisting of cotton wood, black walnut, maple and red 
cedar. 

To Mr. Hall and wife were born eight children, namely: William Wal- 
lace, born December 25, 1858, married November 7, 1889, to Miss Mary A. 
Fox, now residing in Smithland; Thomas Adams, born March 13, 1861, died 
November 3, 1886, from the effects of a fall from a horse; Bertha Bebecca, 
born August 7, 1863, was married to O. G. Buntin, November 13, 1884, and 
removed to Carroll county, Mo., where she now resides; Louis Napoleon, 
born April 5, 1867; Edith Florine, born March 16, 1870; Harry Elijah, 
born October 4, 1873; Nellie Viola, born August 26, 1878; Fred Parmer, 
born February 5, 1882. Mr. Hall and family attend the Methodist church, 
and he is a democrat in politics. 

Nicholas Gambs, farmer, Smithland, was born September 10, 1833, at 
Bemling, canton de Volmuster, department de la Moselle, Lorraine, France. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 893 

He received a thorough education in the public schools, and speaks French, 
German and English fluently. September 5, 1855, he came to America and 
landed at New York city. He went to Ohio, from there to Wheeling, W. 
Va., where he worked in a tannery till the spring of 1856, when he went to 
Ohio and carried on the tanning and currier business till February 15, 1865, 
when he sold out and came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and on March 20 of 
the same year, he settled on the land where he now lives. January 10, 1857, 
in the Catholic church at Miltonsburg, Monroe county, Ohio, he married 
Maria Bauer, and eleven children have blessed their union, nine of whom are 
still living. Mr. Gambs votes the democratic ticket. His parents are Nicho- 
las and Barbara (Wack) Gambs, the former a native of Lorraine, France, the v 
latter a Bavarian. Our subject was raised as a Boman Catholic, but is a 
free believer, his motto being, do unto others as you wish others to do unto 
you. He holds that one religious belief is not any better than another. He 
prefers to judge a man by the manner in which he conducts himself, rather 
than by his religious belief. 

James Simon Hoeton, miller, Oto, was born in Canada, January 4, 1836, 
and is the elder of the two children born to Elias and Mary (Fross) Horton, 
natives of England. He learned the mason's trade, at which he worked until 
he came to Iowa in 1869, when he located on a farm in Oto Township. In 
1875 he went into the milling business and has since been working at that. 
He married Julia Anna Sherwood, who died leaving him a family of ten chil- 
dren. February 5, 1886, he married again, his second wife being Alice Mor- 
rison, of Galena, 111. Mr. Horton was one of the earliest settlers of this 
county and relates many interesting incidents of its early time. He votes the 
democratic ticket. 

Thomas Herbert, farmer, Oto, was born in England, January 10, 1828. 
He remained at home working with his parents, James and Sarah (Clatara- 
tion) Herbert, until 1853, when he came to Canada. He remained there a 
short time working at blacksmithing, and then removed to Ohio, where he 
stayed until the outbreak of the war. He joined the One Hundred and 
Fifteenth Ohio volunteers, and remained in the army till he was wounded 
in the leg at Stone Biver by a rifle ball, when he was discharged. After the 
close of the war he went to Ohio, but soon after removed to Iowa, where he 
is still living. He was married to Elizabeth Bettnan in 1837, and has a 
family of three children. He supports the democratic party. 

Benjamin Franklin Bellows,, architect and builder, Oto, was born March 
17, 1842, in Canada. He is the second of the seven children of Moses Brown 
and Fanny M. (Pierce) Bellows, the former of New Hampshire, born August 
11, 1808, and the latter of New York, born April 4, 1819. Our subject 
learned the carpenter's trade, and worked at it until 1861, when he went to 



894 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Nebraska, and joined the First Dakota cavalry, Company A, under Sully. 
In 1876 he came to Oto township, Woodbury county, and located, remaining 
here since. He was married to Hannah E. Ross, at Sioux City, January 8, 
1874. Three children blessed this union, two of whom are deceased. In 
politics Mr. Bellows is a republican. 

Nicholas Keitges, farmer, P. O. Oto, was born in the village of Nothum, 
canton "Wiltz, grand duchy of Luxemburg, May 9, 1832, and is the son of 
John Baptist and Susan (Mersh) Keitges. His father, who was born on the 
home farm which the family had owned for 200 years, immigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1866. He was born in 1804, but as the farm was divided among all 
the children, according to the laws there, he thought best to sell his share 
and come to America. The family came to Iowa, and purchased an improved 
farm of 160 acres, near Independence, Buchanan county. There they lived 
until the father died, March 29, 1878. The mother died on the homestead 
in the old country, in December, 1864. 

Nicholas Keitges is the eldest of their six children, and was well edu- 
cated in the French and German languages before he came to this country. 
He was of a roving disposition, and did not settle down at once. February 
27, 1868, he married Margaret Hottua, and live children have been born to 
them, three of whom are living. He lived in Iowa four years, most of the 
time in Buchanan county, though in November, 1869, he' made a trip to 
Kansas, looking for land, but the grasshoppers were so bad that it did not 
look favorable to him. He owned some land in Nebraska, and was there 
from the fall of 1871 until July 1, 1875, and the grasshoppers having de- 
stroyed his crops there four years in succession, he was obliged to move or 
starve, so he left that state, and moved to Harrison county, Iowa, where he 
bought 140 acres, and lived eight years, and where his wife died, February 
16, 1877. In 1883 he sold out, and went to Oregon with his family, and 
spent two months looking for land, but he was not satisfied there, and re- 
turned to Iowa, and located on his present place in Oto township. He is a 
member of the Eoman Catholic church, and in political matters votes the 
democratic ticket. 

William C. Millek, attorney at law, Correctionville, was born in Free- 
port, 111., April 21, 1863, and is a son of E. W. and Catharine (Devore) Miller, 
natives of Bedford county, Pa., of German descent. The parents now reside 
in Rutland township, this county, where they settled in 1883. For twenty 
years they dwelt on a farm in Montgomery county, Mo., where our subject 
was reared. He attended the common schools till seventeen years old, when 
he entered the Missouri State university at Columbia. He taught school 
and practiced stenographic writing, and in 1884 was appointed court reporter 
for the then Fourteenth judicial district of Iowa, taking up his residence at 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 895 

Ida Grove. When the present Sixteenth district was formed he continued in 
the same capacity, filling the position for nearly three years in all. 

In 1886 he was examined by the Supreme court and admitted to practice. 
For the next two years he practiced in partnership with E. D. Wigton at 
Sioux City, settling at Correctionville in 1889. In October, 1890, he formed 
a partnership with Earl Edmunds for the practice of law. He is a Knight of 
■Pythias, and acts with the republican party. In May, 1889, Mr. Miller mar- 
ried Miss Lou E., daughter of M. B. and Jenny (Layson) White. Mrs. Mil- 
ler is a native of Missouri, and her parents of Kentucky and Missouri, respect- 
ively. 

Ellis Hogue, an old settler in Woodbury county, and a retired farmer 
living in Correctionville, was born in Lawrence county, Pa., and is a son of 
Jonathan and Jane (Walton) Hogue, both natives of Pennsylvania, and both 
of Scotch-Irish descent. Jonathan Hogue was by occupation a farmer, and 
died in June, 1886, at the age of eighty-six years; his wife still resides in 
Warren county, Pa. ; both were supporters of the church and esteemed by 
all. 

Ellis Hogue was reared on a farm 7 and received his education in the dis- 
trict schools of the neighborhood. March, 1864, he enlisted in Company I, 
142d Pennsylvania infantry. He was wounded at the battle of the Wilder- 
ness and was sent to the hospital, afterward going home on furlough. He 
subsequently returned to the army, and was discharged in June, 1865. Mr. 
Hogue then sold out in Pennsylvania and moved to Ohio, where he farmed 
three years, then came to Woodbury county, Iowa, in the fall of 1868, and 
settled on 160 acres of land in Pock township, which he had previously pur- 
chased. He engaged in farming there until March, 1890, when he gave up 
active work and retired, selling his farm and purchasing property in Cor- 
rectionville. October 20, 1853, he married Elizabeth West, of Venango 
county, Pa. ; both he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
He is a republican, and was trustee of Rock township thirteen years, and 
school treasurer three years. 

William M. Weight, a prominent druggist now doing business in Cor- 
rectionville, was born in Washington county, Iowa, January 17, 1855, and is 
a son of John and Isabelle (Clarke) Wright, the former a native of Ireland, 
but the latter a native of Pennsylvania, of German antecedents. John 
Wright is by occupation a farmer, and also deals in fine stock, in which 
business he is now engaged, being located in Washington county, Iowa. 

William M. Wright was born and reared on the farm in Washington 
county, Iowa, and received his early education in the common schools, but 
completed his studies in the Washington academy. He then engaged as 
clerk in a drug store, in the same county, where he remained four years. He 



896 HISTOEY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

then went to What Cheer, Iowa, and went into the drug business for him- 
self, where he remained a short time only, when he moved his stock to Wood- 
bury county, and opened a store in Correctionville. This was in 1882, and 
he has continued in business there ever since, his business growing so large 
that on December 1, 1889, he was obliged to move into a larger store-room, 
and now has the finest store in Woodbury county outside of Sioux City. He 
is a republican in politics, and is a member of the council, which office he 
has held for four years. He was treasurer two terms. He holds member- 
ship in the Masonic, I. O. O. F. and K. of P. societies. Mr. Wright married 
Molly Moses, of Keota, Iowa, in June, 1882, and they have one child, Pearl. 
He and wife are well known in the county, and hold the respect and esteem 
of all their friends and acquaintances. 

John A. Lambert, an old settler now residing in Correctionville, was born 
in Tennessee, December 8, 1831, a son of Adam and Hannah (Crouse) Lam- 
bert, both natives of Tennessee and of German descent. Adam Lambert 
engaged in farming in Winneshiek county, Iowa, from 1857, when he moved 
there from Madison county, Ind., until his death, which occurred in 1881; 
his wife survived him only until the following spring. 

John A. was born and reared on a farm, and resided with his parents 
until twenty-one years of age, when he engaged in farming for himself in 
Madison county, Ind. In 1857 he moved to Winneshiek county, Iowa, and 
in 1868 to Woodbury county, and took up a homestead in Union township, 
where he farmed until 1885 ; since then he has rented out his farm and lived 
in Correctionville. January 11, 1854, he married Susan Neal, and they 
have had eight children, all of whom are living: Florence L., wife of James 
Crowther, living in Nebraska; Mary I., wife of T. J. Wright, of Nebraska; 
William W., who is at present living in Washington; James L., living in 
Plymouth county, Iowa; Estella, wife of George Wilson, living in Wood- 
bury county; Martha B., wife of William Waxier, living in Kingsley; Onier 
and Milbert G., both living in Correctionville. Mrs. Lambert passed to her 
final rest March 11, 1890, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
an earnest Christian woman. In politics Mr. Lambert votes the republican 
ticket, and has been trustee of Union township about five years, and also 
held the office of school director. 

Chalapha G. Goss, a leading merchant of Correctionville, was born in 
Keokuk county, Iowa, March 1, 1858, and is a son of Wesley and Elizabeth 
(Evans) Goss. Wesley Goss was bom in Washington county, Ohio, March 
16, 1815, and is a son of Solomon and Mary C. (Devall) Goss, his father be- 
ing of English descent, and his mother of French descent. He engaged in 
farming in Hardin county, Ohio, until 1839, when he came to Iowa and set- 
tled in what is now Keokuk county, and entered 210 acres of land. He farmed 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 897 

there for twenty-two years, when he sold out and moved to Mahaska county, 
Iowa, where he resided sis years, going thence to Clay county, where he con- 
tinued farming until 1882. He then retired from active work, sold his farm, 
and settled in Correctionville, Woodbury county, where he has resided ever 
since. 

When he came into the state of Iowa there were about three tiers of 
counties west of the Mississippi river, and these were sparsely settled. He 
has been identified with the history of Iowa for about fifty years, and has 
seen the wild lands cleared and transformed into fertile farms and comforta- 
ble homes, has witnessed the introduction of railroads, the telegraph, num- 
berless factories, and has beheld the church and school-houses erected, and 
the whole state filled with a happy and prosperous people. He has seen the 
Indians in their wigwams, and wild game of every description that lived in 
the woods and on the prairies of the great state of Iowa. He married 
Elizabeth Evans, March 17, 1836, and they have reared a family of eleven 
children, viz. : Eliza A., James G., Mary A., Charles W. (who was killed in the 
battle of Iuka, Miss.), Lucy, Elizabeth, Solomon M. (who was drowned while 
bathing in Skunk river), Olive A., Harlan, Chalapha and Ella E. Both 
parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which they 
have been identified fifty-sis years. They are well known in Woodbury 
county, where they are held in the highest esteem by all. Politically Mr. 
Goss is a republican, and has supported the principles of that party ever 
since its organization. He was formerly a whig. He is also a member of 
the Masonic fraternity. 

C. G. Goss was born and reared on a farm, and received his early educa- 
tion in the district schools, completing his studies in the Onawa high school. 
He then- taught school about five years, was employed in a store until 1882, 
and then came to Correctionville, where he embarked in the mercantile busi- 
ness for himself. He is now doing a prosperous business, in a handsome 
brick building, which was erected by Goss & Co. He is a member of the 
Masonic order and of the K. of P., and politically is a republican. 

James O. Thompson, an enterprising citizen of Correctionville, was born in 
Oshkosh, Wis., January 7, 1852, a son of Olden and Mary J. (Westgate) 
Thompson. Olden Thompson was a native of Vermont, of Scotch-Irish descent, 
and spent a part of his life sailing on the Atlantic and Southern seas ; the latter 
part of his life was spent in farming in Fayette county, Iowa, where he re- 
sided at the time of his death, which occurred in March, 1886; his wife was 
of German and English descent, a native of New York, and survived her 
husband but ten days. Eight children were born to this couple, five of 
whom are yet living: Ellen, wife of S. Stevenson, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.; 
James, our subject; Myron E. and Mary E., twins; and Carrie. Both par- 
ents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 



898 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

James O. was born and reared on a farm, and received his early educa- 
tion in the common schools, but completed his studies at the University of 
Fayette county, Iowa. He engaged in farming in the same county until 
1876, when he moved to Woodbury county, and engaged in farming there 
until 18S6. He then moved to Correctionville and took charge of his livery 
and sale stable which he and his brother, Myron E., are at present carrying 
on. They also own 340 acres of land in Woodbury county, which they hire 
men to operate. Myron E. owns 120 acres in Fayette county. Politically 
they are both republicans. James O. is at present a member of the council, 
and both he and brother are members of the K. of P. Our subject was united 
in marriage in Fayette county, Iowa, December 25, 1873, to Julia E. Dewey, 
born in Ohio, but who had moved to Iowa when quite young. Myron E. 
married Clara B. Koberts, in February, 1884. They have three children: 
Cecil, Myron and Pearl. 

Jacob Aethue Bunn, farmer, Correctionville, is ' a native of Birkham- 
stead, England, as were his father James, and grandfather, John Bunn. His 
mother, Mary Ann (Seabrook) Bunn, was also born there, but now makes her 
home with Jacob. The latter was six years old when his parents came to 
America and located at Brooklyn, now a part of Cleveland, Ohio, where the 
father followed his trade, blacksmithing. In 1871 he settled on a farm in 
Douglas township, Ida county, this state, where he died in August, 1885, 
aged sixty-nine years. He had previously dwelt sixteen years at Worthing- 
ton, Dubuque county. Following are the names, with residence, of his chil- 
dren: Isaac, Ida Grove, Ida county; Jacob A., Woodbury county; Caleb, 
who was in the First Iowa cavalry, Company I, three years, Silver township, 
Cherokee county; Sarah E. (Vanderver), Sioux Falls, S. Dak. ; John and James 
Alfred, Washta, Cherokee county. 

Jacob A. Bunn was born January 1, 1844, and remained with his parents 
until twenty years old, when he began working with a fence gang on the Illi- 
nois Central railroad. In 1864 he joined Company A, Forty-fourth Iowa 
infantry volunteers, and did Garrison duty at Memphis, Tenn., La Grange, 
Miss., and other points till the close of the war. 

In 1869 he bought land in Douglas, Ida county, on which he dwelt eight 
years. Selling out, he bought land in Union township, Woodbury county, 
where he now has 576 acres. He raises and buys many cattle, usually feed- 
ing two car loads through the winter. He entertains liberal religious views, 
and affiliates with the republican party. He has served as school director 
and township trustee during his residence in Union. In September, 1871, 
he married Frances A. Pearson, a native of Livingston county, 111. Their 
children are Mary Jane, Cora May, George Grey and Bird Florence. Mrs. 
Brum's parents, Moses and Jane (Pindle) Pearson, were among the first set- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 899 

tiers at Correctionville, coming there in 1855, and remaining in that vicinity 
until 1861, when they removed to Cherokee county. They are natives of New 
Hampshire and Ohio, respectively, and of English descent. 

William T. McNeae, confectioner, now doing business in Correctionville, 
was born in Shelbyville, 111., October 9, 1830, and is a son of Matthew and 
Maria (Sandusky) McNear, the former born in the District of Columbia, and 
the latter in Kentucky. Matthew was a miner by occupation. He came to 
Woodbury county in 1868, and here resided until his death, which occurred 
in 1885, at the age of eighty-four years; his wife died in 1883. William T. 
was born in Shelbyville, 111., and moved with his parents to Dubuque in 
1836. He remained in Dubuque until 1878, when he purchased 280 acres of 
land in Miller township, Woodbury county, where he engaged in farming 
until 1SS8. He then moved to Correctionville, where he opened a restau- 
rant, which he has carried on ever since. October 1, 1878, he married Esther 
L. Morton, of Dubuque, Iowa, and they have three children: Mabel L., 
Jessie W. and Mary L. Politically Mr. McNear supports the democratic 
party. 

Lewis Gould Richardson, farmer, Pierson, was born in Marietta, Ohio, 
May 22, 1840, and is the sixth of the eight children of Reuben and Eliza 
(Fletcher) Richardson, natives of Boston. Henry, father of Reuben Richard- 
son, was a Frenchman, and served as a colonial soldier during the Revolu- 
tion. The Fletcher family is also of French descent. L. G Richardson 
was reared on a farm, and received an ordinary education. When fourteen 
years old he went with an elder brother to Minnesota, and settled on the 
present site of Northfield. Returning to Ohio, he was employed on a river 
steamer, and came up the Mississippi, from New Orleans to Cairo, in May, 
1861. He again went to Minnesota and bought a farm in Dakota county. 
In 1865 he enlisted as a recruit in the First Minnesota regiment, and wit- 
nessed the surrender of Gen. Lee's army. Nest year he sold his farm and 
came to Union township, Woodbury county, where he took the southwest 
quarter of section four, as a homestead. He has since added 180 acres to 
his farm, and is known as a progressive farmer. 

He has served as school director nearly all the time of his residence here. 
Politically he is a democrat, and is a TJniversalist in religious faith. In the 
spring of 1864 he married Mary Ellen Sargent, a native of Corinna, Me., and 
daughter of John W. and Abigal (Clark) Sargent, also natives of Maine. 
Mrs. Richardson's grandfather, Joseph Sargent, was born in Vermont, 
probably of English descent, as were her maternal grandparents, who were 
born in Bath, Me. Mr. Richardson's living children are as follows: Martha 
(wife of Samuel Payne, Breckenridge, Colo.); Lulu (Mrs. Erastus Graves, 
Conrad, Iowa) ; Guy, at home ; Frank, Conrad, Irene, Nellie, Milf ord, Lottie 
and Jessie, with parents. 



900 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Henky Landon, farmer, Pierson, was born in Salisbury, Conn., October 
30, 1-821, and is a son of Allen and Sally (Sedgwick) Landon, also natives of 
Salisbury. His grandfather, James Landon, was a large farmer and mer- 
chant of Salisbury, and was probably born in the same township, of English 
ancestry. Henry Landon was reared on a farm and attended the common 
schools. Since he was nineteen years old he has sustained himself chiefly in 
farming. For some years he was a puddler in the iron works of Salisbury. 
In 1857 he came to Iowa, and dwelt ten years near Decorah. He then took 
a homestead on section five, "Union township, where he now resides, and fol- 
lows general farming. In religious faith he is a Methodist, and has usually 
supported the democratic party in politics. In 1845 he married Almeda, 
daughter of Charles and Betsey Dean, all of Canaan, Conn. Following are 
the names, with residence, of Mr. Landon's children: Ellen (wife of Lorenzo 
Dean), Kingsley; Jennie, with parents; Addie (Mrs. Edwin Lent), Correc- 
tionville; James and Alice, at home; Kate (wife of Arthur Baker), Union 
township. 

Qutncy A. Chkisxy, a real estate and loan agent, now residing at Correc- 
tionville, and justice of the peace of Kedron township, was born in Wayne 
county, Iowa, June 11, 1858. He is a son of Josiah M. and Hannah B. 
(Cloyed) Christy, the former a native of Ohio, born near Rising Sun, and of 
Scotch-Irish descent, and the latter born in Wayne county, Ind., of Scotch- 
English descent. Josiah Christy moved to Wayne county, Iowa, in 1848, 
and is now engaged in farming. He passed through Chicago in 1833, 
when that place contained but fifteen houses, besides the Fort Dearborn bar- 
racks. Politically he is a republican, and has supported the principles of 
that party since its organization, but in the early days was a whig. He and 
his wife are both members of the Methodist church, and are well known 
and respected by all. 

Quincy A. was born and reared on a farm in Wayne county, Iowa. He 
left home at the age of fifteen years, and worked on a farm during the sum- 
mer and taught school in the winter, until he was twenty years of age. In 
October, 1882, he came to Woodbury county, where he worked in a store 
until 1888, when he went into the real estate and loan business, which he has 
since continued. Being a republican, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in 
the office of justice of the peace, which occurred in September, 1888, and in 
November, following, he was elected to fill the same office. He was united in 
marriage with Lova Furgeson, of Correctionville, May 1, 1884. They are 
both members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Christy is a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F. 

Dustin Henry Bobbins, farmer, Correctionville, was born at Nashua, N. 
H, June 2, 1834, and is a son of Levi and Sarah (Hazelton) Bobbins, also 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 901 

natives of New Hampshire, as was his grandfather, Ezra Bobbins. The lat- 
ter was the son of a Scotchman who settled in that state. The Hazelton 
family was also established there by a Scotchman about the same time. 
When seven years old our subject went with his parents to Woodstock, Vt., 
where he was reared on a farm, receiving a common-school education. In 
1854 he came to Winneshiek county, this state, where he continued to own 
land till he came to Union township in 1866. He took a homestead on sec- 
tion fifteen, which he still retains and makes his home. He helped to organ- 
ize the Methodist society of his neighborhood, in which he is now a trustee, 
a handsome church having been erected in 1888. 

Politically he is a republican, and has served as justice of the peace four- 
teen years. In September, 1860, he married Martha, daughter of William 
and Mary Coe, all of English birth. Mrs. Bobbins was four years old when 
her family came to America. Following are the names of her children: 
William, Franklin, Albert Perry, Mabel, Martha, Paul, Henry, Eeuben and 
Clyde. On the fourth of July, 1888, Mr. Bobbins lost his house, library and 
all furniture by fire, the family being absent. 

James F. Shanley, chief of police, Sioux City, is a native of Massachu- 
setts, and was born in 1860. He is a son of John Shanley, of Ireland, who 
was inspector for the government for a number of years. He began life as 
a bootblack, and from that position he rose to messenger boy for the govern- 
ment. He then became C. S. for United States attorney, T. C. Sullivan, and 
then was clerk and afterward store-keeper. He remained in the employ of 
the government until ten years ago. He was employed by the city as watch- 
man, then as superintendent of the city markets, then as deputy marshal, 
and finally as city marshal, which office he held two terms. In March, 1889, 
he was appointed chief of police, which position he now holds. He is a mem- 
ber of the Roman Catholic church, and takes the democratic side in politics. 

Lynn & Sullivan, lawyers. The senior member of this firm is Mr. Lynn, 
a native of Missouri, who was born March 6, 1857. He received a common- 
school education, and began the study of law in 1878. He came to Sioux 
City in 1885, and was admitted to practice at this bar. For six years he 
held the position of district attorney in his native town in Missouri. Mr. 
Sullivan, the junior member, is a graduate of the Albany Law school, having 
graduated from that institution in 1884. He is a native of Albion, N. Y., 
and was born May 20, 1862. In January, 1890, the firm of Lynn & Sullivan 
was formed. They are both democrats in politics. 

L. L. Kellogg, manager of the Sioux City Electric Light Co., was born 
at Haverhill, Ohio, in 1856. At the age of fifteen he took a position as office 
boy with the Ironton Gas Co., Ironton, Ohio, and, step by step, was advanced, 
until he was elected superintendent of the company, in which position he 



902 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

remained until 1883, when he resigned to take the position with McMillin 
& Wilson, gas works owners and lessees. While in their employ he rebuilt 
the gas works at Galena, 111., and Nebraska City, Neb. He came to Sioux City 
in 1885, to take the position of superintendent and treasurer of the Sioux City 
Gas Light Co., and in February, 1889, he was elected manager of the Sioux 
City Electric Light Co. also, thus placing the entire lighting interests of the 
city under one management. During the past three years the gas works 
have been entirely rebuilt, and new and modern apparatus added. In 
addition to furnishing gas for lighting, the company pushes the fuel branch 
of their business for cooking purposes. The Electric Light Co.'s business 
consists in furnishing arc and incandescent light, and during his management 
the company has built an entirely new station, equipping it with the most 
modern apparatus. In 1884 he married Miss Lizzie Prichard, of Ironton, 
Ohio, and they have one child. 

Lutz & Sears, attorneys at law, Sioux City. W. G. Sears is a native of 
Illinois, and for the past ten years has been a member of the bar. He is a 
graduate of the Iowa Law school. Eugene Lutz is a native of Switzerland, 
and a graduate of the University at Berne, Switzerland. He came to Amer- 
ica in 1874, and spent nine years in West Virginia, and has been seven years 
in Sioux City, engaged in the practice of law. This firm has been in exist- 
ence for three years, and is engaged in the practice of general law, more 
than criminal. 

Dr. G. Brasch, Sioux City, was born in Hamburg, Germany, and re- 
ceived his education in his native land. In 1885 he came to Sioux City, and 
has been engaged in the practice of his profession since that date. He is a 
graduate of the Iowa State university. 

J. E. Nason was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1855, a son of J. P. and 
Elizabeth Nason. He has followed the occupation of general contractor fif- 
teen years, and is a practical mechanic. He came to Sioux City in 1885, 
and was the builder of the Howell block, Hoyt's Vinegar works, Palace Park 
hotel, and Judge Wilson's, Mrs. Clarke's and C. F. Hoyt's residences, be- 
sides many others. He has had a very successful business career, and now 
owns a large cattle ranch in Plymouth county, covering an entire section of 
land. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. October 12, 1878, he 
married Lydia E. Parks, of Grant City, Iowa, and they have three children. 

Stephen W. Johnston, contractor, Sioux City, was born in Canada in 
1859. His early life was spent in Ohio, where he was educated in the public 
schools. He came to Sioux City in 1884. Mr. Johnston is a brick mason 
by trade. He was the contractor and builder of the Metropolitan block, T. J. 
Stone's residence, Howell's furniture store, W. E. Higman's fine residence, 
the Times building, Tacoma block, Badgerow block, tenement house for 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 903 

Mr. Higman, Plymouth block, Massachusetts block, Major block, Hampton 
block, and many other public buildings and residences in the city. 

John Gillespie, stone cutter and contractor, Sioux City, is a native of 
Scotland, where he was born in 1852. He came to America in 1872, and was 
in New York city and vicinity for ten years. During that time he was en- 
gaged in working at his trade, stone cutting. Mr. Gillespie came to Sioux 
City in September, 1888. He built the stone work of the Evans block and 
Merchants' Club house, Dr. Marvin's residence and E. J. Chase's residence, 
besides many other buildings, and is going to commence the new City Li- 
brary building. October 31, 1886, he married Ida A. Hurd, in Lincoln, Neb. 
He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a republican in politics. 

Hakon H. Johnson, mason contractor and builder, Sioux City, was born 
in Norway in 1860, where he remained until 1879, at which time he con- 
cluded that Aniel-ica offered better inducements to a young man, wishing to 
better his condition, than his native land did. Upon his arrival in the 
United States he came at once to Sioux City, where he has since made his 
home. For the first few years Mr. Johnson worked as a journeyman at his 
trade, but in 1887 began contracting. Four of Sioux City's fine school 
buildings are monuments of his suceess, as also the Evans block and other 
buildings. At the spring election of 1891, Mr. Johnson's republican friends 
testified their appreciation of his worth by placing him in nomination for the 
position of alderman in the fifth ward, and, notwithstanding that this ward 
is democratic, he was elected. Mr. Johnson is a member of Columbia 
Lodge, No. 13, K. of P., also Modern Woodmen of America. January 4, 
1883, he was married to Miss Annie O. Johnson, a native of Norway, who 
came to this country with her parents in 1872. 

Hanson Beos., stone contractors, Sioux City. Christian and William 
Hanson are the members of this firm. Christian is the senior member. He 
came to this country from Denmark in 1880, and was joined by his brother 
two years later. For five years after coming to Sioux City they were 
engaged as employes. Their first contract work was the foundation of F. 
C. Hill's hardware store. They had charge of the stone work of the Metro- 
politan block, the Peavey Grand Opera house, the Iowa Savings bank build- 
ing, Eri Richardson's residence, the Leeds Stove works, two buildings for 
the Boston Investment company, foundations for all the packing-houses, the 
Evans block, and many more fine buildings throughout the town. 

C. C. Thelandee, druggist, Sioux City, was born in Sweden in 1859. 
He came to America in 1869, and received his education at Dixon, 111. In 
September, 18S4, he came to Iowa, and was employed as a clerk for three 
years, and for a year and a half has been engaged in business for himself in 
Sioux City in the Wales block. Mr. Thelander is not a college graduate, but 



904 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

passed a creditable examination before the state board of examiners. He is 
a practical druggist, having had an experience of thirteen years. He is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias. 

O. T. Burtness, Sioux City, is a son of T. H. Burtness, a farmer. He 
was born in Wisconsin in 1856, and received his education in the public 
schools. In May, 1883, he came to Sioux City, and was employed in the 
butchering business by Mr. Wales. He entered into business for himself 
November 12, 1888, and occupies one entire floor and half of the basement. 
Mr. Burtness purchases cattle from the stock yards, which he himself kills, 
and ships the dressed meat to different points. He is an unmarried man; 
takes the republican side in politics. 

J. L. Booth has been in Sioux City since 1885. He was born and reared 
on a farm, and for some time engaged in farming. He came to this place 
from Kansas, and opened a meat market. He buys his stock direct from the 
farmers of the adjoining country, and gives .employment to three men, and 
devotes his entire time and energy to his trade. He is a member of the 
Episcopal church. 

George Cremausky, Sioux City, was born in Germany in 1860. He came 
to America in 1876, and remained in New York city during that year. In 
1877 he removed to Milwaukee, and was there employed in butchering. He 
came to Sioux City from Milwaukee in 1882, and was engaged as an employe 
until 1885, when he engaged in meat business for himself, and has since 
continued in the same. He was joined in wedlock to Lena Wagner. He is 
a member of the Odd Fellows, and is a democrat in politics. 

J. F. Younglove, contractor and builder, Leeds, Iowa, was born in Wis- 
consin in 1S57, a son of George G. and Caroline M. Younglove, natives of 
New York. In 1SS2 he came to Sioux City, and has been engaged at his 
business here since, doing a general contracting business in Leeds, also fur- 
nishing sand for all building purposes, having purchased a tract of twenty 
acres, two miles east of Leeds. In 1884 he married Augusta, daughter of 
Joseph and Harriet C. Gard, of Milton, Ind., and to them have been born 
four children, all of whom are living. Mr. Younglove and family attend the 
Congregational church. 

George Hawson, contractor, Sioux City, was born in Yorkshire, England, 
in 1848. He came to America July 4, 1870, and settled in New Jersey, 
where he remained four years, having learned the carpentering trade during 
six years of employment in that line, before leaving his mother country. He 
then went back to England, and remained two years, and while there, built 
two blocks of stores and several residences, when he returned again to Amer- 
ica, and remained another four years in New Jersey. At the end of that 
time he made another trip to England, and while there got married. Upon 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 905 

his return he again settled in New Jersey. Upon again going over to Eng- 
land, his wife died, January, 1883. Upon returning, in May, 1883, he 
came to Sioux City, and for a time was an employe of Mr. F. F. Beck, but 
is now in business as a general contractor and superintendent. He superin- 
tended the construction of the United Bank building, the Sioux City Engine 
works and the Evans block, and was the contractor for the residences of J. 
C. French, and Dr. W. R. Smith, at Smith's Villa, the Pecault residence, the 
Sampson block, now known as Unity place, and numerous buildings through- 
out the city. He is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, and also a 
Mason. Mr. Hawson is a widower, and has one daughter in England, where 
his mother is also still living, in Yorkshire. 

Clements A. Schafstall, cigar manufacturer, Sioux City, was born 
in Indiana, in 1S54. When but fourteen years of age he learned his 
trade. He also learned the blacksmith's trade, and followed that for 
three years. He left Indiana in 1869. In 1883 he settled in Sioux City, 
and in the same year was married to Tillie Duerr, of McGregor, Iowa. 
Their family consists of two children. Mr. Schafstall entered into partner- 
ship with Joseph Hutterer, October 1, 1889. Both are practical cigar man- 
ufacturers, and give employment to eleven men, besides their own labor. Mr. 
Schafstall is a democrat, politically. 

W. C. Davenport, deputy United States marshal, Sioux City. This 
young, spirited and courageous official is a native of Ohio, born in 1801. 
His father was a merchant for a number of years, W. C. being a clerk in the 
store. He came to Sioux City in 1881, and for six years was deputy sheriff 
for McDonald and Magee. In 1889 he was appointed to his present posi- 
tion, that of deputy United States marshal, for the western division of the 
northern district of Iowa. This young officer of the law possesses every 
qualification necessary for the position he holds, being gentlemanly and kind, 
yet knowing no fear. 

Ed. Nelson, contractor, Sioux City, is a member of the firm of Wieners 
& Nelson, a native of Norway, and was born in 1854. When sixteen years of 
age he learned the carpentering trade, and in 1882 came to America. He 
has been a contractor three years and a half, and during that time has been 
in partnership with Mr. Wieners. He 'was the contractor for the Evans 
block, several school-houses, and many private dwellings throughout the 
city. He was married to Miss Mary Davidson, of Norway, in Sioux City, in 
1884, and to them were born four children. Mr. Nelson has met with quite 
a fair degree of success in his business efforts. 

Louis C. De Guibert. As far back as the ancestry of this family has 
been traced, it has always been found that the eldest son was named Louis, 
thus leaving our subject the eldest son of Louis A., and grandson of Louis 



906 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

A., a native of St. George, Normandy, France, who was a captain under the 
celebrated Napoleon, and who was with him at the burning of Moscow, the 
battle of Alexandria, and numerous other important battles. Being a mem- 
ber of the nobility, he was at last compelled to leave the land of his birth, 
and came to America, settling in Woodford county, 111., where he engaged 
in farming. Here our subject was born, July 21, 1860, and attended school 
until twenty years old, when he graduated in the classical course, then en- 
tered the law department at the Washington university, of St. Louis, gradu- 
ating the following year. He then came to Sioux City, and opened a law 
and real estate office, and has continued this business since. Mr. De Guibert 
was married July 21, 1880, to Mary Ingels, a native of La Fayette, Stark 
county, 111. , and they have been blessed with two children : Undina Lavergne 
Elizabeth and Diveda Rosa Gwendoline. In his politics he is a democrat, 
and has been city alderman and assessor. He is a member of the First 
Christian church. 

Thomas C. Prescott was born November 16, 1837, in Strafford, N. H, 
and his early life was passed on the farm where he was born. He was edu- 
cated at the Pittsfield (N. H.) academy, and the New London institute. In 
1857 he went to Wisconsin, and taught school three years, returning to New 
Hampshire in the fall of 1860. At the breaking out of the war, he enlisted 
in the Eighth New Hampshire regiment, as a private soldier, and later went 
to New Orleans, under Gen. Butler. By meritorious services he received all 
the company promotions, and was adjutant of his regiment at the beginning 
of the Red River expedition. For commendable conduct during that ardu- 
ous campaign, he was promoted to a captaincy, in May, 1864. He was trans- 
ferred to the post and defenses of Natchez, as adjutant-general on the staff 
of Gen. Brayman, in which position he served until mustered out, in 1865. 

At the close of the war he came to Iowa, and settled in Durant, engaging 
in mercantile business. There he held town and school offices, and served 
two terms on the board of county supervisors from his district. He was 
elected clerk of the courts for Cedar county in 1876, and served two terms 
in that capacity, his failing health preventing longer service. While resid- 
ing at Tipton, he was a member of the town council, and president of the 
school board. He was cashier of the Cedar County bank, and was also 
engaged in mercantile business there. In 1885 he came to Sioux City, and 
entered the real estate business, in which he is extensively engaged. In 
politics Capt. Prescott has always been a republican. October 23, 1868, he 
married Jennie A. Washburn, a native of New York state, and four children 
have been born to them, two only of whom, Bertha C and Lee Washburn, 
are now living. 

Rev. Maby Augusta Saffokd, pastor of the First Unitarian church, Sioux 
City, is a daughter of S. S. Safford and Louisa (Hunt) Safford, the former a 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 907 

native of New Ipswich, and the latter of Peterboro, N. H. Our subject 
was born at Quincy, 111., December 23, 1851, but removed from there when 
very young to Hamilton, 111., where she received her early education under 
private tutors and in public schools. After teaching a year she entered the 
Iowa State university, where she pursued an elective course. She was then 
engaged for some years in teaching, during which she further pursued her 
studies. She was ordained to the ministry in 1880, at Humboldt, Iowa, and 
remained in charge of the church there for five years. She then came to 
Sioux City, and began her labors with her present charge, September 1, 1885. 
Rev. Oscar Clute had effected a business organization the previous March, 
but Miss Safford organized the church and was its first regular minister. 
She is an ardent worker, and her efforts have been crowned with success, the 
church society now having about 300 members, while a beautiful church 
building has been erected. She is a contributor to current literature, and 
gives much thought and effort to humane work 

Rev. Elinoh Elizabeth Gokdon, assistant pastor of Unity church, Sioux 
City, was born in Hamilton, 111., October 1, 1852. Her father, Samuel Gor- 
don, was a native of Peterboro, N. H, of Scotch-Irish descent. The first 
of her ancestors who came to the United States arrived in 1745, settling in 
Boston, Mass. Her mother, Permelia (Alvord) Gordon, was born in Warren 
county, Pa., of English lineage. Miss Gordon was reared on an Illinois 
farm, and attended a private school until fifteen years old, when she entered 
the high school at Hamilton. At the age of seventeen she taught school for 
one year, and in the fall of 1871 entered the State university of Iowa. After 
pursuing a special course for one year, she resumed teaching, filling the posi- 
tion of assistant principal at Centreville, Iowa. She was principal of the 
Humboldt schools for five years. In 1885 she came to Sioux City with Miss 
Safford to engage in church work. After studying at Boston and Cornell 
university, she was ordained to the ministry, May 8, 1889, and assumed her 
present office September 1, of the same year. 

A. Gtjentheh, dealer in toys, notions, etc., Sioux City, was born in Ger- 
many in 1861, where he lived until 1880, when he came to America, and 
located in Milwaukee. From that place he removed to Sioux City in 1883, 
and opened a retail toy and fancy goods store. In 1885 he started a whole- 
sale business in the same line, and now employs fourteen persons and three 
traveling salesmen. Besides occupying five rooms, he has his warehouses and 
storage-rooms elsewhere. He is a member of the Sons of Hermann and the 
Turners' organization. He is identified with the Unitarian church, and in 
politics is a democrat. 

Fowleb & Simme, dealers in confections, fruits, nuts, etc., Sioux City. 
The members of this firm are G. W. Fowler and F. P. Simme. G. W. Fowler 



•908 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

is a native of New York state, arid came west three years ago, but has been a 
resident of Sioux City for only a short time. He purchased his present 
business place of Harry Hall, in July, 1890. He was formerly engaged in 
the banking business in Nebraska. 

F. P. Simme is also a native of New York state. He had been in Sioux 
City for five years, as book-keeper for the clothing firm of Pixley & Co., until 
going into business with Mr. Fowler. . This firm gives employment to nine 
men, and is known as one of the best fruit and confectionery stores in the 
city. In connection therewith they have a bakery and a restaurant. 

Martens Bros., millers, Sioux City. Martin and August Martens, pro- 
prietors of the Sioux City mills, are natives of Germany, and came to Amer- 
ica in 1S69 and 1874, respectively. August Martens was born in 1847, and 
is the one who has charge of the business. Upon coming to America he set- 
tled in Wisconsin, and there engaged in milling for eleven years, following 
the vocation that his father before him had been engaged in. He came to 
Sioux City in 1885, and with his brother purchased the Sioux City mills, 
using the patent roller process, and turning out 15,000 to 20,000 barrels of 
flour per year. In 1874 August was married to Miss Willner. Their family 
consists of three children. He is a member of the Odd Fellows. 

H. E. Brown, photographer, Sioux City, was born in 1853, in Chenango, 
N. Y. His early life was spent in New York state, where he was reared on 
a farm, where educational advantages were those afforded by the public 
schools of Norwich, N. Y. He learned the photographer's art when eighteen 
years of age, and followed that business in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and 
in Missouri Valley, Iowa. He came to Sioux City in 1885, and in Septem- 
ber, 1889, entered into business for himself. His establishment requires the 
labor of six men besides his own undivided attention. He executes all kinds 
of crayon, pastel and India ink work, besides photography. He was mar- 
ried to Lilla B., daughter of ex-Postmaster E. B. Crawford, of this place. 
He is a democrat in politics. 

F. A. Eathbun, superintendent of the Eathbun Manufacturing Company, 
Leeds, was born in Tioga county, Pa., thirty-six years ago. He is a son of 
Norris Eathbun, who was a farmer of Pennsylvania. The early life of F. A. 
was spent on his father's farm, and upon the immigration of his parents to 
Kansas, he accompanied them. At the age of twelve years he commenced 
the trade of a machinist, having at that age built a miniature engine. He 
went to Chicago, and there finished his trade as a machinist, and since that 
time has followed his natural occupation throughout many cities of the United 
States. He has been many times a patentee, the most noted article of which 
was " The Eathbun Wheel Scraper," which has assumed such development, 
from which " The Eathbun Manufacturing Company" has grown. This 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 909 

company was organized December, 1888, with F. W. Kimball, president; J. 
B. Keefe, secretary and treasurer, and F. A. Rathbun, vice-president and 
superintendent. In May, 1890, this company located at Leeds, where they 
erected a two-story brick structure, where the manufacture of Mr. Rathbun's 
patent will be extensively carried on. 

F. A. Magill is a native of Pennsylvania and came to Sioux City in 1884. 
He was admitted to the bar of his native county in June, 1SS3, and has been 
engaged in the practice of the English common law ever since he came here, 
with the exception of criminal law. For the past five years Mr. Magill has 
also engaged in the real estate business, and owns farming land and city 
property. 

Charles P. Brown, was born in the old historical city of Salem, Mass., 
on the sixteenth day of March, 1855. Having a decided taste for artistic 
work, he selected architecture as his profession, and learned the rudiments 
of this art in his native city. During the course of his earlier studies in this 
line, his health became impaired to such a degree that a sea voyage was 
deemed necessary. A year or so was spent upon the ocean, and in visiting- 
some of the noted cities of the eastern continent, when he returned re- 
cruited in health and ready for the arduous duties of the office. Upon his 
return he decided to make Boston the field for his labors, and there he 
patiently worked to attain the goal in his profession, but just as it seemed 
within his grasp the great financial crash of 1875 came, and this obliged him 
seek other fields of labor. - He went west and entered the employment of E. 
E. Myers, of Detroit, where he worked for some time, after which he obtained 
a lucrative position with Wilson Bros. & Co., of Philadelphia, architects and 
engineers of the Pennsylvania railroad. Here he remained six years, devot- 
ing his entire time to his work, and solid study, and he obtained a valuable 
experience in all work appertaining to iron construction, trusses, engineer- 
ing, etc. 

August 28, 1886, he moved to Sioux City, where he opened an office for 
the practice of his profession, and in which he has achieved a great success. 
Notable among his works are the Security National bank, the Metropolitan 
block, the Massachusetts building, the Lexington block, Geo. H. Howell's 
furniture warehouse, Y. M. C. A. building, the Swedish Lutheran E. V. 
church, Krummann building, Evans bank building, occupied by the Union 
Trust Company, Sioux City public library building, business blocks for Win. 
Lerch and Mrs. Dorcas Hampton, and a great many of the finest residences 
in the city. He was also the architect of the celebrated Sioux City Corn 
Palace of 1890 and the magnificent Coal Palace at Ottumwa, Iowa, also in 
1890, being the recipient of a beautiful gold medal received in competition 
for the best design for said Coal Palace. 



910 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mr. Brown was married April 12, 1881, to Nannie A. T. Briggs, who was 
born in Salem, Mass. Two children are the result of this union, one of 
whom, is now living. 

E. M. Donaldson, banker, Sionx City, was born near Atchison, Kas., 
July 19, 1858. He was reared on a farm in central Kansas, and obtained 
such education as he could in the public schools of the state. He comes of 
good sturdy parentage, his father of Scottish, his mother of Dutch descent. 
He has prospered well in all his business transactions, and holds many posi- 
tions of trust, among them that of secretary of the Union Trust company, of 
Sioux City, Iowa, president of the First National bank of Ida Grove, Iowa, 
vice-president of the First National bank of Marion, Kas., and cashier of 
the Northwestern National bank, Sioux City. In November, 1882, he mar- 
ried Minnie F. Spees, and they have two children: Estelle E., born in May, 
1887, and Erie H, born in May, 1890. 

J. L. Kennedy, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born in Jackson county, 
Iowa, in 1862. He prepared himself for the study of law at the Iowa uni- 
versity, and commenced to study law in 1885. He was admitted to the bar 
in 1887. In 1890 he was elected city attorney by a republican majority of 
226, and was the only republican elected to a city office at that time. In 
In 1883 he was made assistant postmaster, which position he held four years. 

N. J. Brockmann, manager of the lumber yard at Kingsley, was born in 
Germany, in April, 1S53, and is a son of Clans and Abl (Stewart) Brockmann, 
both natives of Germany. His father followed farming and raising live 
stock in Germany until his death, which occurred in 1863, his wife surviv- 
ing him nearly nineteen years. Nicholas J., our subject, was reared on a 
farm in Germany, during which time he received his education at the com- 
mon schools. At the age of seventeen he left his native land and came to 
America. He settled in Davenport, Iowa, and there engaged to work on a 
farm for a short time, going thence to Tama county, where he entered the 
mercantile trade, in which line he remained for four years. In 1884 he came to 
Kingsley and worked at the lumber business for two years; then worked for 
Cathcart Bros, in a hardware store until the spring of 1888, when he was 
employed to manage the lumber yard established in Kingsley by D. Joyce, of 
Lyons, Iowa. Mr. Brockmann was united in marriage with Bertha Gebauer, 
of Lyons, January 16, 1883, and they have one child, Boy. He was a mem- 
ber of the council of Kingsley one year, having been elected on the demo- 
cratic ticket. He is a member of the Masonic order. 

Dk. R. D. Mason, now residing and practicing in Kingsley, was born in 
Toledo, Tama county, Iowa, August 8, 1859. He is a son of Abijah and 
Mary D. (Dodd) Mason, both of English descent, the former of New York, 
and the latter of Ohio. Abijah B. Mason was a dealer in real estate in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 911 

Toledo until his death in 1865; his wife is still living and resides with her 
son in Kingsley, a member of the Presbyterian church. Dr. Mason can trace 
his ancestry on his father's side back for seven generations, to a Capt. Hugh- 
Mason, who was born in England in 1606, and who is supposed to be a 
brother to John Mason, the celebrated Indian fighter of colonial days, who 
was instrumental in subduing and exterminating the Pequot tribe. 

Dr. Mason received his literary education at the high school of Toledo, 
and at the age of eighteen years began to teach school, which he continued 
for some time. He afterward entered the Iowa State university, where he 
studied medicine, and graduated in the spring of 1887, after which he went 
to Delaware, Iowa, and practiced medicine until the fall of 1888. He then 
came to Kingsley, where he has since engaged in the practice of his profession. 
October 16, 1884, he married Helen Stone, of Early, Iowa, and they have 
one child, Florence. Both parents are members of the Congregational 
church, and Dr. Mason votes the republican ticket. 

Stephen Creasey, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Columbia county, 
Pa., July 15, 1839. He is a son of John and Margaret (Deitrich) Creasey, 
both natives of Pennsylvania, his father of English and his mother of German 
descent. John Creasey carried on farming in Columbia county, Pa., until 
his death, August 14, 1845, his wife surviving him until September, 1872. 
Stephen Creasey was reared on the farm where his father died, and was but 
five years of age when this occurred, but as he grew up he helped his mother 
and brothers on the farm, where he remained until twenty-four years old. In 
1869 he went to Michigan, and there farmed until 1881, when he moved to 
Mills county, Iowa, living there two years, going thence to Ida county, where 
he lived the same length of time. In 1885 he came to Plymouth county, 
and purchased 320 acres of partly improved land in section four, Garfield 
township, where he has been engaged in farming and stock-raising ever 
since. 

November 16, 1865, Mr. Creasey married Adelaide Collver of Three 
Eivers, St. Joseph county, Mich., and there were four children born to them, 
three of whom are living : Margaret, wife of A. T. Thomson resides in Henry 
township; William H. ; A. Smith, and Alva E., deceased. Mrs. Creasey is a 
daughter of Peter and Margaret (Morgan) Collver. Both her parents were 
natives of New York, the father of Dutch descent, and the mother of Scotch 
and Welsh descent, Peter Collver spent the early part of his life in farming, 
and the latter part in retirement. He died at Three Bivers, Mich., in April, 
1888, and his wife in 1872. Politically Mr. Creasey is a greenbacker. He 
is a member of the Masonic order. 

John B. McCbacken, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, section four, 
Garfield township, was born in Maryland in October, 1856. His parents 



912 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

were William and Margaret (White) McCracken, both natives of Ireland; the 
father was a farmer until his death, which occurred in Marshall county, Iowa, 
in 1882; the mother died in 1860, in Maryland. John E. resided in Balti- 
more, Md., until twelve years old, and there received a high-school education. 
He came with his parents to Marshall county, in 1867, and remained with 
them until 1879, when he farmed for himself until 1883. He then came to 
Plymouth county, and in 1885 purchased 160 acres, which he has continued 
to operate ever since. He is one of the most progressive farmers in his town- 
ship, and keeps a good grade of stock on his farm, paying most attention to 
hogs. He married Elenora Hotopp, of Marshall county, in 1879, and four 
children have been born to them : Agnes, Elizabeth, Dora and Clinton. He ' 
supports the democratic party, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Feed J. Laude, a general farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section 
twenty-seven, Garfield township, was born in New York, July 18, 1846, and 
is a son of Peter and Mary A. (Roux) Laude, both natives of France. Peter 
Laude was by occupation a farmer, and died in Garfield township, June 28, 
1890; his wife died in 1874; both were members of the Presbyterian church. 

Fred J. Laude came with his parents to Iowa when but four years of 
age, and resided with them in Dubuque county until he was twenty-two 
years old. He worked at various occupations until 1875, when he engaged 
in farming on the old homestead in Dubuque county, where he remained 
until 1884, when he came to Plymouth county, and purchased 160 acres of 
land where he now resides. He makes a specialty of fine hogs and chickens, 
blooded horses, and a good grade of cattle. February 2, 1875, he married 
Elizabeth Bachler, of Dubuque county, Iowa, but a native of Switzerland. 
Their family consists of seven children: Ida M., John H, Maggie, Harvey 
L., Vincent L., Elizabeth and an infant. Both parents are members of the 
Congregational church. In politics Mr. Laude sympathizes with the repub- 
lican party, and has held the office of school director. He is a trustee of the 
Congregational church and has been a deacon in the same two years. 

Ira Z. Patterson, an old settler of Plymouth county, Iowa, now residing 
in Kingsley, was born in Springboro, Crawford county, Pa., February 5, 
1846, and is a son of Samuel and Catharine (Coon) Patterson. The father 
is a native of Springboro, Pa., and is of English and Scotch descent; his wife 
was a native of New York and of German descent. Samuel Patterson was a 
ship builder in the early part of his life, and during the latter part has been 
engaged in house building. He now resides with his son Ira in Kingsley, at 
the ripe old age of seventy-seven years; his wife died January 21, 1872; 
both were members of the Baptist church. 

Ira Z. Patterson lived in Pennsylvania until he was nine years of age, 
when he accompanied his parents to Waverly, Bremer county, Iowa, where 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 913 

he resided eleven years. He received his education at the high school of 
Waveiiy, after which he served an apprenticeship at the harness-maker's 
trade, which business he followed until 1868. He then returned to Spring- 
boro, Pa., and worked in a hardware store and at various occupations, until 
1878, when he returned to Waverly and engaged as a clerk in a grocery 
store, remaining there until 1884, when he came to Kingsley, Plymouth 
county, and engaged in business in the grocery trade with Clarence Wood, 
with whom he has since continued. Mr. Patterson married Lodoiska E. Hill, 
of Springboro, Crawford county, Pa., August 18, 1868, and of the five chil- 
dren born to them none are now living. He and wife are members of the 
Baptist church, and he is identified with the Masonic lodge, the Legion of 
Honor and United Workmen. He casts his suffrage with the republican 
party. 

W. H. Miller, a prominent merchant of Kingsley, was born in Canada, 
November 14, 1862. His parents are Henry and Maria (Steiss) Miller, both 
natives of Germany. Henry Miller is one of the leading merchants of Le 
Mars, having moved there in 1885. William H. was born and reared in 
Canada, receiving his early education in the common schools, but he after- 
ward attended the British North American Business college at Toronto. 
After completing his studies he came to Kingsley, Iowa, in 1882, and man- 
aged a half interest in a general store for C. H. Kluckhohn, of Le Mars, 
until 1885, when he opened a general store for himself, and has continued in 
the mercantile trade ever since. Mr. Miller married Emma Meyer, of Ode- 
bolt, Iowa, in 1885, and they have three children, viz. : Maude, Paul and 
Kathleen. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and in politics he is a believer in the democratic doctrine. 

Clay W. Wilson, a druggist of Kingsley, was born in Canada West, 
October 1, 1863, and is a son of Ira and Olivia (Wilson) Wilson, both natives 
of Canada West. Ira Wilson is by occupation a farmer, and is now engaged 
in that pursuit in Greene county, Iowa, having moved there in 1874, though 
he came to the state four years previous. He and his wife are both mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. 

Clay W. was born and reared on a farm, having assisted his father while 
attending the district schools and the Scranton high school. He left home at 
the age of nineteen years, and entered into the drug business in Sac county, 
Iowa, where he remained until 1885, when he came to Kingsley and opened 
a drug and book store, which he has continued ever since. He graduated 
from the Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1888. January 6, 1886, he was 
united in marriage with Ella Pressnell, of Scranton, Iowa, and they have 
two children, Helen and Ralph. The parents are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, are well known in the county, and held in the highest 



914 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

esteem by all. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' 
orders, and votes the republican ticket. 

William F. Smith, agent for the C. & N W. R. R., at Kingsley, was born 
in Defiance county, Ohio, July 20, 1858. His parents were Nathaniel and 
Ruth V. (Spurrier) Smith, both natives of Ohio, the latter of Welsh and 
German descent. Nathaniel Smith farmed in Ohio until the war broke out, 
when he enlisted in Conrpany E, Twenty-first Ohio infantry, and went to the 
war; he was wounded in the battle of Stone River, and died in the hospital 
seventeen days later; his wife is still living, and resides in Nevada, Iowa. 

William F. was born and brought up on a farm, and received a com- 
mon-school education at the district schools. At the age of seventeen 
years he began teaching school in the winters, and working on the farm 
in the summers. This he continued until he was twenty-one years of 
age, when he went to Edgerton, Ohio, and learned telegraphy, after which 
he worked for the L. S. & M. S. R. R. for a time. He then went to Chicago, 
and after serving a short time in the private office of H. H. Porter, president 
of the O, St. P., M. & 0. R. R., he came to Iowa, and was employed by the 
C. & N. W. R. R., with which company he has worked ever since. He came 
to Kingsley and took charge of the office in 1888. December 27, 1882, he 
married Nellie Mooers, of Quarry, Iowa, and they have two children: Eva 
May and Bernard Orrice. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. Politically he is a republican; socially a member 
of the I. O. O. F. 

Jonathan M. Higgins, proprietor of George's hotel, Kingsley, was born 
in Clinton county, Iowa, June 15, 1861, and is a son of Israel and Han- 
nah (Daniels) Higgins. His father is a native of New Jersey, and his 
mother of Virginia, and of English descent. Israel Higgins is a grain dealer 
and also deals in stock extensively, being located at De Witt, Iowa, having 
moved from Flemington, N. J., to Illinois, thence to Clinton county, Iowa, 
in 1858. Politically he is a republican, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and A. O. U. W. He and wife are both members of the Congregational 
church. 

Jonathan M. completed his studies at the Davenport Business college. 
During his early life he assisted his father in buying stock and grain, but 
at the age of twenty-two years, he took possession of his father's farm, which 
he operated two years. In the fall of 1883 he came to Plymouth county, and 
purchased a farm of 160 acres in Garfield township, on which he lived three 
years, when he leased it and moved to Kingsley, and ran the hotel known as 
the Curtis house for six months, when he started in the draying business, 
which he has continued ever since, running two drays. April 28, 1890, he 
took charge of George's hotel, which he is now conducting, besides running 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 915 

his drays and his farm. He also owns the ice-house there, and retails ice in 
connection with his other business. He married Mary F. McCarl, of Clinton 
county, Iowa, August 18, 1881, and they have one child, Florence E. He is 
a republican in politics, and was elected marshal of Kingsley, for one year, in 
the spring of 1889. He is a member of the I. 0. O. F. and K. of P. 

Peter Elliott, a veterinary surgeon, residing on section thirteen, Gar- 
field township, Plymouth county, was born in England, May 16, 1833. His 
parents, Peter and Alice (Taylor) Elliott, were both natives of England. His 
father died in England, January 1, 1854, and his mother also died in Eng- 
land, about the year 1887. Peter Elliott came to America in 1866, and set- 
tled in Bureau county, 111., where he followed his profession, having gradu- 
ated at North Derby, England, and served seven years' apprenticeship. He 
went to Moline and stayed two years, thence to Cass county, Iowa, where he 
remained thirteen years, practicing his profession. In 1882 he came to Plym- 
outh county, Iowa, and purchased 160 acres of land in Garfield township, 
where he engaged in farming. His son now operates the farm, while he has 
his office in Kingsley and attends to his veterinary practice. He also owns 
eighty acres of land in section fourteen, Garfield township, and his son owns 
eighty acres in section fourteen, township ninety-three, range forty. In 1867 
he married Jane Turner, and of their eight children two only are living : Peter 
and Joseph. Mrs. Elliott died in October, 1879. He is a good worker for, 
and a believer in, the principles of the democratic party. He is road super- 
visor, also assessor, of Garfield township, which latter office he has held two 



Benjamin Hasbeouck, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, came to Plymouth county 
and entered eighty acres of land in section four, Union township, in 1868, 
when the land was yet unbroken prairie, and the home of the deer, elk and 
wolves. • He set out trees on sixteen acres of his land, and they have grown 
so nicely that they now have the appearance of a natural grove. He was 
born in New York state, in February, 1840, a son of Abel and Pruda (Hoyt) 
Hasbrouck, both of whom were natives of New York, of German descent. 
Our subject was brought up on the farm in New York, and remained with 
his parents until twenty-five years of age, when he went to Vernon county, 
Wis. He remained there but a short time, then in 1868 came to his present 
home. He has since added 240 acres to his farm, giving him now 320 acres 
of well improved land. February 7, 1865, he married Sophia Devall, and to 
them have been born five children, as follows: Bertha, Josephine, Burton, 
Effie and Roe. In politics Mr. Hasbrouck is a republican, and has held the 
office of justice of the peace two years, township trustee four years, and has 
held about all the township offices. His wife is a member of the M. E. 
church. 



916 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Robebt Boa, a son of William and Helen (Clapperton) Boa, was born in 
Canada in 1834. The uncle, Hugh Clapperton, is mentioned in history as one 
of a party who went from Scotland, his native land, on an exploring expedi- 
tion to Africa. The parents of Bobert Boa, who were natives of Scotland, 
were members of the Presbyterian church. The father was engaged in farm- 
ing in Canada until 1S79, when death cut short his earthly labors. Bobert, 
who was with his parents until nineteen years of age, thought he would pre- 
fer another line of business than farming, and in 1856 came to the United 
States, and was in Monroe, Wis., for a year, then went to Minnesota, where 
he remained two years, after which he went to Green Bay, Wis., and engaged 
in lumbering, which business he followed with considerable success for fifteen 
years. The cyclone which devastated the adjoining country, and swept the 
town of Pensaukee out of existence, destroyed property of his to the extent of 
$12,000, and left him penniless. He made a start again, trying lumbering 
in Virginia for a year, but at the end of that time he came to Iowa, locating 
at Clinton, where he followed the same business for the next ten years. 

In the spring of 1889 he came to section twenty-four, Union township, 
Plymouth county, where, in 1885, he had bought a farm of 160 acres. Here 
he built a nice dwelling, good barns and cribs, and devoted his time to farm- 
ing and stock-raising. He has among his stock, an imported, thoroughbred 
Clydesdale stallion. On September 7, 1874, he married Susan D. Chapman, 
of Ellington, Conn., and to them have been born three children, Carrie A., 
Milton C. and Susie A. Mr. Boa, though having received only a common- 
school education, can read and write both English and French. In politics 
he is a republican, and is president of the Farmers' Alliance in Union town- 
ship. He and wife are members of the Congregational church. 

William Laddusaw was the second settler in Union township, Plymouth 
county, where he now resides on a farm of 320 acres in section four. He is 
a son of John and Ruhama (Shannon) Laddusaw,'' and was born in Dearborn 
county, Ind., in 1837. His parents are both living and reside with him. 
His father is a native of Indiana, of French descent, and his mother of Ohio, 
of English descent. When he was seven years of age his parents moved to 
Henry county, Iowa, where they remained eight years, then moved to Decatur 
county. At these two places our subject received his education in the public 
schools. In 1862 he enlisted in Company I, Thirty-fourth Iowa infantry, 
and took part in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Yicksburg, 
Missionary Ridge and with Grant through the wilderness and was in the 
fight of Washington City. He received his discharge October 16, 1865, and 
returned to Decatur county, where he remained until 1869, when he moved 
to Plymouth county and entered 320 acres, which he has since been engaged 
farming, together with raising live stock of all kinds. He married Miss Mary 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 917 

Wood in 1859, and to them have been born seven children, namely: Bohanna, 
John, Sherman, Thomas, Columbus, Samuel and Joseph. His wife died in 
1875. In political matters he sides with the republicans. 

Alansan L. Henry, a general farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. O'Leary, 
residing on section twenty-seven, Union township, was born in Chenango 
county, N. Y. , June 7, 1847, a son of William and Sarah (Close) Henry, both 
natives of New York. William Henry was of English descent, and traced 
his ancestry back to the time of Patrick Henry, the first of the name to immi- 
grate to America. He was farming in Kane county, 111., at the time of his 
death; his widow is still living, and resides in De Kalb county, 111., a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

A. L. Henry, our subject, was reared on a farm and received a common- 
school education. He came with his parents from New York to Illinois when 
ten years of age. On the death of his father he took charge of the family, 
and remained with them until thirty-two years of age. He then engaged in 
farming for himself, and in 1884, purchased 160 acres of land in Plymouth 
county, where he has since resided. He keeps a good grade of stock. Polit- 
ically he is a stanch republican, and has served as school director; is also a 
member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Mr. Henry married Maria L. Jones, of Utica, N. Y., January 23, 1880, 
and to their marriage are born four children, viz.: Charles E., Margaret H, 
La Motte and Sarah A. Mrs. Henry is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. 

John W. Warner, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section twenty-six, 
Union township, was born in Lake county, 111., September 1, 1852, a son of 
Chase and Melinda (Pearce) Warner, the father a native of New York state, 
of Welsh descent, and the mother born in Ohio, of Irish descent. Chase 
Warner was a farmer, and resided in Lake county, 111., at the time of his 
death, which occurred in 1877 ; his widow is still living, and resides with our 
subject. 

John W. Warner was born and reared on a farm until eighteen years of 
age. He then left home and worked at various occupations until 1875, when 
he came to Plymouth county, and purchased 160 acres of land in Henry 
township. He farmed in various parts of Union township until 1882, when 
he purchased his present farm of 160 acres, afterward adding eighty acres, 
making 240 in all. He makes a specialty of shorthorn cattle, also good 
grades of horses and hogs. Politically he is a republican, and has held the 
office of town clerk for eight years, and is at present secretary of the school 
board. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In May, 1889, he was 
united in marriage with Effie Cope, and they have a young son named Harry. 
The wife is a member of the Episcopal church. 



918 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

J. T. Mabtin, farmer, of Kingsley, was born in England, in 1842, a son 
of John and Frances (Tyzzer) Martin. His father, John, who was an en- 
gineer, came to America, bringing onr subject with him, in 1855, and, after 
staying a few months with a brother in Racine county, Wis., located at New 
Diggings, La Fayette county, Wis., where his wife died, in 1879, he surviv- 
ing her but a year. Both were members of the M. E. church. James was 
twelve years of age when brought to America, and resided with his parents 
until twenty-one. He then commenced to work in the mines of Wisconsin, 
which he continued until 1S63. In the fall of that year he went to Living- 
ston county, 111., where, after a hard struggle, he was admitted to the Miners' 
Union, and was duly installed in the coal mines, where he remained until the 
spring of 1864; then he, with adventurous spirits, organized a small com- 
pany to cross the plains for the gold mines. Leaving Fairbury, 111., about 
April 1, with horse teams, they reached Omaha, Neb., May 1. Omaha at 
that time was the limit of civilization. They traveled with a company of 
California emigrants as far as Fort Laramie. The Indians in that year be- 
ing decidedly hostile, at Laramie they joined a company, consisting of one 
hundred and forty wagons, who were to travel a new route to the then newly 
discovered gold mines of Montana. After encountering considerable hard- 
ships and numerous adventures, they reached Virginia City, M. T., and 
July 15, Alder Gulch, probably the best placer mining camp ever discovered 
in Montana. In February, 1865, after meeting with fair success, our sub- 
ject left Alder Gulch, and stampeded to Last Chance, 140 miles distant. 
Helena City of to-day is on discovered claim of Last Chance Gulch, consist- 
ing at that time of one miner's cabin and a small log bakery. Mr. Martin con- 
tinued to mine for three years, owning several claims, but was never very 
lucky. Thinking stock-raising a safer business, he entered into that line of 
business, which he continued until the fall of 1873. He then sold his busi- 
ness, and returned to Wisconsin. The spring of 1874 found him in Hough- 
ton county, Mich., where he followed engineering, having learned the craft 
from his father in earlier years. 

The Black Hills gold excitement breaking out in 1877, Mr. Martin went 
there, but, to his disgust, he found the placer mines as nothing compared with 
the Montana mines. After remaining a short time, he went to Denver, Colo., 
and in a few months he again returned to Wisconsin, this time to engage in 
mining, with somewhat better success than usual. In 1881, the mines fail- 
ing, he moved to the Fort Dodge coal mines. At the end of about two years, 
finding the work unprofitable, he moved to Morton county, Dak., on the 
Northern Pacific railroad, and stayed there about eighteen months, often 
earning $135 per month for hard work. Tiring of the mines, he came to 
Plymouth county, Iowa, and settled on 160 acres of land in section twenty- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 919 

three, Union township, which he had purchased in 1880, and where he now 
resides. In 1873 he married Lizzie A. Raine, of Benton, Wis., and they now 
have a family of six children, as follows: May F., Carrie I., Gertie E., 
James B., Gracie J. and Nina E. In politics Mr. Martin is independent, and 
is an earnest member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

David Olmstead Marchant, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born in Cather- 
ine, now Schuyler county, N. Y., September 11, 1841, and is a son of Arlo 
J. and Eliza Ann (Olmstead) Marchant, natives of New York. Arlo Mar- 
chant died in 1851, in Winnebago, 111., whither he had come from New York 
the year previous. His widow died August 7, 1890, in Bockford, Iowa, at 
the age of eighty-six years. Of their seventeen children, the subject of this 
sketch is the twelfth. Two died in childhood, three died while serving as sol- 
diers in the Civil war, and the rest are living. Of the thirteen sons, eleven were 
soldiers. Just before reaching his majority, August 9, 1862, D. O. Marchant 
enlisted in Company C, Seventy-fourth Illinois volunteer infantry. With 
the army of the Cumberland he was in twenty-one battles, beginning with 
Perrysville, Ky., and closing with the capture of Atlanta. During the siege 
of the latter city he was ninety days under fire, but in all his service was 
never struck except by spent balls. He was discharged June 10, 1865, and 
returned to Winnebago, where he engaged in farming. November 7, 1S68, 
he married Hattie M., daughter of Peter Mabie, of German descent, They 
have two daughters, Carrie E. and Alice H. In 1871 he came to Stanton 
township, and took a homestead on section ten, where he has ever since dwelt. 
His wife died November 10, 1890, after twenty-two years of happy married 
life. He is a member of the G. A. R., and an earnest republican. He has 
served the township as justice of the peace, and is at present constable. 

Henry Nassaw Newell, farmer, Le Mars, was born in North Dorchester, 
Middlesex county, Ontario, November 8, 1855, and is the eldest of nine chil- 
dren of Alexander and Lorena (Demaray) Newell, who now reside on a farm 
in Adelaide, Ontario. The mother, born at Whitby, was descended from early 
French settlers of Quebec (province). James Newell, of Armagh, Ireland, 
came to Canada in 1832, having been preceded one year by his son, Bobert. 
The latter, born in Armagh, July 1, 1805, is the grandfather of our subject, 
and is still living. James Newell, with his nine children, settled on the Ot- 
tawa river, and many of his descendants now reside in the western part of 
Ontario. 

Henry Newell received an ordinary education, and is an intelligent citi- 
zen. On reaching his majority he came to the United States, and in March, 
1879, he bought the southeast quarter of section four, Stanton township, on 
which he has dwelt since, engaged in general farming. He has served as 
justice of the peace, and for seven years as school director, having been presi- 



920 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

dent of the board, and for the last three years secretary. In October, 1879, 
he married a second cousin, Eliza, daughter of Richard and Ann Jane (Mc- 
Neil) Demaray, of Canadian and Irish birth. Mrs. Newell was born in Vic- 
toria county, Ontario, and is the mother of two children: Melvin Cecil and 
Armina Arvilla. 

John M. C. Eastman was born in North Gower, Carleton county, Ontario, 
February 18, 1837, and is the eldest of the five children of Almon and Matilda 
(McCarter) Eastman, also of Canadian birth. The father is still living at 
North Gower, aged seventy-seven years. Matilda Eastman died in 1850, at 
the age of thirty-five. Samuel, father of Almon Eastman, was a native of 
Canada, of English descent. John Eastman was put to work at an early age, 
and had no educational advantages. In 1857 he left home and went to Fari- 
bault, Minn., where he was employed for three years in a livery stable. 
He then went to New Diggings, Wis., where he engaged in farm labor. Au- 
gust 10, 1S62, he enlisted in Company C, Thirty-third Wisconsin infantry 
volunteers, and served till August 9, 1865, with the army of the Tennessee. 
He was in the following battles and campaigns: Coldwater, siege of Vicks- 
burg, Jackson, Meridian expedition, Pleasant Hill Landing, Centreville, 
Cane River, Bayou Balf, Marksville, Tellow Bayou, Tupelo, Nashville and 
Spanish Fort. 

After his discharge he engaged in teaming and farming in Benton, La 
Fayette county, Wis., till 1878, when he came to Plymouth county and pur- 
chased land on section thirty-four, Washington township, where he is now 
the owner of 200 acres, and carries on mixed farming. He is a member of 
the M. E. church, as are the members of his family. He is an active temper- 
ance advocate, and adheres to the republican party in politics. In March, 
1866, he married Mary Johnson, a native of New Diggings, and daughter 
of Warren and Alzina (Bean) Johnson, of New York and Missouri birth, 
respectively. A son and daughter complete the family of Mr. Eastman, 
namely: William Warren and Florence Belle. 

William Stinton (deceased) was born in Cambridgeshire, England, De- 
cember 24, 1823, and was a son of Robert and Mary Stinton, of the same 
locality. His opportunities of accpiiring an education were very limited, as 
at a very early age he was obliged to assist his father with the work always 
at hand on a farm. He remained on his father's farm until he came of age, 
when he married Miss Hannah Andus, and commenced to work at day labor. 
He continued to earn his living in this manner until the spring of 1851, 
when he came to America. Landing in New York city, he went to Staten 
Island and was there two years, farming, but learning of the opportunities in 
the west he moved to Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land near Deep Creek, 
in Jackson county, and there he remained until 1873. In that year he sold 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 921 

his farm and came to Washington township, Plymouth county. January 28, 
1879, he was hurt by being caught under a crotch of a falling tree, from 
which death resulted on the fifth of the following month. 

His first wife, who died in November, 1855, left him two children: Lizzie 
and Frank. November 18, 1864, he married his second wife, Hannah, widow 
of George Tutton, of Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa. By her first marriage 
she had three children : Henry, Sarah and Emily, and by her second hus- 
band, the stibject of this memoir, she bore eight children, namely: Fred, 
Mary, William, Nettie, Ira, George, Kobert and Walter. In politics Mr. 
Stinton supported the principles of the republican party; in religion he was 
a member of the United Brethren church. 

Chaeles Jefferson Young was born April 2, 1835, at Cicero, Onondaga 
county, N. Y., a son of Christian and Bulah Young. When he was seven 
years old his parents moved to West Bend, Washington county, Wis., where 
he received his education. After leaving West Bend, at fourteen years of 
age, he led a wandering life, traveling through the southern, central and west- 
ern states until the breaking out of the Civil war, when, in response to the 
call for men for the three months' service, he enlisted in the First Iowa in- 
fantry, and afterward re-enlisted in the Eighth Iowa, was taken prisoner at 
Shiloh, remained in prison six months, then re-enlisted in the Thirty-third 
Illinois, and at the end of the war received an honorable discharge. Upon 
leaving the army he went to Scott county, 111, where he stayed five years, 
after which he moved to Christian county, where he remained until 1872. 
In that year he came to Washington township, Plymouth county, Iowa, and 
purchased 120 acres of land in section one, and there carried on general 
farming until 1879, when he moved one and a half miles east of Le Mars. 
Here he remained two years, then moved back to the old home in Washing- 
ton township, where he now resides. April 10, 1864,. he married Sarah 
Guthrie, by whom he has two children : George Adelbert and William Grove. 
He is a member of the M. E. church; in politics a republican; has been 
school director sis years and township clerk one term. 

George E. King, merchant, Le Mars, son of Henry King, was born at 
Galena, 111., in 1860. He received his education there, and in the winter of 
1880 and 1881, came to Le Mars and engaged in the grocery business, which 
he continued until 1888, when he sold oiit and was an employe in the post- 
office at Le Mars until January 1, 1S90, when he purchased a stock of goods 
of A. B. Steiner & Co., now known as "King's Palace Book Store." While 
in business during the year 1887, a disastrous conflagration destroyed his 
j}lace of business and stock, entailing a heavy loss upon him, but, with perse- 
verance characteristic of the man, we find him now behind the desk, manager 
of one of the important institutions of Le Mars. He is a member of Giblem 



922 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Lodge, No. 322, F. & A. M., and No. 502, I. O. O. P., and a member of the 
fire company. He served five years in the Iowa State guards, stationed at 
Le Mars, receiving an honorable discharge in 1889, for having served the 
term of his enlistment. June 15, 1889, he married L. L., daughter of C. F. 
Jaquith, of Cedar Falls, Iowa. 

Alfeed C. Colledge, successor to Chapman & Co., is an investment 
broker, pays taxes for non-residents, does a real estate, loan, insurance and 
collection business. He was born in I860, and received his education in 
England. In 1880 he came over to America and located at Le Mars, Iowa. 
He is a member of the Episcopal church. 

In his vicinity he represents the following insurance companies: The 
Liverpool & London & Globe, the London Assurance, the Phoenix Assurance 
of London, the London & Lancashire, the Firemans Fund of California, the 
Des Moines, also the Travelers Life & Accident insurance company of Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

Fbank W. Burns, miller, Le Mars, was born at Milford, Hillsboro county, 
N. H, in 1844. His father removed to Rutland, La Salle county, 111., in 
1856, where he was in the real estate business, but later removed to San 
Diego, Cal., where he died. Frank W., after the completion of his educa- 
tion, engaged in the milling business, and in 1862 enlisted in Company 1, 104th 
Illinois volunteers, remaining until the close of the war. He was wounded 
at Hartsville, Tenn., on one of Morgan's raids. He was division postmaster of 
the First division, Fourteenth corps, under Gen. Thomas, and afterward under 
Gen. Jefferson C. Davis. After attending school, following the close of the 
war, he went into the milling business with his brother, Fred W. Burns. He, 
however, had become interested in business at Le Mars in 1876, and two 
years later removed to that place and erected the old mill (which was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1884), it having a daily capacity of 250 barrels of flour and 
eight car-loads of feed. Immediately following the fire, he constructed the 
Plymouth Boiler mills, with capacity of 300 barrels of flour and twelve car- 
loads of feed. It has twenty- eight sets of rolls, and is known as the Plym- 
outh Roller Milling Company's mill. 

C. H. Kluckhohn, merchant, Le Mars, was born in Lake county, Ind., in 
1854, and began his business career at Le Mars in 1875. He purchased a 
building and became a dealer in general merchandise. His place was de- 
stroyed by fire, and in 1887 he erected the Kluckhohn block, and occupied 
double stores for business purposes. This property he sold in 1888, and be- 
came associated with Herman Kerberg, the firm name being Kluckhohn & 
Kerberg, dealers in general merchandise, and in 1890 they bought the prop- 
erty back. Mr. Kluckhohn devotes his time principally to land, loan and 
insurance business, he having become one of the firm of Wernli & Kluckhohn. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 923 

He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of Le Mars Lodge, No. 255, I. O. 
O. F., and is a republican in politics. 

J. H. Winchel, Le Mars, is a son of John H. Winchel, and was born at 
Dubuque, Dubuque county, Iowa, in 1857. His father came to Iowa about 
the year 1820, and was one of the pioneers in that part of the state. He and 
Dr. Ketler cleared the brush on what was the military road from Dubuque to 
Cascade, and lived near what is now Cascade. He took up 1,200 acres of land 
from the government near Whitewater, and between that town and Cascade. 
During the early period in which he lived he was quite a prominent man. 
He died in 186-1 leaving two children: Sarah (now Mrs. C. W. Wells, of Mar- 
shall county, Iowa, whose husband is one of the prominent stock-growers of 
the state) and J. H, our subject. Their father purposed to leave them quite 
a large estate, but many years of litigation have left them but very little. 

In 1879 our subject came to Remsen, and lived in a covered wagon one 
summer, engaged in breaking prairie. He helped organize the township, 
there being but few families there, and the county being in a primitive state. 
He finally bought a farm, and erected the first building at Remsen, and in 
addition to farming, became a dealer in coal, grain and stock, which he con- 
tinued until 1883, when he moved to Le Mars. He sold his lands and was 
engaged in selling agricultural implements. For a time he was on the road 
as manager of northwestern Iowa for the Champion Machine company, 
but in January, 1890, he severed his connection with that well-known firm, 
and is now engaged in the real estate, loan and collection business, and is 
proprietor of the Le Mars Water and Light Works. In 1883 he married 
Emma K, daughter of H W. Alline, of Hawarden, formerly of Plymouth 
county, of which county he was one of the earliest settlers. Mr. Winchel is 
a member of Giblem Lodge, No. 322, A. F. & A. M., and of the Chapter. 
In politics he is a republican. 

H. J. Moreton, assistant cashier of the Le Mars National bank, Le Mars, 
is a son of Capt. R. and C. C. (Dunlop) Moreton, and was born at Leicester- 
shire, England, in 1862. He was educated there, and with his parents came 
to America in 1880, locating at Le Mars, and being among the first arrivals 
of those who constituted the English colony here. Captain Moreton became 
extensively engaged in farming, remaining here until 1885, when he removed 
to Illinois and since then to Canada. Our subject is one of a family of three 
boys and two girls. He was for a time engaged with his father on the farm, 
but in November, 1888, entered the Le Mars National bank as assistant 
cashier. In June, 1889, he married the widow of Col. Ball. He is a democrat, 
and a member of Giblem Lodge, No. 322, F. & A. M., and of the Chapter. 

J. TJ. Sammis, attorney, Le Mars, was born at Polo, 111., in 1863. He 
graduated from the high school at Oregon, 111., in 1881, after which he at- 



924 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

tended Bailey's Business college at Dubuque, Iowa. He was, for a period of 
several years, engaged as book-keeper in that city. He, however, removed to 
Le Mars, where he studied law with Curtis & Durley, afterward becoming a 
partner with Mr. Durley, the firm being Durley & Sammis, but they 
eventually dissolved, since which time Mr. Sammis has been engaged in the 
practice of his profession. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Mod- 
ern Woodmen and Masons. He married Miss Fannie, daughter of L. D. 
Randall, of Dubuque, Iowa, in 1888. In politics he is a member of the re- 
publican party. 

John C. Hickey, brick manufacturer, Le Mars, was born in county Clare, 
Ireland, in 1850.* In 1863 he came to America with his parents, and located 
at Taunton, Mass., where they remained until 1875, when they came to Le 
Mars. John C. Hickey bought property, and engaged in the manufacture of 
brick, having the only plant of the kind here, and which has a capacity of 
25,000 daily. He has made the brick for nearly every block in Le Mars, and 
finds a ready sale in this locality for all his output. Both he and his wife 
are members of the Roman Catholic church. 

Anthony Thoma, merchant, Le Mars, son of John and Mary (Hoffman) 
Thoma, was born in Luxemburg, Germany, in 1858. With his j)arents he 
came to America in 1863, and located at Aurora, 111., where they engaged in 
farming, remaining there four years, when they removed to Jackson county, 
Iowa, and in 1879 retired from active work. Their children were John, 
Peter A., Anthony, J. P., Maggie, Annie, and five others deceased. Anthony 
first began business for himself in the fall of 1879, but had previously at- 
tended St. John's university, at St. Joseph, Stearns county, Minn., from 
which he graduated in 1879. He was for a time with Franz Miller & Co., 
grocers, but August 7, 1881, he went into the grocery and crockery trade. 
In 1886 he added dry goods, and in 1888, boots and shoes, and took a part- 
ner, Peter Mich, the firm name being Thoma, Mich & Co. They have a large 
and remunerative trade. Mr. Thoma is a democrat and a farmer, as well as 
a merchant, growing from twenty to thirty acres of potatoes annually, find- 
ing market for them in the west and south. He married Annie, daughter of 
Nicholas Hoffman, of Le Mars, in 1881, and has four children: Mary, John, 
Joseph and Peter F. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

Robert Fennek, mechanical engineer, and superintendent for the con- 
struction of water-works systems, was born in Connecticut, August 29, 1833, 
and is of English descent. He began at a very early age to assist his father, 
who was a machinist, and was employed for many years in a lock factory in 
New Haven. For eight years he made his home in Des Moines, having 
charge of the steam department of the glucose works, which consisted of a 
battery of six boilers, two engines (one a double upright engine, the other a 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 925 

horizontal one), seven steam pumps and three injectors. Later on he was 
again in charge of a steam department at the Atlas distillery, where he had 
under his supervision six boilers, one large vertical engine and ten steam pumps. 
He assisted in putting in two new pumping outfits for the Des Moines water 
works. The water-works plant for the town of Victor, Iowa, was also put in by 
him. Among other works done under his supervision, was the erection of a 
steam plant for the machine shop, foundry, and barb-wire factory at South 
Hutchinson, Kas. He went to Le Mars in 1888, and superintended the con- 
struction of the water- works system there. After its completion he was re- 
tained in charge of its operation. Mr. J. H. Winchel is its present pro- 
prietor. 

Mr. Fennel - is a patentee for an apparatus for removing all impurities of 
the feed water, and also heating it before it enters the steam boilers, thus 
keeping them clean and free from mud and scales, and has invented several 
other valuable improvements. He entertains very liberal religious views, 
and is independent in politics. He is a member of the Masonic order. In 
1863 he married Sarah, the daughter of George and Margaret Grove, of Ohio, 
and of French and German descent. Two daughters complete Mr. Fenner's 
family: Margaret and Edith. Margaret, the elder, graduated from the 
East Des Moines high schools, with highest honors of the class of 1886, and 
is now teaching in the public schools there. Edith resides with her parents. 

Geoege Edwahd Pew, dealer in machinery, Le Mars, is a son of Francis 
and Ann Pew, and was born at Omro, Wis., July 4, 1850. His grandfather, 
Patrick Pew, came from Ireland and settled in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
very early in the history of that region. Here both of our subject's parents 
were born. His maternal grandfather, John Hogarty, left Ireland when fif- 
teen years old, and subsequently served as a United States soldier in the war 
of 1812. Having been stationed at Fort Howard, Wis., he settled there on 
leaving the army. His daughter, now Mrs. Pew, made several journeys to 
St. Louis when there were no white inhabitants in interior Wisconsin. Mr. 
and Mrs. Francis Pew now reside in Oshkosh, Wis. Of their eleven children 
nine are now living, George being the fifth of these. 

He was educated in the common schools of Omro, and when twenty years 
old went to Blue Earth county, Minn., where he engaged in farming. In 
1873 he went to Nobles county, in the same state, and two years later he 
came to Le Mars. For two years he was employed by H. W. Van Sickel, a 
dealer in hardware and machinery. With L. G. La Rue he then bought out 
the business, and the firm of Pew & La Rue continued until the latter died 
in 1881. In February, 1882, Mr. Pew associated with himself his brothers, 
Michael A. and Frank, the business being continued under the style of Pew 
Brothers. They handle hardware, agricrdtural implements, harness and 



yzb HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

buggies. Mr. Pew has served three terms in the city council, and also as 
county supervisor. He affiliates with the democratic party, and embraces the 
faith of the Roman Catholic church. In 1878 he married Belle, daughter of 
Thomas and Catherine Burrows, all natives of Connecticut. Two children 
complete the family of Mr. Pew, viz. : George Vincent and Gladys Marie. 

Nicholas B. Kaiser, shoe dealer, Le Mars, was born in the city of Lux- 
emburg, Germany, August 15, 1833, and is a son of Laurens and Anna 
(Feuren) Kaiser, natives of the same city, and his grandfather was mayor of 
the city. When fourteen years old Nicholas began to learn the shoemaker's 
trade. In 1853 he came to America, and during the same year opened a 
shoe store at St. Ignatius, Jackson county, Iowa. He continued there until 
1875, when he removed to Le Mars, and in the fall of that year, built the 
brick block on Main street, which he now occupies. He had previously pur- 
chased land in Plymouth and Sioux counties, and now has his home on a fine 
farm adjoining Le Mars. His father came to America in 1869, and died in 
Le Mars, July 20, 1885, aged ninety-eight years. The mother died in Ger- 
many in 1853. Nicholas is the youngest of their four children. He is a 
member of St. Joseph's Boman Catholic church, and politically is a demo- 
crat. In 1857 he married Annie Knabel, a native of Germany, and they have 
three children: Katie, Mary (Hanson) and Margaret (Nimmerts). 

Geoege Haylock, general store keeper, Merrill, was born in the parish of 
Bumburgh, Suffolk county, England, January 6, 1844, and is a son of James 
and Bebecca Haylock, of the same place. His early education was very 
limited, and at an early age he began to learn the engineer's trade, which he 
followed in England for fourteen years. In the spring of 1879 he started 
for America, landing in Quebec, Canada. He came through to Iowa City, 
Iowa, where he remained ten months, then homesteaded eighty acres in Plym- 
outh township, Plymouth county, where he carried on general farming 
until September, 1885. He then rented his farm and came to Merrill, where, 
in partnership with Mr. Aldrich, he went into the general merchandising 
business. October 20, 1861, Mr. Haylock married Betsy, daughter of Geoi'ge 
and Hannah Hencer, of Suffolk county, England. He is a member of the 
Episcopal church, and in politics is a democrat. 

Adolph Witt, farmer, P. O. Bemsen, residing on section four, Henry 
township, was born in Germany in 1855, a son of John and Annie (Delfs) 
Witt, both natives of Germany. His father is a representative man in Ger- 
many, and holds the office of inspector of foreign goods; he is a member of 
the Lutheran church. His mother died in 1866. Adolph Witt was born and 
reared in Germany, and received a good education. At the age of fifteen 
years he left his native land and came to America, locating in Scott county, 
Iowa, where he worked on a farm until 1880. He then went to Pottawat- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 927 

tamie county, where he resided three years, and in 1884 came to Plymouth 
county and purchased eighty acres of land where he now resides. He has 
since added eighty acres, making 160 acres in all, which he now farms. No- 
vember 10, 1887, Mr. Witt married Mary Harnack, of Plymouth county, 
Iowa, and they have one child, John. The parents are supporters of the 
Lutheran church. Politically Mr. Witt is a democrat, and is trustee of 
Henry township. 

John Blewett, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section fifteen, Henry 
township, was born in Cornwall, England, August 14, 1825, and is a son of 
John and Jane (Date) Blewett, both natives of Cornwall, England. His 
father was a farmer, and came to America in 1845; he resided in Taylor 
county, Iowa, at the time of his death, which occurred in August, 1881, his 
wife having died two years previously. John Blewett was born and reared 
in Cornwall, England, and received a common-school education. At the age of 
twenty years, he came to America with his parents, and resided with them in 
Wisconsin four years, then went to farming for himself in La Payette county, 
Wis., where he resided until 1884, when he came to Plymouth county, Iowa, 
and purchased 160 acres of land, where he now resides. 

Mr. Blewett was married to Mary Ann Hind, of England, April 9, 1849, 
and there have been ten children born to them : Hannah, John, Jane, Rich- 
ard, George, Charles, Albert, Henry, Emma and Joseph. Politically, Mr. 
Blewett is a democrat, and is now trustee and road supervisor of Henry 
township. 

Henby Mundt, farmer, P. O. Rernsen, residing on section five, Henry 
township, was born in Germany, in 1854, and is a son of Peter and Annie 
(Lutt) Mundt, both natives of Germany. His father still resides in Ger- 
many, but his mother died in 1888. Our subject lived with his parents until 
sixteen years old, when he left his native land, and came to America, arriv- 
ing in New York April 25, 1870. He came west, located in Benton county, 
Iowa, where he worked on a farm three years. He then farmed for himself, 
and in 1883 came to Plymouth county, and purchased 160 acres of land, 
which he subsequently sold, but now leases. He keeps a good grade of 
stock, such as hogs and shorthorn cattle. In 1883 he married Caroline Sage, 
of Tama county, and they have three children : Arthur, Annie and Johnnie. 
Politically, Mr. Mundt is a democrat; is now constable, town clerk and secre- 
tary of the school board. 

Joseph Stinton, farmer, P. O. Adaville, is a son of Robert and Mary 
Stinton, of Cambridgeshire, England, and was born February 14, 1826. He 
attended school until ten years old, when he began to work on his father's 
farm, where he remained until he was married, in the fall of 1846, to Esther, 
daughter of John and Mary Fletcher, of the same place. He then began 



928 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

to peddle peat, which he did until he sailed for America, in the spring of 
1852. He landed at New Orleans, then took a boat up the Mississippi river 
to Davenport, Iowa, where he took a train for Lyons, Clinton county; at 
that place he resided seven years, going thence to Elk River, where he lived 
until 1873, at that date corning to Johnson township, Plymouth county, 
where he bought 160 acres in section thirty-four. In 1889 he removed to 
section twenty-eight of the same township, where he now resides. 

By his first marriage Mr. Stinton was the father of six children: Alfred, 
Esther, Emily, George, and Silas and Urias (twins). Mrs. Esther Stinton, 
died in the fall of 1867, and Mr. Stinton then married, in England in the 
following spring, Sophia, sister of his first wife, and widow of James Hough- 
ton. She was the mother of three children by her first marriage: Mary, 
James and John, who returned with Mr. Stinton. Mr. Stinton and wife are 
the parents of five children: Sylvester, Josiah, May, James and Telitha. 
He votes with the republican party, and is a member of the United Brethren 
church. 

T. Ward Lewis, farmer, P. O. Akron, was born in Whiteside county, 111., 
December 4, 1849, a son of Ward P. and Susan Lewis. He attended a com- 
mon school until eighteen years of age, when he began work on his father's 
farm, where he remained until 1S76. He then moved to Liberty township, 
Plymouth county, Iowa, and there bought a homestead right of John Wade> 
where he lived until the winter of 1887, when his house was burned to the 
ground. In the following spring he built in Johnson township, where he 
now lives. Mr. Lewis was married in the summer of 1873, to Hattie E., 
daughter of Charles F. and Harriet Bevins, of Warren county, N. Y. The 
happiness of their home has been increased by the birth of six children: Ola 
B., Le Roy W., Edna M., Guy A, Maud S. and Harry Lee. Edna M. and 
Guy A. died in infancy. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Farmers' Alliance 
and belongs to Freedom Lodge, No. 434, A. F. & A. M., Akron, Iowa. 

Alfred Fletcher, farmer, P. O. Adaville, was born January 16, 1845, at 
Isleham, Cambridgeshire, England, a son of John and Mary Fletcher, who 
were born near the same place. He attended school there until about eight 
years old, when he began helping his father. In 1855 he set sail for Amer- 
ica, and landed in New Orleans, where he took a boat up the Mississippi 
river to St. Louis. At that point the river became so solidly frozen that they 
were delayed six weeks; when they reached Davenport he hired a team and 
came overland to Lyons, Clinton county, Iowa, where he remained one year, 
then moved to Whiteside county, 111. He lived in the latter place with a 
cousin seven years, then located in Johnson township, Plymouth county, 
Iowa, where he took up an eighty-acre homestead, and added, the same year, 
eighty acres. Five years later he bought 120 acres in Liberty township. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 929 

Mr. Fletcher was married February 14, 1867, to Mary Ann, daughter of 
Elijah and Esther Stint on, of Whiteside county, 111., by whom he has seven 
children: Ella, Ada, Minnie, Sarah, Clara, Mary and Mabel. In politics he 
is a republican, and has been township trustee ten years, and school director 
for some time. 

Andeew Wilson, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born at the home of his 
parents, William and Margaret Wilson, of Venango county, Pa., October 19, 
1836. He attended school till about ten years of age, when he began to earn 
his own living, which he did by helping his neighbors on the farm, until 
twenty years of age. He then came to Jackson county, Iowa, where he 
farmed until 1862, when he enlisted in the Thirty-first Iowa volunteer in- 
fantry, Company K, and served three years. After receiving an honorable 
discharge he returned to Jackson county, where he resided until 1870, at 
which time he took up a homestead on section twenty-two, Johnson town- 
ship, where he now carries on general farming. Since then he has added 
160 acres to his farm. Mr. Wilson was married, December 27, 1858, to Ellen, 
daughter of Warren and Esther Doty, of Johnson township. He is a repub- 
lican in politics, and has filled the offices of township clerk, trustee, school 
director, and has been a member of the board of supervisors. He is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic order. 

■ Nathaniel McAethur, farmer, Seney, was born in Scotland, July 29, 
1828, and is a son of Duncan and Sarah McArthur. He worked on his 
father's farm until he was twenty-seven years old, and received a moderately 
good education. May 11", 1855, he married Miss Fanny, daughter of John 
and Mary McKerlie, of Wellington, Canada, and in 1874, he came to the 
United States, and settled in Jackson county, Iowa, where he remained until 
1886. Then he moved with his family to Seney, Plymouth county, and 
purchased 400 acres of land in Elgin township, in sections eighteen and four- 
teen. Mr. McArthur has made farming the vocation of his life, and has 
made a financial success of it, which is entirely due to his industry and 
economy. His children are John, Daniel, William, Alexander, Duncan, 
Sarah and Mary. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and politic- 
ally a republican. 

William Mandelkow, farmer, P. O. Struble, is a son of John and Mar- 
garet Mandelkow, and was born in Germany, January 9, 1846. There he 
attended school till he was fifteen years of age, when he started as an ap- 
prentice to a wagon-maker, which occupation he followed till the fall of 1876, 
when he came to America, landing at New York city, but proceeded at once 
to Bloomington, 111., where he stayed till the spring of 1877, when he moved 
to Le Mars. He bought 240 acres of land in section twenty-eight, Grant 
township, on which he resided till 1886, when he sold out and moved to El- 



930 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

gin township, and bought 640 acres in section eight, where he now carries 
on general farming. Mr. Mandelkow was married to Minnie Detloff, of 
Germany, in 1865, and this union has been blessed with four children, viz. : 
Minnie, William, Elmer and John. He holds the political views of the 
democrats, and is a member of the German Lutheran church. 

Luke Wheeler was born in Barnstead, Belknap county, N. H., Septem- 
ber 7, 1838, and is the fifth of the eight children born to Hazen and Jane 
(Jewett) Wheeler, both natives of New Hampshire, the former born at Salem, 
and the latter at Barnstead, where she still resides at the ripe old age of 
ninety-two years. Our subject attended the public schools until fifteen years 
of age, after which he spent six months at the academy at Pittsfield, and the 
same length of time at Gilmanton. He then went to Muscatine county, Iowa, 
where he was engaged in farming for two years and a half, after which he 
returned east, going to Boston, Mass., where he was engaged in the produce 
business until September 19, 1881. At that date he came again to Iowa and 
settled at Westfield, where for the next five years he was engaged in buying 
and selling stock. He then opened a general store which he has been con- 
ducting ever since. 

February 22, 1865, he married Angie M., daughter of James and Betsy 
N. Hodgdon, of Barnstead, N. H. Mrs. Wheeler has been postmistress at 
Westfield for the past seven years. Mr. Wheeler always votes the repub- 
lican ticket, and in religious matters is a member of the Congregational church. 

William Milchrist, attorney, Sioux City, was born on the Isle of Man in 
1846, but came to America with his parents when he was but one year of age, 
and located in Peoria county, 111. His parents soon removed to Stark county, 
111., where he received his education. He studied law with his brother and 
attended law school at Chicago, and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He 
first began practice at Storm Lake, Iowa, and in 1887 removed to Sioux City, 
where he now has a reputation as an able and industrious attorney. He is a 
Mason and a member of the Chapter. 

Lohr & Lohr, attorneys at law, Sioux City. These rising young attorneys, 
successors to the firm of Wigton & Lohr, are brothers, sons of Peter and 
Anna E. (Apel) Lohr, who migrated from Blankenheim in the electorate of 
Hesse Cassel, in 1851 and 1852, respectively, and removed to Osage, Mitchell 
county, Iowa, in May, 1S56, where the father was, until May, 1890, a furni- 
ture dealer, when he was succeeded by another son, Frank S. Lohr, born 
November 13, 1862. 

William F. is the senior member of the firm, and was born August 25, 
1854, at Norwalk, Ohio. He is a graduate of the collegiate and law depart- 
ments of the State university, and was admitted to practice by the supreme 
court of Iowa, in June, 1888, and entered into the practice of his profession 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 931 

in December of that year, at Sioux City, Iowa, and has since continued, hav- 
ing been in partnership at first with E. D. Wigton. 

Frederick W. Lohr, the junior member, was born at Osage, Iowa, Janu- 
ary 23, 1866. He is also a graduate of the State university, having finished 
his course in the collegiate department in June, 1SSS, and in the law depart- 
ment in June, 1890. He began practice in August, 1890, entering into part- 
nership with his brother at that time. They are both young men of ability, 
and will persevere in their chosen profession until success is theirs. W. F. 
Lohr entered the State university in 1874, but owing to failing health was 
not graduated with his class. He spent some time in Dakota on account of 
his health, and was in the government service nearly four years, at Washing- 
ton and elsewhere. He re-entered the University in January, 1887, and was 
graduated from both departments in June, 1888. They have two brothers, 
George C. (born August 2, 1856), and Charles H. (bom February 27, 1859), 
in the drug business at Estelline, South Dakota, the firm name being also 
Lohr & Lohr. George C. is postmaster, and Charles H. is one of the county 
commissioners of Hamlin county, S. Dak. 

H. F. Hogan, plumber and gas-fitter, Sioux City, is a native of Ireland, 
and came to America with his parents when seven years old. They settled 
in Chicago, and our subject was reared in that city, where he commenced to 
learn the plumbing business when twelve years of age. He came to Sioux 
City in 1872, and was the first plumber here. He was married in this city 
to Ellen T., daughter of John Kelly. Mr. Hogan has been successful in his 
line of business, and this success is due to his own efforts. He owns consid- 
erable property here and also in Chicago. He is a member of the Roman 
Catholic church, and an independent democrat in politics. 

V. C. Sherman, attorney at law, Sioux City, is a native of Wisconsin. He 
was born in 1862. He received a liberal education in his native state, and 
began the study of law in Sioux City in 1883, with Mr. O. J. Taylor. He 
was admitted to the bar in 1885, and has since been engaged in the practice 
of his profession. He entered into partnership with L. M. Kean in 1889. 
January 20, 1891, he married Miss Leora M., daughter of Capt. and Mrs. 

E. J. Chase, of Sioux City. 

Sturges Bros., harness manufacturers, Sioux City. These brothers, E. 

F. and C. L. Sturges, are natives of Illinois, and came west with their par- 
ents, settling in Cedar county, Iowa. At the age of thirteen years they 
learned the harness trade of their father, who is at present mayor of Me- 
chanicsville, Iowa, and who has been in the harness business for thirty years. 
Of a family of six sons all followed the vocation of their father, and are 
engaged in the manufacture of harness. E. F. came to Sioux City in 1885, 
and was employed as agent for L. Humbert, His brother joined him here 



932 HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

later, and they entered into business for themselves. They employ two men 
and give their own time and labor to their trade. 

Geoege Martin, contractor, Sioux City, was born in New York state, 
April 23, 1838. At the age of twenty-three years he learned the carpenter- 
ing trade, which he followed for eleven years at Le Mars, Cedar Falls, and 
different places throughout the state of Iowa. He came to Sioux City in 
May, 1S87. He has built the Booge tenement house, the Hess residence and 
many other buildings throughout the city. Mr. Martin has been twice mar- 
ried, his first wife having been a New York lady. The second time he mar- 
ried a Sioux City lady, by whom was born one child, a daughter. Mr. Martin 
has been quite successful in business, and has been in constant demand for 
building since he came to Sioux City. 

J. A. Haeeis, plumber, agent for Spence hot water heater, Sioux City, son of 
John A. and Mary (Pressinger) Harris, was born in Newark, N. J., in 1848. 
His father was a native of London, England, and his mother of New York. 
At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice to the plumbing and gas fitting 
business and has followed that vocation since that time. He first engaged in 
business for himself in Newark, N. J., in 1880, and two years later removed 
his business to Orange, N. J. He came to Iowa in 1887 and settled in Sioux 
City in 1889. He was married in 1870 to Susie Edwards (now deceased). 
Five children were born to them — three sons and two daughters. The eldest 
daughter died at the age of three months. His sons are members of the 
Baptist church. He is a member of the order of Odd Fellows ; politically he 
is a republican. He is an exempt member of the fire department of Newark, 
N. J. 

H. H. McLauey, attorney at law, Sioux City, son of H. W. and Anna A. 
McLaury, is a native of New York state, where he was born in 1856. He 
received an academic education, and was admitted to practice at the bar in 
O'Brien county, Iowa, in 1884. In 1S89 he came to Sioux City. Ever since 
its organization Mr. McLaury has been with the Iowa Loan & Improvement 
company as attorney. He practices general law, and was admitted to the 
practice of law in New York. He has been engaged in teaching, farming 
and the newspaper business. He is a member of the TJ. P. church, the 
Knights of Pythias, and votes the republican ticket. 

Geoege A. Millee, contractor, Sioux City, is a native of Illinois, and 
was born in Stark county, that state, in 1856. He received his education at 
La Salle and Marshall, 111. He came to Sioux City in January, 1888, and 
was for a time engaged with Mr. Cox. With him he assisted in the con- 
struction of the Corn Palace of 1S88, the Tollerton & Stetson building, the 
Sack county court-house, and aided in building and decorating the Corn Pal- 
ace train that went to Washington at the time of Harrison's inauguration. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 933 

Mr. Miller is now in business alone. Among other buildings he has con- 
structed are W. A. Keifer's residence, Byam & Jackson Tile Works, and the 
buildings at Riverside Park. 

T. A. Thompson, treasurer of the Reliance Trust company, is a native of 
Elgin, 111., where he was born in 1859. He was educated at Ann Arbor, 
Mich. For the past eight years he has been identified with the northwest, 
and in 1888 came to Sioux City and organized the Reliance Trust company, 
which represented a capital stock of $100,000, but has since been increased 
to $250,000, prominent eastern capitalists being largely interested in the 
business. Mr. Thompson is a thorough business man, a gentleman in every 
respect, calculated to make a success out of the already prosperous business, 
of which he is the head. 

J. Hermann, physician and surgeon, Sioux City, was born in Dubuque, 
Iowa. He was reared in Chicago, and attended various schools. He grad- 
uated from a Chicago Homoeopathic college, and practiced first in Quasque- 
ton and Waterloo, Iowa, and for one year in Chicago. He came to Sioux 
City in 1889, and has rooms in the Metropolitan block. Dr. Hermann is of 
the homoeopathic school of physicians, and has received a fair patronage 
from the people of Sioux City. 

August Eggees, physician and surgeon. Among the prominent young- 
physicians of Sioux City is Dr. Eggers, a native of Norway, and born in 
1862. His parents were August Ditlew and Cato (van Kervel) Eggers, na- 
tives of Norway, where the former died, in 1888. He graduated from Chris- 
tiania university, in Norway, in December, 1889, and then came to America, 
landing here February 2, 1890. He first practiced his profession here, hav- 
ing, according to the laws of his native country, studied seven years. He 
began the practice of his profession in Sioux City in April, 1890. Dr. 
Eggers is the only Norwegian physician in Sioux City. 

Dr. William Jepson. Among the young physicians of Sioux City who 
have come prominently to the front in the practice of their profession is Dr. 
William Jepson. He was born at Aarhus, Denmark, June 29, 1863, and is 
the eldest of three living children of a family of nine. His eldest brother, 
George, is at present a practicing attorney and justice of the peace in Sioux 
City, while his younger brother, Christian, is in college. At the age of 
seven he came with his parents to America, settling at Seymour, Iowa. 
When ten years of age his father died, leaving his education to the fostering 
care of his mother and his own endeavors. 

At the age of seventeen he began the study of medicine with Dr. Earnest, 
of Seymour. After studying in the office of that gentleman for two years, he 
entered the medical department of the State university of Iowa, where he 
attended lectures during the winter sessions for three years, the summer 



934 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

months being spent in study with Dr. Middleton, of Davenport, Iowa. Dur- 
ing his second year at this university, he was honored by being appointed 
assistant to the professor of physiology, while during his third year he was 
assistant demonstrator of anatomy. 

In March, 1886, he graduated from this institution, after which he im- 
mediately located in Oakland, Neb., where he began his professional career 
with much success, but being desirous of larger fields for work, at the end of 
six months he moved to Sioux City, where he has since resided. 

In September, 1890, he went to Philadelphia to perfect his studies in the 
hospitals of that city, remaining there until May, 1891. At the commence- 
ment of the Jefferson Medical college, in April, 1891, the degree of doctor 
of medicine was again conferred upon him by that institution, and the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania conferred the same degree upon him at its commence- 
ment in May, 1891. Dr. Jepson is prof essor of anatomy, and assistant in 
clinical surgery, and secretary of the medical faculty of the University of 
the Northwest. He is also visiting surgeon to St. Joseph's hospital, as well 
as coroner of Woodbury county. He is a member of the Sioux City Medical, 
Missouri Valley Medical and the State Medical societies. December 21, 
1886, he married Miss Beatrice Baker, of Le Mars, Iowa, and three children 
have blessed this happy union, two of whom are now living. 

F. E. Gill, attorney at law, Sioux City, a son of Joseph and Mary Grill, 
was born at Philadelphia, Pa., in 1865, but when only a year and a half 
old his parents moved to Manchester, Iowa. He is a graduate of the State 
university of Iowa, having finished the curriculum of that institution in 1889. 
In August, 1889, he came to Sioux City, and is engaged in the jjractice of 
general law. Mr. Gill, who is a leader in politics, is a republican and a 
fine speaker. 

Kkidler & Flack, hardware dealers, Sioux City. The members of this 
firm are W. H. Kridler, of Illinois, and John D. Flack. The latter was born 
in Germany, in 1865. He came to Sioux City in November, 1888, and 
ojaened the present place of business. For five years Mr. Flack clerked in a 
clothing store, and afterward was employed in the hardware business. Our 
subject superintends and manages the entire business of the firm. He has 
been very successful for a young man, and is straightforward and honest in 
all his business transactions. He is a member of the Turners organization. 

C. H. Maetin, dealer in pianos and organs, Sioux City, was born in cen- 
tral Ohio. He came to Sioux City in 18S6, as manager, at Sioux City, of a 
branch of Lyon & Healy's music house, Chicago, and served in that capacity 
till 1889, at which time he purchased the business from Lyon & Healy, and 
is now proprietor of his " Steinway Hall " music house, in the Jandt & Tomp- 
kins block, and is the principal dealer in pianos and organs in Sioux City, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 935 

and is sole agent for Steinway, Weber, A. R. Chase, Fischer, Decker, Newby 
& Evans, and Marhin pianos, and Clough & Warren, and Story & Clark 
organs. He is president of the C. H. Martin Co., of St. Paul, Minn., which 
company was organized August 1, 1890. He is the patentee and manufact- 
urer of the celebrated Martin Piano Trucks, with a factory located at Sioux 
City. He employs the "K. P." band three months, or during the summer 
season, to give open air concerts in front of Steinway Hall, which entertain- 
ments are greatly appreciated by the people. 

Eagnvald Erefting, chemist and druggist, is a native of Norway. He 
was educated in Norway university and in Germany, and graduated from the 
University of Christiana. He came to Sioux City in November, 1887, and 
began business in his present location February 4, 1888. He employs three 
men. Mr. Erefting is a practical chemist, having had practical exjserience 
in that branch since he was fourteen years old, and he has had sixteen years' 
experience in the drug business. 

L. P. Enos, druggist and chemist, Sioux City, is a native of Sweden, and 
was born December 26, 1859. He was educated in his native country, and 
commenced the study of pharmacy in 1875, and in 1880 graduated at Stock- 
holm, Sweden. He came to America in 1881, and located in Des Moines, 
and was examined and passed by the Board of Pharmacy, of Iowa. Mr. 
Enos came to Sioux City in 1888, and was engaged one year as a clerk, and 
then took possession of his present business place, corner of Pearl and 
Sixth streets. He is a member of the Lutheran church. 

L. M. IvEAisr, attorney at law, Sioux City, is a native of Albemarle county, 
Va. He was born January 11, 1856. He received his academic education 
at the private school of Dr. C. L. C. Minor and at the Episcopal high 
school of Virginia, near Alexandria, and at the University of Virginia. He is 
also a graduate of the law department of the University of Virginia, having 
graduated in 1877. He practiced his profession at Lynchburg, Va., from 
July, 1877, until October, 1887, in partnership with his father, R. G. H. 
Eean, a prominent member of the Virginia bar. Mr. Eean came to Sioux 
City in October, 1887, and in February, 1889, formed a partnership with Mr. 
V. C. Sherman, which is still in existence. He is engaged in the practice of 
corporation and commercial law. 

Carter & Brown, attorneys at law, Sioux City. John B. Carter is a 
native of the state of New York. He graduated from the Boston University 
School of Law in 1885, and removed to Sioux City in the fall of the same 
year. He was admitted to the bar in Iowa in 1886, and commenced practice 
with J. P. Blood, of the firm of Blood & Carter. In April, 1887, he entered 
into partnership with A. D. Tollefson, of the firm of Tollefson & Carter. In 
August, 1889, the firm was changed to Tollefson, Carter & Brown, and in 



936 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

July, 1S90, the firm became Carter & Brown, the present firm, Mr. Tollefson 
retiring. 

J. M. Brown is a native of Wayne county, Inch, and came to Iowa with 
his parents when three years of age, and has lived in the state ever since. 
He graduated from the academical department of Simpson college at Indian- 
ola, Iowa, in 1877, and two years later was admitted to the bar at the same 
place, and went to Guthrie county, same state, where he practiced his pro- 
fession for six years. In the fall of 1886 he removed to Sioux City, and for 
a time was a member of the law firm of Magill & Brown. Afterward he formed 
a partnership with J. K. Carter, and is now a member of the firm of Carter & 
Brown, engaged in a general law practice. 

Randall & Newcomb, civil engineers, Sioux City. The individual mem- 
bers of this firm are C. D. Randall, of Flint, Mich., and J. N. Newcomb, of 
Winnipeg, Canada. Mr. Randall came to Sioux City in 1885, and Mr. New- 
comb in 1888. Mr. Newcomb is a graduate of Royal Military college, 
Kingston, Ont., and has been engaged in engineering since 1888. The firm 
are engaged in general engineering business. 

T. F. H. Speeng, physician, Sioux City, is a native of Ohio. He was 
educated at Northwestern college, Naperville, 111., and commenced the study 
of medicine in 1877. In 1879 he graduated from Hahnemann Medical col- 
lege, Chicago, and from March, of that year, to March, 18S0, he was house 
physician and surgeon to the Hahnemann hospital, Chicago, and the three 
succeeding years he was the associate of Prof. A. E. Small, M. D., president 
of the Hahnemann Medical college and hospital. He afterward practiced 
in Buchanan, Mich., for five years, and came to Sioux City in 1889, and 
ranks with the best physicians of the city. He is a member of the American 
Institute of Homoeopathy, a member of the Hahnemann Medical Society of 
Iowa, and is, at present, its vice-president, and is president of the Woodbury 
County Homoeopathic Medical Society. He is a member of the order of 
Knight Templars, and belongs to the Congregational church. 

William W. Sodle, attorney at law, Sioux City, is a son of Charles S. 
and Ellen Frances Soul<5. Mr. Soul6's ancestors, who were natives of 
Maine and New York at the time of the Rebellion, took part in that war, 
and the war of 1812. This rising young lawyer was born at Beaver Dam, 
Dodge county, Wis., in 1861. He was educated at the public schools, and 
attended Coe college, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and began the study of law when a 
boy, being admitted to the bar September 6, 1883. He studied under J. W. 
Taylor, of Canton, Dak. For two years and four months Mr. Soule' held the 
position of police judge of this city. He is among the foremost of the young 
lawyers of the city, and takes an ardent interest in the doings of the demo- 
cratic party, and was chairman of the county central committee when twenty- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 937 

one years of age. In June, 1886, he married Miss Marion E. Frisbie, of 
Sioux City, and they have two children — a son four years of age, and an in- 
fant daughter. 

Howaed S. Baker, born June 20, 1861, is among the enterprising and 
successful young men of Sioux City. He is a native of Syracuse, N. Y. He 
came to Sioux City about six years ago, and engaged in the drug business, 
retiring in 1888, after which he was one of the organizers of the American 
National bank, of Sioux City. Mr. Baker is engaged in the mortgage and 
loan business in the Chamber of Commerce building; he is also a member of 
the Chamber of Commerce. June 10, 1886, he married Mary G. Childs, of 
Syracuse, N. Y. In political matters he is a republican. 

C. Feed Gould is a native of Massachusetts, and was born in 1863. He 
was educated in Philadelphia, and graduated from the College of Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1886. As his grandfather, father and uncle had all been dentists, 
Mr. Gould followed in their footsteps, and fitted himself for that profession. 
He came to Sioux City in July, 1889. Mr. Gould is a rising young dentist, 
and has an exceedingly large practice. 

W. E. Bosshaed, druggist, Sioux City, was born in "Wisconsin in 1863. 
He attended Wisconsin college at La Crosse, and first engaged in the drug 
business at Elroy in 1883. He came to Sioux City in 1888, and opened his 
present place of business in the Opera House block, in partnership with Mr. 
Burdin. This partnership existed for a year and a quarter, when Mr. Boss- 
hard bought out his partner, and is now conducting the business alone, with 
the assistance of three men who are employed by him. While not a college 
graduate, Mr. Bosshard is a careful, practical, thoroughgoing druggist and 
business man. 

C. B. French, Jr., son of C. B. and Maria L. French, is a native of Illi- 
nois, and was born in 1862. He is a nephew of A. Z. French (deceased), a 
prominent early pioneer of this state, and a large land owner. Our subject 
was educated at Oberlin, Ohio. He immigrated to the west in 1887, and 
engaged in the banking business in Wayne county, Neb., and was assistant 
cashier of the bank there, but has since become president, and is principal 
stockholder in the Winside State bank, of Winside, Neb., a thriving bank, 
with a capital of $30,000, in a good town. Mr. French was assistant cashier 
in the National Bank of Sioux City, which has a capital of §1,000,000, but has 
recently sold his interest. His brother, B. T. French, is in the real estate 
business. C. B. French owns considerable city property in Sioux City. In 1888 
he married Minnie F. Skeel, of Hennepin, 111., and they have two children. 

TJ.'G. Whitney, attorney at law, Sioux City, was born in Hardin county, 
Iowa, in 1S64. He was educated in the common schools, and was then sent 
to Cornell college, Iowa. He entered law school in the fall of 1889, and 



938 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

graduated at Drake university, at Des Moines, in the spring of 1890. He is 
engaged in the practice of general law. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias organization, and attends the Congregational church. Mr. Whitney 
is among the rising young lawyers of Sioux City, and is held in high esteem 
by all who know him. Politically he is a republican. 

Independent Lumber Company, Sioux City. This company is a new one, 
having located here in the year 1889. The members are S. Barrow and 
J. H. Valleau. The lumber belonging to this firm is sold by car-load lots, 
and consists of lumber from the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa forests. 
Although a new organization, this firm has received a goodly patronage, and 
with its enterprising members, success awaits it. 

C. H. Clark, proprietor of the Northwestern Business college, Sioux 
City, is a native of New York state, but his early life was spent in Illinois. 
He was educated in the public schools of Woodstock and the Normal school 
at Danville, 111. He graduated in penmanship and completed the business 
course at Quincy, 111. For two years he was in San Antonio, Tex., one year 
in Missouri, and also at Quincy, 111., as instructor in penmanship and book- 
keeping. As a penman Mr. Clark stands high in his profession. At the 
International Fair association, San Antonio, Texas, 1889, he won the gold 
medal, which gave him the honor of being the finest penman in the south. 

Mr. Clark was married to Miss Bessie Smallwood, of San Antonio, May 
17, 1890, and took charge of the Northwestern Business college the follow- 
ing June. He is a member of the Baptist church and the T. M. C. A. 

Db. Guy C. Rich, Sioux City, was born at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., in 
1861. After completing his course in the common schools, he utilized the 
advantages afforded by the high school of his native town, and in 1880 
began the study of dentistry. In 1882 he graduated from the Pennsylvania 
college of Dental Surgery. In the meantime he had been studying medicine, 
and after finishing his course in dental surgery, he entered Jefferson Medical 
college at Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1885. From 1885 to 
1887 he was engaged in practicing his profession at Mount Sinai hospital, 
New York city. He came to Sioux City in 1889, where he is engaged in 
practicing his profession, and is a prominent young physician. Politically 
he is a republican. 

H Webee, dealer in meats, Sioux City, was born in Germany, August 4, 
1849. He is a son of Henry and Elizabeth Weber, the former a farmer. 
Our subject was left an orphan at six years of age, and remained in Germany 
until nineteen years old (spring of 1868), at which time he came to America. 
He worked on a farm near Davenport, Iowa, and remained there nine months. 
He then went to Lansing, Iowa, where he remained nineteen years. He 
came to Sioux City in 1888, and entered into the meat market business. In 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 039 

1874 he was joined in marriage to Elizabeth Ofterdinger, and one child, 
Bertha, has been born to them. Mr. Weber has been successful in his busi- 
ness. He is a member of the order of United Workmen, and is democratic 
in his political views. 

Sims Brothers, editors of Leeds "Leader," Sioux City. This firm con- 
sists of two brothers, H. F. Sims and W. W. Sims. The former was born 
in Illinois in 1865. For ten years he has been a resident of Iowa, but came 
to Woodbury county in July, 1890. He has been in the newspaper business 
eleven years, and was formerly editor of the Monona county " Gazette," 
published at Onawa, Iowa, and afterward of the Hartington "Herald," Neb. 

W. W. Sims was born in Alabama in 1859, and has been in this branch 
of business for two years. They are the proprietors of the Leeds "Leader," a 
weekly paper with a circulation of 1,000. It was started at Leeds, July 
17, 1890, and with such enterprising young men at its head, success awaits 
it. Both are members of the K. of P. 

The Hanford Produce Company, Sioux City, was incorported May 9, 1890, 
representing a capital stock of $50,000, A. S. Hanford being president, John 
Stough, vice-president, W. D. Hanford, secretary, all of whom are directors, 
as is also Alexander Day, of Holyoke, Mass. A. S. Hanford, the founder of 
this company, built the present building in Sioux City in the fall of 1888, 
having branch houses at Centerville and Correctionville, Iowa, and Mankato, 
Minn. Some fifty to seventy-five men are employed by this company to 
carry on its business, buying and selling butter, eggs and poultry, the mar- 
kets for which are in the east and west. 

L. J. Herzog, the " Boyal Tailor," is a native of Austria. He came to 
America in 1879. Since the early age of fourteen years, he has been em- 
ployed in the tailoring business, and is a graduate of Mitchell's Cutting 
school of New York. Mr. Herzog came to Sioux City a year ago, and occu- 
pies the Baclgerow building. He gives employment to some twenty men, 
employing two cutters besides himself. He is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. 

George A. Staebler was born in Le Mars in 1861. He is a contractor of 
ten years' experience. He was joined in marriage to Maggie Hann, of Le 
Mars, and one child, Rosa, has been born to them. He is a member of the 
Evangelical church, and belongs to the Odd Fellows order. He gives his en- 
tire time and attention to his business interests, which are principally at 
Leeds. 

Rev. E. W. Fowler is a native of St. Louis, Mo., and was born October 
23, 1860. He was educated at the St. Louis university, until reaching the 
age of fifteen years, when he entered St. Charles university, at Baltimore. He 
afterward attended college at Niagara Falls, and then took a seminary course 



940 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

at St. Francis, Milwaukee. His first appointment was as assistant to St. 
Patrick's church, Dubuque. He was afterward appointed pastor of a church 
in Osage, Iowa, where he labored four years. From there he came to Sioux 
City in June, 1890, and took charge of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church. 
This church is a, handsome brick structure, erected at a cost of $40,000. 

E. H. Gilmoee, of the firm of Gilrnore & Co., proprietors of "The Fair," 
Sioux City, has been identified with the business interests of this place since 
September 13, 1SS9. They are located at 320 Fourth street. E. H. Gilmore 
has been a prominent salesman for many years, and is superintendent and 
general manager of the company in Sioux City, and its success is, to a large 
extent, due to his business tact and honest dealing. 

Prof. Ernest T. Behr is a son of Ernest and Laura (Rishpler) Behr, and 
was born in Dresden, Saxony, September 22, 1861. At an early age he be- 
gan to follow the profession of his father — fresco painting — so his father sent 
him to a school of arts, from which he graduated in his twentieth year. At 
that time he went to Austria-Hungary, thence to Germany and Prussia, visit- 
ing various important places of art, spending five years and four months in 
these and other European countries. He then came to America, located in 
Chicago, engaged in the service of the Phillipson Decorative company, and 
was sent by them to do historical and decorative painting on the capitol at 
Springfield, 111., and did finishing work on the best theaters and churches 
in Chicago. He also did work in the cathedrals at Dubuque, Iowa. 

He came to Sioux City in 1886, and opened an office, and during the 
period that he has been a resident here, has done work on many of Sioux 
City's handsomest houses and business blocks, among them the Iowa Sav- 
ings bank, the First National bank, Northwestern National bank, the Massa- 
chusetts block, the residences of A. S. Garretson, James A. Jackson, Joseph 
Sampson, T. J. Stone, L. Desparois and many more. He is a member of the 
Unitarian church, the Lieder-Kranz and the K. of P. order. For more than 
two years he has been connected with the late Conservatory of Music and 
School of Art of this city, where he taught drawing and painting. 

Herbert C. Johnson, inspector of sewer construction, Sioux City, was 
born in Delaware county, N. Y., October 26, 1850, and is a son of Griswold 
and Mary (Cook) Johnson, the former a native of Connecticut, and the latter 
of England, who came to this country when twelve years old; both are still 
living in New York state. Mr. Johnson received his education in the com- 
mon schools of Delaware county, and at Delaware Literary institute. 
Graduates from the latter institution were permitted to enter college in the 
sophomore class. In 1876 Mr. Johnson left his native state, and settled at 
Norway, Benton county, Iowa, where he remained for three years, then re- 
moved to Storm Lake, Iowa, where he resided until his removal to Sioux 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 941 

City in 1SS7. During his residence in Storm Lake he followed various oc- 
cupations, among which were general merchandise for two years, served as 
deputy sheriff and wrote some insurance. Since coming to Sioux City he 
has been employed by the city as above stated. Mr. Johnson is a member 
of the A. F. & A. M., and politically gives his support to the republican 
party. In 1874 he was united in marriage, at Franklin, N. Y., to Miss Ger- 
trude Rikard, a native of that county. This union has been blessed with the 
following children: Stanley M., Leone, Ray (deceased) and Neva. 

Alexander Fvffe, foreman of the Sioux City engine works foundry, was 
born April 15, 1852, in the county of Forfarshire, Scotland. At the age of 
fourteen years he was apprenticed to the Cox Brothers Co., which had foundry 
works at Dundee, Scotland. There he served for six years at his trade. In 
1872 he left Scotland for America, and settled in Ottawa county, Canada, 
where he worked as journeyman for two years, then crossed over to Detroit, 
Mich., where he worked for one year. He remained in northern Michigan 
until 18S0, then went to Chicago, 111., and engaged with Fraser & Chalmers 
(foundrymen), where he worked for six years. He then established business 
in his own name at the corner of Center avenue and Fifteenth street, Chicago, 
where he conducted work for two years, but finding competition too sharjj, 
closed business, sold out, and removed to Des Moines, Iowa, taking charge of 
the Eagle Ironworks conducted by the Perkins Co., but soon was offered the 
position of foreman of the Sioux City Engine works foundry, which he prompt- 
ly accepted, some time in 1888. He married Miss Nyda, daughter of Frank 
Kennedy, of Jackson, Mich. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., which 
order he joined at Sioux City, January 1, 1891. 

M. Ellis Wilson, secretary of the Boston Real Estate and Trust Com- 
pany, Sioux City, was born April 20, 1864, in Wayne county, Ohio, a son of 
L. Wilson, who was a native of the same state, and Sarah (Miller) Wilson, a 
native of Pennsylvania, who were married January 1, 1S63. Our subject, 
who was their only child, after attending the public schools, entered the 
Baldwin university at Berea, Cuyahoga county, Ohio. Here he remained 
one year, then entered Duff's Commercial college, Pittsburgh, Pa., gradu- 
ating in the class of 1885. He then engaged with Fox Brothers, of Hayesville, 
Ohio, in general merchandising, but after six months he made up his mind 
to try his fortune in the west, so, in 1886, removed to Storm Lake, Buena 
Vista county, Iowa, where he engaged with H. S. Ballou & Co., the prede- 
cessor of the Ballou Banking Co. In April, 1887, this firm opened a branch 
in Sioux City, and in 1889 Mr. Wilson removed to Sioux City, where he has 
since been. In April, 1890, a number of the stockholders of the Ballou 
Banking Co. organized the Boston Real Estate & Trust Co., and Mr. Wilson 
was chosen as secretary. 



942 HISTOKY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

James H. Means, dealer in agricultural implements, Moville, was born in 
Kosciusko county, Ind., December 9, 1853, and is a son of Otho and Catha- 
rine (Crouse) Means, the father' being a native of Virginia, of Scotch-Irish 
descent, while the mother was a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. 
The father is now living in retirement in Shelby county, Iowa, his wife hav- 
ing died in January, 1885; both were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. James H. lived in Indiana until twelve years of age, when he came 
with his parents to Johnson county, Iowa, in 1865, and resided with them 
until he was twenty-two years of age. He then purchased a farm in Potta- 
wattamie county, Iowa, on which he resided about five years, then went into 
the implement business at Shelby, Iowa, which he continued four years, 
when he came to Woodbury county in 1885. He purchased 480 acres of 
land in Moville township, which he farmed until the spring of 1890, when he 
rented his farm and went into the implement business in Moville. In pol- 
itics Mr. Means affiliates with the republican party, and has been school 
director, also township trustee. He is a member of the Masonic order. 

Francis B. Allan (deceased) was a farmer and stock-raiser on section 
four, Moville township. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1830, a son of 
Robert and Anna (Leslie) Allan* both natives of Scotland. The father was 
by occupation a weaver, but spent the latter part of his days in retirement in 
Westmoreland county, Pa., where he died about 1875. His mother is still 
living and has reached the age of ninety years. Both parents were members of 
the Covenanter church. 

Francis B. was reared in Pittsburgh, and there received a common-school 
education. He went with his parents to Westmoreland county when they 
moved, and there resided with them until 1856, when he engaged in farming 
for himself, following that pursuit in that county until 1884, when he came 
to Woodbury county, Iowa. He purchased 294 acres of land on section four, 
Moville township, where he continued farming until his death, which occurred 
November 22, 1889. November 27, 1859, Mr. Allan married Sarah Pace, 
and to them were born six children: Margaret P., Robert, George J., Anna 
B., Mattie M. and Clara E. He was a member of the United Presbyterian 
church, as is also his wife. Upon his death the son Robert took charge of 
the farm, which he still continues to operate. He is a republican in politics, 
secretary of the school board, and a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Mrs. 
Allan is a daughter of David and Margaret (Woods) Pace, the former a na- 
tive of England and the latter of the north of Ireland. Her father was by 
occupation a gardener and fruit grower, which business he carried on in 
Allegheny county, Pa., until his death, in March, 1S79; his wife died in 1864. 
Mr. Pace v came to America in 1822, and soon after, located in Allegheny 
county, -^pth he and wife'were members of the United Presbyterian church. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 943 

John F. Btjtteks, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section thirty-sis, 
Moville township, was born in Jackson county, Iowa, May 10, 1846, and is a 
son of John S. and Eunice (Grace) Butters. His father was a native of New 
York, of Scotch descent, and his mother was born in Pennsylvania, of Ger- 
man descent. John S. Butters farmed in Jackson county, Iowa, until his 
death, which occurred in 1878, having come to Iowa about the year 1841 ; 
his wife is still living, and resides at Algona, Kossuth county, Iowa, a mem- 
ber of the Christian church, as was her husband. John F. Butters was born 
and reared on a farm, receiving his education at the district schools. He 
continued to reside with and assist his parents on the farm until the spring 
of 1864, when he enlisted in Company I, Twelfth Iowa regiment. He took 
part in the battles of Tupelo, Miss., Nashville, Spanish Fort, and Blakely, 
La. He was wounded in the battle of Tupelo, and honorably discharged 
January 26, 1S66. He then returned home, where he remained two years, 
then engaged in farming for himself until 1869, when he moved to Jones 
county, Iowa, and farmed there until 18S0; at that date he located in Wood- 
bury county, and resided for two years in Grant township, then purchased 
400 acres of land in Moville township, where he has since lived. Mr. But- 
ters makes a specialty of fine Galloway cattle, and has sixty head on his farm 
at present, and also keeps a good grade of horses and hogs. 

March 26, 1868, he married Louisa Moyer, and to them have been born 
four children: Osce, Elsie, Stella and Anna. He is a republican, a member 
of the I. O. O. F. and Farmers' Alliance. Mrs. Butters is a daughter of 
Levi and Sophia (Moyer) Meyers, whose names were afterward changed to 
Moyer. Both parents -were natives of Ohio, and of German descent. Levi 
Moyer engaged in farming, excepting the years 1851, 1852 and 1853, until 
his death, which occurred at Galena, 111., in 1856, the result of an accident. 
His wife is still living, and resides at Maquoketa, Iowa. In March, 1851, he 
went to California and was engaged in prospecting and gold mining until 
May, 1854, when he returned to Ohio, then moved with his family to Jack- 
son county, Iowa, in 1855. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, 
and his wife is a member of the Baptist church. 

Wilbuk S. Metcalf, farmer, residing on section twenty-seven, Moville 
township, was born in Steuben county, N. Y., in 1854, a son of Mendel L. 
and Rachel (Munks) Metcalf, the father a native of New York, of English 
descent, the mother of Pennsylvania, of German and Irish descent. His 
father was a farmer in West Fork township, Woodbury county, having come 
to the county in 1855 ; his death occurred in 1884, his wife having died in 
1871; both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Wilbur S. 
came from Steuben county, N. Y., to Woodbury county with his parents when 
one year old, and remained with them until twenty years of age, receiving 



y44 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

such an education as was to be had in the district schools. At the age of 
twenty he engaged in farming for himself. In 1875 he went to Washington 
territory, where he resided two years, working at clearing timber land and 
logging. In June, 1877, he returned to Woodbury county and purchased 
eighty acres of land, where he now resides, having since added eighty-five 
acres, all of which was in a wild state, but which he has now well improved. 
He casts his suffrage with the republican party, and has been road super- 
visor, school director and secretary. In 1880 he married Hattie E. Baker, 
and they have four children: Joanna B., Harlin P., Maria P. and Thomas 
W. Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

A. J. Vaevel, farmer, P. O. Correctionville, is a son of Daniel and Mar- 
garet Varvel, and was born in Jones county, Iowa, July 11, 18-12. His father 
was a native of Kentucky and his mother of New York. He attended the 
common schools of Jones county until nineteen years of age, when he finished 
his education in a college in Delaware county, where he was in school one 
year. In 1862 he went to Wisconsin, where he worked in the pineries one 
year, after which he went to Denver, Colo., where he engaged in freighting 
groceries from Omaha. He then came back to Jones county and farmed for 
his father until the spring of 1869, when he moved to Kedron township, 
Woodbury county, where he now resides. September 5, 1868, Mr. Varvel 
married Nellie, daughter of Seth and Eliza Peck, and to them is born one 
child, named Minnie. Politically Mr. Varvel is a democrat and a strong 
advocate of prohibition. 

Leonaed Koenig, one of the leading farmers of Plymouth county, was 
born in Germany, February 28, 1827, a son of Elrich and Mary Koenig, also 
of Germany. He attended school there until ten years of age, when he 
came with his parents to America, settling in Baltimore, Md., where he en- 
gaged in gardening until 1869. He then removed to Plymouth township, 
Plymouth county, Iowa, where he bought eightj r acres of land, and has since 
carried on general farming. He has added to his farm, and now owns 750 
acres of land. Mr. Koenig married Miss Mary, daughter of Kussell Strickstra, 
of Germany, in February, 1850, and they are the parents of nine children: 
Annie, William, Dora, Sarah, John, Matilda, George, Philip and Henry. In 
politics he is a democrat, and was elected by that party to the board of 
county commissioners, which position he has held sis years. He has also 
filled the offices of township trustee and school director. He is a member 
of the I. O. O. F. and the Evangelical church. 

Alexander Elliott, farmer, Sioux City, is a son of Robert and Sarah 
(McLeon) Elliott, and was born in Ireland, August 14, 182S. His parents were 
of Scotch descent and members of the Presbyterian church. His father, who 
was a farmer, died in 1863, and his mother two years later. Alexander 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 945 

Elliott is one of the old settlers of Woodbury county, having come here be- 
fore there was a frame house where Sioux City now stands. The prairie was 
then nothing but wild land, and the deer and wolves were then roaming all 
around. Prairie fires did great damage too, our subject alone having had 
between 300 and 400 tons of hay swept away by them. He was educated 
in Ireland, where he remained and assisted his father with the farm work 
until he attained his majority. In 1850 he came to America and farmed in 
New York until 1856, when he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and pur- 
chased 320 acres of land in section twenty-nine, Floyd township, where he 
now resides, to which he has since added 1,280 acres, and is engaged in a 
very extensive manner in farming and stock-raising. 

February 19, 1863, he married Harriet E. Todd, of Sioux City, and to 
them have been born nine children, namely: Mary, Carrie H, Eddie R., 
Sarah, Alexander, John, Harriet, George and Frank. In religious matters 
Mr. Elliott holds to the faith of the Presbyterians; in politics he is a repub- 
lican, and has been treasurer, trustee and school director. 

Edwin P. Webster, an old settler, farmer and stock-raiser, now residing 
on section twenty-one, Woodbury township, was born in Albany, N. Y., March 
7, 1838, a son of Joshua and Eliza (Phillips) Webster. The father had retired 
from active work at the time of his death, which occurred September 9, 1878 ; 
he was of Welsh and the mother of English descent, the latter a member of 
the Congregational church. Edwin P. was born and reared in New York, 
and received a common-school education. He resided with his parents until 
1856, when he came west, stopping in Omaha one year, and in Nebraska for 
three years. He came to Woodbury county about 1S60, and located in Sioux 
City, residing there seven years, and then came to Woodbury township, where 
he bought 1,010 acres of land. May 14, 1876, he married Ellen Davis, of 
New York, and they have one child, Florence. Mr. Webster affiliates with 
the republican party, and has held the office of school director, and now 
holds that of treasurer of the district. Mrs. Webster is a member of the 
Congregational church. 

James S. Clark, one of the old settlers, farmers and stock- raisers, now 
residing on section thirty-three, Woodbury township, was born in Lawrence 
county, Pa., October 21, 1841, a son of James and Margaret (Brown) Clark, 
both deceased. James Clark was a farmer of Irish descent, and both he and 
wife were members of the Union church. James S. was born and reared on 
a farm in Pennsylvania, and received a common-school education. He came 
to Woodbury county in 1860 with his parents, and resided with them until 
their death. He then took charge of the farm of eighty acres, and has since 
added 240 acres, making in all 320 acres of land. When Mr. Clark came to 
this county it was all wild prairie, and he has done his share in helping to 



946 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

build it up. September 23, 1889, he married Annie Johnson, of Sioux City. 
Politically, Mr. Clark is a republican, and has held the office of supervisor. 
He is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church. 

John T. Schwartz, Jb., farmer, Sergeant's Bluff, is a native of Iowa, hav- 
ing been born in Linn county, June 23, 1855. His parents, who are now 
residing in Sioux City, are John and Charlotte (Laflesh) Schwartz, the former 
of Dutch and the latter of French descent. The father is operating a large 
farm, which he owns, and which is north of Sergeant's Bluff. John T. was 
reared on a farm, receiving such an education as he could obtain at the pub- 
lic schools. His parents moved to Woodbury county, when he was nine years 
of age, and he resided with them there until he was twenty, when he bought 
eighty acres of land, broke it for farming, and built a house on it. He after- 
ward sold that and purchased the twenty acres he is now living upon, and 
which, being within a quarter of a mile of the corporate limits of Sioux City, 
has a value of not less than $7,000. 

In 1876 he married Nettie Streeter, of Harrison county, and to them three 
children have been born: Gertie M., Merton A. and Ervie M. The country 
around here was wild land when Mr. Schwartz came, and he has seen the 
deer and wolf running wild, and even some Indian wigwams dotting the 
prairies. Even Sioux City was a small place, containing only six or seven 
stores, and he has helped to transform this wild country to one of well culti- 
vated farms, and has seen the extraordinary growth of Sioux City. In politics 
he is a democrat. 

Geokge H. Dula, farmer, Sergeant's Bluff, is a son of Alfred and Eliza- 
beth (Watkins) Dula, of English and Scotch-Irish descent, respectively. His 
mother died in 1877 and his father was an invalid from then till the time of 
his death in 1879. George H. was born on a farm in Wilkes county, N. C, 
October 17, 1840, and when seven years old, went to live with some relatives 
in Caldwell county, same state, and there he was educated and remained 
until 1860, when he went north, and in 1861 enlisted at Anderson, Ind., in 
Company K, Indiana infantry. He was in the battles of Rich Mountain, Va., 
Pea Bidge, Champion Hill, the siege of Vicksburg, and the surrender at 
Mobile, Ala. In May, 1864, he was honorably discharged, and then went to 
McLean county, 111., and taught school in different localities for a number of 
years. In 1868 he came to Woodbury county, and purchased forty acres of 
land in section thirty-one, Woodbury township, where he now resides. 

He married Mary A. Woodford, September 22, 1879, and has five chil- 
dren: Bertha A., Addie, Lucy, Woodford and Mary. Mr. Dula, who served 
nearly four years in the army, and was a commissioned officer, now draws 
a pension, as he was badly broken down in health, from the long and severe 
service. He and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 947 

church; in politics he is a republican, and has held the office of justice of 
the peace and school director, and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

John Chaeles Ruthroff, undertaker, Smithland, is a native of Bavaria, 
Germany, born at Bamberg, April 9, 1846. His parents were Henry and 
Margaret (Reider) Ruthroff, who set out with their family for America in 
1849. They settled in Chicago, where both died of cholera in 1857. At the 
age of thirteen, John C. Ruthroff began learning the carpenter's trade, to 
which he subsequently added cabinet-making. In 1861 he came to Smith- 
land, and in the spring of 1S63 he enlisted in Company L, Fourth Iowa 
cavalry, serving till June, 1865, in the western army. He was in the battles 
of La Grange, Jackson, Meridian, Guntown, Tupelo, Tallahatchie Creek and 
Oxford. At Tupelo he received a shell wound in the right hip. While in 
camp at Gravel Springs, Ala., he was detached for band duty (the only caval- 
ry band in the service), and received a sunstroke while on duty, in February, 
1865, by which he was prostrated for four months, being insensible five days. 
He was sent to the hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind., and from there discharged. 
From the effects of this injury he has never fully recovered. 

Returning to Smithland, he continued building operations till 1879, when 
he bought out and operated a wagon-repair shop. In 1882 he began under- 
taking, and to this in 1887 added a furniture stock. He had completed and 
stocked a store, twenty by forty feet, which was totally destroyed, with a 
large undertaking stock, by fire in December, 1889. Nothing daunted, he 
built a small store the following spring, and started in to recover from his 
crippling loss. In religious views Mr. Ruthroff sympathizes with the 
Seventh Day Advent church, and is an ardent republican. In 1869 he mar- 
ried Charlotte, daughter of Nathaniel Edgar, whose sketch will be found in 
this volume. Mrs. Ruthroff was born in Green county, Wis., and is the 
mother of thirteen children, of whom the following are living : Josephine, Cora, 
Charles, Jessie, Florence, Pearl, Fay, Ardilla, Viva and Floyd, Grace, Myrtle 
and Leroy being deceased. 

Myron Albert Clark, real estate dealer, Smithland, was born at Benton 
Center, Lackawanna county, Pa., August 8, 1859, and is a son of Perry and 
Ruth E. (Bailey) Clark, natives of Rhode Island. In 1871 the family removed 
to Woodbury county, settling in Little Sioux township, where they now re- 
side. Our subject remained on the home farm until he was sixteen years of 
age, and then taught school until he arrived at his majority. In 1881 he en- 
gaged in the real estate and loan business, in which he has been very suc- 
cessful. He is a leading citizen of the town, having served as member of 
the school board for six years. In 1883 he was married to Tillie Hawkins, 
of Boone, Iowa, and their family consists of three children, namely: Clyde 
P., Florence M. and Harrison B. Mr. Clark takes a leading part in the coun- 
cils of the republican party. 



y4« HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Jacob Welte, merchant, Danbury, was born in Austria, March 16, 1843, 
and came to America in 1852 with his parents, who located in New Orleans. 
Two years later they moved to Jackson county, 111., and here the subject of 
this sketch was mostly educated, and is able to speak and write both English 
and German. At the age of eighteen he started out to earn his own living, 
as a cooper, and went to Guttenberg, Iowa. He worked at his trade in 
Clinton and Winneshiek counties for about eighteen years, then came to Dan- 
bury, and opened a general merchandise store. His parents were Joseph 
and Mariana (Matt) Welte, both Germans, but who spent the latter part of 
their lives in this country, both having died in Iowa. In 1868 Mr. Welte 
married Theresa, daughter of Chris and Malburga (Sheable) Warner, and to 
them have been born nine children : Bosina, John, Joe, Lizzie, Jacob, Mary, 
Carrie, Frank and Hugo, all of whom are at home. Mr. Welte is a member 
of the Roman Catholic church. 

Matthew Flood, farmer and stock dealer, Battle Creek, was born in 
county Wexford, Ireland, in 1846, and received his entire schooling in Ire- 
land. He came to America in 1S68, and located in Springfield, 111., and was 
naturalized in 1878. After remaining in Illinois eight years, he came to 
Dallas county, Iowa, and in 1883 to Woodbury county, always engaged as a 
farmer. His parents, Matthew and Kate (Furlong) Flood, were Irish, and 
are both deceased. In 1871 the subject of this sketch married Bridget Dis- 
kin, whose parents, Michael and Mary (Cusic) Diskin, are both dead. He 
has five children: Mary Ellen, Katie, Maggie, Mattie and John. All are 
members of the Catholic church. Mr. Flood is a member of the Farmers' 
Alliance. He has a farm of 320 acres, all under cultivation, on which he 
raises mostly corn. At the present time (1890) he has 100 head of cattle 
and 200 head of hogs. 

Adolphds Huffman, farmer, Anthon, was born in Germany, January 20, 
1848, and there attended school. At the age of twenty-three years he came 
to America and located in Linn county, Iowa, where he remained eight years, 
then moved to Shelby county, and from there to Woodbury county, in 18S3, 
and located on the farm in Morgan township, where he still resides. His 
parents, George and Anna Huffman, were Germans, both now deceased. He 
is the fifth of six children, and with one brother the only ones of his family 
who came to America. In 1876 he married Barbara, daughter of Godfrey 
and Annie Irion, who were Germans. They have two children, Fred W. 
and Charles G., and belong to the Lutheran church. Mr. Huffman's farm 
consists of 400 acres, 300 of which he cultivates. He is engaged extensively 
in buying and selling live stock. 

Cheistopheb Camarigg, farmer, Correctionville, is a native of Switzerland, 
where he was born June 27, 1837. His father, Flish Camarigg, was born in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 949 

1811; his mother's name was Dorothy Camarigg. He came to America in 
1847, and after spending one year in Burlington, Wis., he settled in Trenton 
township, Wanpnn P. O., Dodge county, the same state. In 1875 he moved 
to Clinton, Iowa, nine years later to Cushing, same state, and soon after 
bought a farm in section four, Morgan township, Woodbury county, where 
he now lives. November 8, 1860, he married Miss Katherine Geiger, also a 
native of Switzerland. Mr. Camarigg is a republican in politics, and a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He and wife are the parents of 
six children : Lydia, Walter, Maggie, Katie, Delia and Henry. 

Wesley Eli Osbokn, farmer, Danbury, was born in Illinois, November 
20, 1S61, and is one of seven children (four of whom are living) born to Abel 
Griffith and Rosanna (Foster) Osborn, both natives of Pennsylvania and of 
English descent. He is one of five children who are now living, born to his 
parents, and was reared on a farm, and has always followed farming. In 
1884 he bought the farm where he now lives, paying ten dollars per acre 
then, which consists of one hundred and twenty acres of what is now ' choice 
land. It is in section twelve, township eighty-six, range forty -three, Wood- 
bury county. November 25, 1888, he was married at Danbury, to Eva Jack- 
son, of this state, by whom he has one child, Clements Abel. Mr. and Mrs. 
Osborn are both members of the Methodist church. In political matters he 
is a republican. 

Samuel C. Gaebee, farmer, Oto, is the youngest of eight children born 
to Samuel C. and Rebecca (Davis) Garber, the latter of Welsh descent, and 
was born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 7, 1834. He is of Hessian 
descent, his great-grandfather having been one of the prisoners captured by 
Washington at the battle of Trenton, who, when paroled, settled in Lancas- 
ter county, Pa. At the age of nineteen the subject of this sketch graduated 
from Franklin and Marshall college, where he was educated with the object 
of following the medical profession. After reading medicine two years and 
attending one course of lectures at the medical college of Philadelphia, while 
assisting at a surgical operation, he was so overcome at the sight of human 
blood that he concluded to abandon the profession, and then learned the car- 
penter's trade. 

In 1S55 he moved to Scott county, Iowa, and went into the stock busi- 
ness. In the spring of 1861, while on a visit to his old home in Pennsylvania, 
he enlisted in the Sixteenth Pennsylvania volunteers for ninety days; his 
term of enlistment expired July 7, but he remained with his regiment till 
after the first battle of Bull Run, and on being discharged returned to his 
home in Iowa. In 1863 he again enlisted, this time in Company G, Thirty- 
fifth Iowa volunteers, for three years; after serving nine months he was dis- 
charged on account of disabilities incurred during his first enlistment. On 



950 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

October 23, 1866, Mr. Garber married Hattie A. Bentley, who died August 
1, 1878, leaving two children. July 26, 1881, he married Melinda A. Walker. 
He has 200 acres of good land, a part of which he rents out. He has been a 
resident of Woodbury county ten years. Politically he is a republican. 

John Mahoney, farmer, Oto, was born in the county of Cork, Ireland, and 
came to America in 1835. He married Ellen Mahoney in his native country, 
and they have a family of thirteen children. They have a fine farm of 260 
acres. Both parents belong to the Roman Catholic church, and Mr. Mahoney 
supports the democratic party. 

Hebman Alfeed Cutting, butcher and farmer, Oto, was born in Corydon, 
N. H, September 21, 1855, the son of Minor and Mary (Lock) Cutting, and is 
one of eight children. He was married to Mrs. Joseph Wetherman, March 
14, 1883, at Sioux City, and then moved to Oto, where he is now located and 
engaged in the butcher business. He is a man of good education, and has 
taught school. He supports the democratic party, and attends the Methodist 
Episcopal church. 

Benoni Conead Bowen, farmer, Smithland, is a son of Henry and Armanda 
(Conrad) Bowen, who live in New York state, where he was born, December 
28, 1839. He remained at home with his parents, working on the farm until 
he was thirty years of age, when he came to Iowa, and bought his present 
place of abode in Oto township, Woodbury county. He married Julia Smith, 
and has a family of seven children. He supports the democratic party, but 
attends no church regularly. 

W. W. Scott, farmer, Danbury, was born in Clinton county, Iowa, 
March 24, 1853, and is a son of William and Harriet (Pearsall) Scott, the 
former of New York state, and the latter of Indiana. He is the fifth in a 
family of seven children, six of whom are living. He lived near his birth- 
place until he came to Woodbury county in 1885. He married Emma 
Hooper, of Clinton county, Iowa, November 30, 1877, and three children have 
blessed this union: Clyde, Archie and Seth, all of whom are at home. Mr. 
Scott is not a member of any church, nor does he take an active part in pol- 
itics, but votes for the best man. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Lemuel Bubns, farmer, Holly Springs, was born in Belmont county, 
Ohio, April 25, 1835, and there he was reared on a farm and attended the 
common schools. At the age of twenty-one he came west to Princeton, 111., 
and began business for himself, and remained there until 1857, when he 
went to Minnesota, where he attended select school for one year. In 1860 
he turned his attention to farming, but losing his crops by hail, went to 
Texas, but came back to Mitchell county, Iowa, in 1861. He enlisted De- 
cember 7, of the same year, in Company H of the Sixteenth Iowa infantry, 
under Capt. Newton and Col. Chambers. He was in the battles of Shiloh, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 951 

Corinth, Iuka, Vicksburg, Atlanta, and went with Sherman to the sea. He 
was mustered out at Louisville, August 19, 1865. and was in the review at 
Washington. After the war he went to Houston county, Minn., where he 
ran a hotel for three years, then went to Kansas, but returned to Woodbury 
county, Iowa, where he lived in the town of Southland for. two years, then 
located on the farm where he now resides. His father, George N, and 
mother, Eliza (McFarlin) Burns, are deceased; during life they were farm- 
ers. His grandparents, Ignatius and Basby (Nicholas) Burns, were among 
the first settlers of Ohio. 

Our subject was married, November 13, 1866, to Hattie, whose father and 
mother, David and Harriet (Thompson) Kellogg, were English. They have 
eight children: Frank B., Gussie E., Ealph C, George F., Don. D., Willie 
B., Paul E. and Edith M., all at home. Their religious views are liberal. 
Mr. Burns is a member of the Farmers' Alliance and a republican. He has 
held the offices of clerk, school director and trustee. His farm consists of 
325 acres, of which 150 are under cultivation. He has been quite successful 
in feeding cattle and hogs, and also handles graded horses. 

Robert Haddock, farmer and stock dealer, Holly Springs, was born in 
Ireland August 18, 1837. At about the age of nine years he came with his 
parents to America and located in Philadelphia, Pa., and there he received 
his education. In 1857 he removed to Iowa City, Iowa, where he lived until 
1863, when he enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa infantry, Company G, 
under Capt. Shocky and served under Gens. Sheridan and Sherman in the 
Shenandoah valley. He was in the battles of Cedar Creek, Winchester, 
Fishers Hill, Opequon, and was mustered out at Davenport, in August, 1865. 
He then went to Dallas county, Iowa, and in 1876 came to Woodbury county, 
where he had been sis years before, and being satisfied with the county, 
located where he has since lived. At that time the grass was higher than 
his house, and wolves were his only neighbors. His father and mother, John 
and Ellen (McBride) Haddock, were Scotch Quakers, linen and carpet 
makers by trade, the former was naturalized in 1859. His grandparents, 
John and Agnes (Boyd) Haddock, were descendants of Scotch nobility, and 
never came to America. 

May 25, 1862, Robert Haddock married Minerva Baker, daughter of 
Samuel and Eliza (Lewis) Baker, of Dutch descent, who were living in 
Cedar county, Iowa. They have eight children: Ella, Robert J., Eliza, Har- 
vey H, Samuel G., Minerva, Daisy L. and James William. Mr. Haddock is 
a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Politically he is a republican. His 
farm consists of 300 acres, 180 under cultivation and a sis-acre grove. His 
crops consist principally of corn, which he feeds to both hogs and cattle, 
which he raises for shipping. His wife and all his children are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church. 



952 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Edwin Nelson Seward, farmer, P. O. German city, was born in the town 
of Guilford, Conn., May 7, 1845, a son of Martin N. and Mary E. (Hull) 
Seward, American farmers. His grandfather, Martin Seward, was a cabinet- 
maker, in Connecticut. When two years old, Edwin's parents moved to Jef- 
ferson county, Wis., where he was brought up and received a common-school 
education. In 1870 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and bought a piece 
of railroad land, where he proceeded at once to build a home. In Septem- 
ber, 1873, he married Aurilla F. Metcalf, whose maiden name was Lee, her 
parents being Eli and Helen (Bower) Lee, the latter of German descent. 
They have been blessed with four children: Arthur P., Gertrude R., Mar- 
tin M. and Clarence H. His wife had two children by her first husband: 
Florence E., who is now married to V. Steel, and Cora M. Metcalf. They 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Seward now owns a 
fine farm of 120 acres, seventy of which he cultivates, the rest being in past- 
ure and hay land, except four acres, which is in a grove and orchard. He 
handles stock and blooded hogs extensively. In politics he is a republican, 
and has held the official positions of assessor, clerk, trustee and treasurer. 

Andrew R. Gardner, hotel proprietor, Holly Springs, was born November 
27, 1856, in Warren county, N. J., a son of Elisha K. and Mary Ann Maria 
(Raupe) Gardner, the former born in the same county and state, in the year 
1830, the latter a Pennsylvanian of German descent, who, as well as her hus- 
band, was a devoted Methodist. Andrew R. Gardner was born on a farm, and 
was reared as a farmer's boy, receiving such education as was obtainable in the 
public schools. December 31, 1884, he was married to Miss Rose, daughter of 
Morris P. Metcalf, and to them have been born two children, both boys : Morris 
L., born January 10, 1SS7, and Ary Owen, born September 6, 1890. Previous 
to engaging in the hotel business, Mr. Gardner was engaged in farming, but 
finding he would make a genial " host " he gave up farming, and is now con- 
ducting the insurance business, in connection with his hotel, and is also a no- 
tary public. He has been a life-long democrat, and has served as school 
director, road supervisor, and at the election in November, 1890, was elected 
assessor of Willow township, Woodbury county. 

Wharton D. Utter, hardware merchant, Sloan, was born in New York 
in 1833, a son of Daniel and Lydia Utter, both deceased. His grandparents, 
Elijah and Ann (Chapin) Utter, were of Dutch descent. He grew to man- 
hood in New York, where he received a common-school education, and began 
farming for himself at the age of thirty. In 1880 he came to Sloan, where 
he farmed until 18S6, when he retired from business for two years. In 1888 
he, with his son, went into the hardware business, in which he is still engaged. 
He also owns 160 acres of land, which he rents out. In January, 1860, he 
married Ann B., daughter of Wesley and Betsey (Jackson) Chapin. They 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 953 

have two children, Daniel M. and Ina A. Mr. Utter is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and of the Methodist Episcopal church; politically he is 
a republican. 

Geoege D. Montross, druggist, Sloan, was born in Beaumont, Wyoming 
county, Pa,, January 20, 1858. His parents, Elijah and Charity (Casebeer) 
Montross, were Americans, the former a merchant. His grandparents, Peter 
and Lovia (Jackson) Montross, were American farmers, and his great-grand- 
father, Daniel Montross, was a physician. George D. received a common- 
school education at Beaumont and Tunkhannock, where he remained until 
he was twenty-one years of age, when he came to Iowa, locating the nest 
summer in Sloan, where he first taught school, and in 1880-81 clerked in a 
store for J. B. Croford. He then went to Salis, where he, with Frank More- 
house, opened the first drug store in that place, but subsequently he returned 
to Sloan, where he has since remained, the proprietor of the only drug store 
of that place. Mr. Montross has been a registered pharmacist since January 
17, 1883. 

In 1884 he married Ida A., daughter of F. M. and Mary (Arnold) Corr, 
and to them have been born three children: Lila, Lloyd G. and Frank, the 
two latter only, living, Lila having died May 30, 1888, at the age of three 
years. Mr. Montross is a member of the Odd Fellows, and in religion has 
liberal ideas. He is a republican in politics, and has held the offices of town- 
ship clerk, assessor and treasurer of the school board. 

Geoege S. Jeffeey, cashier of the Farmers' State bank, Sloan, was born 
in Simper, Scotland, in 1856, a son of James and Georgiana S. (Narian) 
Jeffrey, who were farmers of Scotland. His paternal grandfather, James 
Jeffrey, never came to America, but his parents immigrated here when he 
was but eighteen months old, and located at Burlington, Iowa, but subse- 
quently removed to Kirkwood, 111., and in 1877 to Woodbury county, Iowa. 
After graduating at the high school at Burlington, George S. attended busi- 
ness college, after which he and his father carried on a carriage and wagon 
shop in Kirkwood until they came to Woodbury county, where they farmed 
until 1885. In that year Mr. Jeffrey became book-keeper for Chapin Bros.' 
bank, and in 1889 joined in partnership with H. H. Clough, and started the 
Farmers' bank, which was succeeded by the Farmers' State bank, of which 
he is cashier. In 1886 he married Harriet I., daughter of Adam Hannaker, 
and they have two children: Cecelia I. and Georgiana S. He is a member 
of the Congregational church; in politics he is a republican, and a member 
of the town council. Wherever Mr. Jeffrey is known, he has a reputation 
for truth and uprightness of which anyone might well be proud. 

John T. Fey, farmer, Sloan, was born in Bush county, Ind., September 
21, 1817. He is of German descent, but his ancestors have been in America 



954- HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

since his great-grandfather, who was the one to come across the ocean. His 
grandparents were Thomas and Mary (Care) Fry, who were engaged in farm- 
ing, as were his parents, Luke and Phcebe (Abraham) Fry. When our sub- 
ject was four years old, his parents moved to Howard county, where he was 
reared on a farm, and received his education in the common schools. At the 
age of twenty- one he moved to Illinois and commenced farming for himself. 
In 1882 he came to Iowa, and farmed for one year in Plymouth county, then 
moved to the place where he now is and where he owns 160 acres of land, 
all under cultivation, and on which he raises almost all the cereals indigenous 
to the state, besides handling considerable stock, all of which is graded. In 
1874 he married Martha, daughter of Thomas and Cynthia (Mason) Benning- 
ton, Americans, who was born July 9, 1849, at Belle Plain, Marshall county, 
111. They have two children: Otis G. and Fred A. Mr. Fry is member of 
the republican party, and is a school director. He and his wife are both 
members of the Christian church. 

Samuel P. Beaver, farmer, Sloan, was born in Pennsylvania in 1823, 
the son of John and Mary (Berry) Beaver (both deceased), who were farmers, 
as were his grandparents, George and Susan Beaver, who were of German 
descent. He was reared on a farm, spending a part of his youth in New 
York state, but when twenty-one he returned to Pennsylvania, where he 
remained on a farm until 1854, when he moved to McLean county, 111., 
where he farmed and worked at the carpenter's trade until 1882, when he 
came to his present location. He owns 160 acres of land, which is well cul- 
tivated. On his farm he has a nice grove of young maple trees. He gives 
special attention to raising hogs and cattle. In 1860 Mr. Beaver married 
Mary, daughter of John and Frances (Thomas) Watson, Americans, of Scotch 
descent. They have been blessed with five children: Fanny W., Minnie E., 
Lillie F., Etta B. and Samuel L., the latter living in Nevada, Iowa. Mr. 
and Mrs. Beaver are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
is a republican in politics. 

William Wenboubne, farmer, Rock Branch, was born in Kent county, 
England, in 1828. He received only a limited education, and was in the 
naval service of England for two years, after which time he came to America, 
and settled in New York, where he remained for only a short time, when he 
came to Rutland township, Woodbury county, Iowa, William Wenbourne, 
father of our subject, was born in 1798 and died in 1884; his wife, Mary 
Wenbourne, was born in 1812, and died in 1878. Our subject was married, 
in 1858, to Mary Osborn, of Kent county, England. He was an active mem- 
ber of the order of Foresters for a number of years. 

Benjamin Hayloe, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, was born in Marcellus, Onon- 
daga county, N. Y., in 1840. His parents, William and Harriet Haylor, 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 955 

were natives of London, England, the former born in 1814. Our subject 
came from New York to Tama county, Iowa, in 1S65, from there moved to 
Mills county, thence to Crawford county, and then to Woodbury county, 
where he now resides. His opportunities to receive an education were fairly 
good, and he took advantage of every opportunity for improvement, and, 
being a man of energy, he generally accomplished his end in the shortest 
possible time. He married Matilda Graves, of Fayette county, Iowa, in 
1885. In politics Mr. Haylor votes the republican ticket. 

Joseph W. Trostle, minister and farmer, Kingsley, was born in Adams 
county, Pa., in 1839. He is a son of Michael and Susanna Trostle, both na- 
tives of Adams county, Pa., and of German descent. His father was a 
farmer all his life, and was born in 1803 and died in 1888. George, grand- 
father of Joseph W., was born in Adams county, Pa., in 1778, and died in 
1863. Michael Trostle reared a family of seven children, of whom our 
subject is the second. Joseph W. married Susanna Vannorsdel, of Lee 
county, 111, in 1865. She is a daughter of Isaac Vannorsdel, who was born 
in 1800, and lived until 1887. In 1867 our subject moved to Marshall coun- 
ty, Iowa, where he followed the carpenter's trade for sixteen years, when he 
moved to Woodbury county. Since 1877 he has been working in the minis- 
try, in the German Baptist or Brethren church. Mr. Trostle is a man of 
influence in his neighborhood, and feels interested in the welfare of his 
neighbors. He casts his suffrage with the republican party. 

Joseph Oliver Jerman, farmer, P. O. Lucky Valley, was born in Farmers' 
Creek, Jackson county, this state, February 6, 1855, and comes of French- 
Canadian ancestry. Both his grandfathers, Joseph Jerman and Joseph 
Gothier, were natives of Canada, as was also his father, Oliver Jerman. 
His mother, Mary E. Gothier, was born in St. Louis, Mo., and is still living. 
Mr. Jerman received a common-school education, and has always been a 
farmer. In 1877 he purchased a farm on section thirty-five, Wolf Creek 
township, where he has dwelt ever since. He is now the owner of 340 acres, 
and breeds and deals extensively in cattle and horses. He is a director and 
vice-president of the Anthon State bank, recently organized. He is a mem- 
ber of the Boman Catholic church, and affiliates with the democratic party. 
He has served as township trustee, and is now chairman of the county board 
of supervisors. In 1878 Mr. Jerman married Mary Boark, a native of Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, and daughter of Martin and Catharine Boark, of Irish birth. 
The family of our subject includes five children, viz. : Catharine, Oliver, Wal- 
ter, Lucy and Ellen. 

James H. Strong, stock-raiser, and large feeder and breeder of fine horses, 
Climbing Hill, was born in Streetsville, Wilmot county, Ont., April 3, 1848, 
a son of James Strong, of Ireland, and Amy (Bolster) Strong, of Vermont, 



956 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

His grandfather, Chapin Bolster, was from. Vermont. In 1856 Mr. Strong 
came to Bennington, Vt., and worked in a woolen factory. In 1871 he came 
to Sioux City, and the following year to West Fork township. 

He was married, November 3, 1872, to Adeline Bayne, who was born in 
Switzerland county, Ind., November 29, 1854. Her parents were Henry 
Bayne, of Ohio, and Elizabeth (Gustin) Bayne, of Indiana. This union has 
been blessed with eight children, viz. : Alfred, born August 13, 1873 ; San- 
ford, June 1, 1875; Elmer, July 22, 1877; Wilfred, December 24, 1879; 
Carrie, July 1, 1882; Clarence, March 5, 1884; Willie, May 2, 1887, and 
Earl, May 4, 1890. Mr. Strong received a very limited education in the 
common schools. He is at present engaged in raising and shipping stock on 
his extensive farm, known as Crescent Lawn Stock farm, near Climbing 
Hill. In the great blizzard of 1873, he and two others were in the woods at 
Lamb Branch, a distance of twelve miles from his home, when the storm 
commenced, and in a short time the air was so full of snow and ice that one 
could see nothing. They lost their way, and in order to find the road, one 
went about ten rods from the team, and another a little farther, and the other 
man still farther, and then they hallooed to each other. Mr. Strong became 
so cold and numb that he could not keep up with the others, and then got 
on his load to die, and let the team go, and would have frozen to death, but 
for the assistance of his companions. As it was he froze his hands and feet 
and other parts of his body. In politics he is a republican. 

George T. Andrews, farmer, Peiro, was born in Carlinville, 111., May 2(\ 
1857, a son of Thompson and Ellen (Hankins) Andrews. His father was 
from England, and his mother from New Jersey. His grandfather on his 
mother's side, David Hankins, is still living. In 1858 the Andrews family 
moved to Fort Worth, Tex. During the latter part of the Civil war his 
father died, and Mrs. Andrews brought her family back to Illinois. In 1 864 
they went to Nebraska, and three years afterward to Monona county, Iowa. 
Here George attended the high school at Onawa. In 1869 he came to Wood- 
bury county, and has been engaged in different parts of the county, farming 
and stock-raising ever since. He was married, July 4, 187S, to Ida R. Cainp, 
who was born in Woodbury county, August 12, 1859. Her parents were G. 
R. Camp, of Pennsylvania, and Harriet (Smith) Camp, of Canada. Mr. and 
Mrs. Andrews have been blessed with four children, three of whom are liv- 
ing: Myrtie I., born September 10, 1879; Effie B., born October 24, 1882, 
and Jay V., born September 1, 1888. Mr. Andrews has 160 acres in his 
farm, all of which is cultivated. In politics he is a democrat. 

Peter J. Mommens, farmer, Peiro P. O., was born in Hude amt Husum, 
Germany, July 12, 1839, a son of Claus and Mary (Jacobs) Mommens, both 
Germans. He came to Davenport, Iowa, in 1864, and worked for farmers. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 957 

Coining to Sioux City, he worked at different times in a hotel, brewery and 
brickyard until 1880, when he came to his present place. He was mar- 
ried in Sioux City, July 10, 1869, to Miss Anna Volkam, who was born in 
Suederstapel, near Frederickstadt, October 27, 1848. Her parents were John 
and Margaret (Meyer) Volkam. He has a farm of 320 acres, and is engaged 
in farming and stock-raising. 

Peter Cornils, farmer, Peiro P. O., was born at Humus, Germany, No- 
vember 18, 1840, a son of Claus and Kate (Frahn) Cornils. In 1862 he 
came to Davenport and engaged in blacksmithing, The following year he 
enlisted in Company A, Eighth Iowa infantry, and was in the battle of Span- 
ish Fort, In 1868 he came to Sioux City, and the next year moved to his 
present place. He was married in Belle Plaine, Iowa, to Miss Erker Han- 
sen, who was born in Germany, May 21, 1842. Her parents were Carson 
and Mary (Peterson) Hansen. Mr. and Mrs. Cornils have had nine children, 
seven of whom are living, viz.: Will, born December 5, 1872; Edward, 
born December 1, 1874; Mary, born November 9, 1876; Kate, born Novem- 
ber 15, 1878; Lizzie, born June 4, 1880; Agnes, born October 13, 1881; 
Charley, born November 27, 1884. Mr. Cornils is a member of the Knights 
of Pythias. He has 360 acres in his farm, and is engaged in farming and 
raising stock. 

Mrs. Mary Tabke was born in Germany, August 12, 1837, a daughter 
of John Adam La Camp. The La Camps came to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1844, 
where Mary was married to William Tabke, who was born in Germany, 
August 24, 1834, a son of Charles Tabke. Mr. Tabke and wife came to 
Sioux City in 1870, and to their present place of residence in West Fork 
township the following year. From 1885 to 1888 they kept a hotel in Sioux 
City, but owing to Mr. Tabke's poor health they returned to the farm in 
1888. They were the parents of ten children, viz.: Ernest William, born 
January 9, 1860, married Josie Larson; Johanna Elizabeth, born November 
13, 1862 (married); Antonia Josephine, born January 3, 1864, married Joe 
Barcal; Mary Elizabeth, born August 27, 1866; August Fern, born August 
16, 1869, married Agnes Eichardson; Anne A., born September 27, 1871; 
Bosedene, born April 1, 1874; John Henry, born November 2, 1876; Emma 
Matalina, born April 11, 1879; Lauren Augustus, born April 15, 1871. Mr. 
Tabke died January 14, 1889, and Mrs. Tabke is carrying on the farm of 
200 acres. She is a member of the German Catholic church. 

William E. Gifford, farmer, P. O. Climbing Hill, was born in Bush 
county, Ind., August 5, 1842, a son of Manly and Sarah (Davis) Gifford. 
On his father's side he is of Scotch-English, and on his mother's, of German, 
descent. Two years after the birth of the subject of this sketch, the Gifford 
family came to Jasper county, Iowa, where William E. was reared and edu- 



958 HISTOBY OP WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

cated, and there remained until 1862, when he went to Oregon and engaged 
in mining and other occupations. He returned to Jasper county in 1866, 
and was married, October 27, 1867, to Harriet E. Anderson, who was born 
August 10, 1846. Her parents were William and Mary Ann (Townsend) 
Anderson. Mr. Gilford went to Kansas in 1868, but removed to Jasper 
county two years later. Then, at various times he lived in Nebraska, Marion 
county, Iowa, and Monroe, Jasper county, Iowa. In 1882 he came to his 
present place in West Fork township, Woodbury county, where he has since 
been engaged in farming and raising stock. Mr. and Mrs. Giff orcl have four 
children, viz.: Alice E. (a teacher), born November 10, 1868; Francis E., 
born February 25, 1870; Charles H. (a teacher), born November 17, 1871; 
and Ada E., born April 18, 1885. Mr. Gifford has 120 acres in his farm. 
In politics he is a democrat. 

Ueal D. Osteandeb, farmer, P. O. Climbing Hill, residing on section 
nine, West Fork township, was born in Canada, February 19, 1849, and is a 
son of Cornelius and Kezia (Moore) Ostrander, of German descent, and mem- 
bers of the Congregational church. The father is engaged in the dairy busi- 
ness in this county. Ural D. resided with his parents until twenty-one years 
of age, when he started out in life for himself. He came to Woodbury county 
in 1868, and worked during the summer of 1870 on a dairy farm. He then 
engaged at bridge-building and carpentering until 1875, when he purchased 
160 acres of land where he now resides. He has since added 160 acres to 
his farm, making in all 320 acres. He makes a specialty of English shire 
horses, Holstein cattle and Poland China hogs. December 31, 1874, Mr. 
Ostrander married Jane W. May, of Sioux City, and they have six children: 
Herbert H, William C, Marion M., Ural J., Jay E. and Edith F. The par- 
ents are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1889 Mr. 
Ostrander's house was burned to the ground, and all its contents destroyed, 
each of the family having to borrow clothes to wear until they could go to 
town for clothing. Politically he is a republican, and has held the office of 
school director. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and of the Ma- 
sonic order. 

David H. Haeeis, farmer, Correctionville, was born in Wales, July 25, 
1832, and in 1855 came to America and settled in Danville, Montour county, 
Pa. After living in the last named place two years, he moved to Bock Island, 
111., where he engaged in mining and farming. In 1882 he moved to Correc- 
tionville, Woodbury county, Iowa, and located in section seven, in Eock town- 
ship, all of which section he owns. H. Harris, father of our subject, was born 
in Wales, and was agent for the copper works in his locality; his wife, Mary 
(Williams) Harris, was born in Wales in 1810. David H. married Martha 
Morris, October 19, 1857, and of their children one only is living, James D. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 959 

His first wife died February 15, 1866, and March 12, 186S he married Mar- 
tha Jones, and to this union eight children have been born, namely: Daniel, 
born February 16, 1869; Mary, born May 17, 1870; Lewis, born February 
15, 1872; Henry, born December 16, 1873; Matthew, born October 31, 1875; 
William, born November 29, 1877; Sadie, born January 19, 1885, and Maud, 
September 7, 1889. Mr. Harris is a member of the Baptist church, and be- 
longs to the Masonic order. Politically he is a republican. 

Benjamin A. Delamatee, farmer, Correctionville, was born in Claridon, 
Geauga county, Ohio, in July, 1853. His early life was spent on a farm, and 
he spent some time in lumbering, living two years in Michigan. In 1878 he 
came to Sioux City, and soon after, bought the southwest quarter of section 
eight,. Bock township. He built thereon his present residence, the lumber for 
which he hauled from Sioux City, a distance of forty-three miles. March 23, 
1878, he married Ida Peck, a native of Farmington, Trumbull county, Ohio, 
where her parents, Fletcher and Coresta (Smith) Peck, are now living. Mr. 
Delamater is a member of the Masonic order, and is a democrat in politics. 
His father, John Delamater, was a graduate of the Philadelphia Medical col- 
lege, and practiced medicine in Cleveland. He was of French descent, and 
his wife, Bosetta (Allen) Delamater, was of English ancestry. 

Thomas D. Lake, Cushing. was born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., De- 
cember 17, 1825, a son of Garrett and Phoebe (Walker) Lake, the former of 
whom was foreman of the Bochester Flouring mills, and the latter was a 
native of New York of English descent. He entered the Mexican war in 
1846, enlisting in Company E, United States infantry, and was under Gen. 
Scott during the bombardment of Vera Cruz. October 30, 1848, he was dis- 
charged from service on account of disability at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. In 
1849 he removed to De Kalb county, 111. August 25, 1861, he enlisted in the 
Thirty-fourth Illinois infantry, and served until 1865. He married Sarah I., 
daughter of Beuben and Jane Skinner. Mr. Lake settled in Woodbury 
county, Iowa, in 1881. He is a member of the Methodist church, and has 
been a successful worker in the ministry for about thirty years. He and wife 
have three children: Emily A., Garrett B. and Phoebe J. In politics he votes 
the republican ticket. 

Beuben B. Bogees, druggist, Cushing, was born in New London, Huron 
county, Ohio, September 14, 1864. Beuben Sogers, father of our subject, 
married Emily E. Clark, of Huron county, and they were the parents of four 
children: TJpton, Joel S., Beuben E. and Willie H. Beuben B. received a 
common-school education and lived on his father's farm until eighteen years 
of age, when he took up the study of medicine. He was a student of the 
Chicago College of Pharmacy, from which institution he graduated in 1889, 
locating the same year in Gushing. Mr. Bogers married Miss Fannie Will- 



950 HISTOEY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

iams, daughter of John Williams, Jr., and grand-daughter of John Williams, 
of Indiana. Her mother, Delba (Wendenhall) Williams, was also born in 
Indiana. Mrs. Rogers is a teacher in the public school of Cushing. Mr. 
Rogers is a member of the Northwestern Legion of Honor. 

Mbs. Cabbie M. Sparks was born in Trimble, Athens county, Ohio, Sep- 
tember 13, 1842. She is a daughter of George and Catherine (Smith) Hake, 
the former a cooper by trade, and the latter a native of Ohio, of German 
descent. She received a common-school education, and was married to John 
M. Sparks in 1866. The latter was born in Mifflin, Iowa county, Wis., a son 
of John and Mary Sparks. He enlisted in Company E of the Thirtieth reg- 
ulars of Wisconsin, on August 13, 1862. Mr. Sparks moved with his family 
to Correctionville, Iowa, in 1872, and bought 130 acres of land in section 
three, Rock township. He was frozen to death on the bleak prairies of west- 
ern Iowa in 1874, leaving four children: Wesley, William, Nellie and John. 

Isaac Guteidge, farmer, Correctionville, was born in Eagle township, 
Brown county, Ohio, February 17, 1827, and is a son of Benjamin and 
Rachel Gutridge, of Kentucky birth and probably of English descent. His 
maternal grandfather, Isaac Edgington, was one of the pioneers of Brown 
county, Ohio. Isaac Gutridge was reared on a farm and educated in the 
subscription schools of the period. In 1849 he went to Livingston county, 
111., and was subsequently engaged in farming there and in Ohio. In 1867 
he became a resident of Iowa, taking a homestead in the northeast quarter 
of section three, Union township, where he now lives. His present substan- 
tial residence was erected in 1879. Mr. Gutridge is a member of the 
Farmers' Alliance, and has always been a democrat. In religious faith he 
coincides with the Disciples. He has served as school director and was 
elected township trustee, but refused to qualify. In 1851 he married, in 
Illinois, Sarah Sellman, a native of the same township as himself, and 
daughter of John and Hannah Sellman, of Welsh and English descent. 
Mr. Gutridge is the father of four sons (one of whom is dead), and a daugh- 
ter. Those living are Revilok, Hannah A., James B. and John I., the eldest 
being a resident of Arlington township, the others being still at home. 

Sylvester Robinson Beyant (deceased) was born near Greenville, Darke 
county, Ohio, January 22, 1851, a son of Enos and Sarah Ann (Townsend) 
Bryant, natives respectively of Butler and Darke counties, same state. His 
grandfather, David Bryant, was born in New Jersey, and reached the age of 
eighty-four years, ending his days at Dayton, Mich., in 1886. Enos Bryant 
and wife now reside at "The Palms," near Los Angeles, Cal., where they 
settled in 1885. They came to Woodbury county in 1870, and engaged in 
farming in Union township. After keeping a store three years at Kingsley, 
Mr. Bryant removed to California, as above noted. He is an active temper- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 961 

ance worker, and a member of the United Brethren church. He served as 
school director while a resident of Union, and affiliated with the republican 
party in politics. 

Sylvester E. was the eldest of their eight children. The others are 
David, Joseph, Alfred, Wesley, Edward, Eva (Mrs. Frank McDonald) and 
Emma. Our subject was reared on a farm and educated in the common 
schools, finishing at Correctionville. He taught fifteen terms of school in 
various states. He came with his parents to Union, and on reaching his 
majority went to Dakota and took a homestead. He soon disposed of that, 
and went to Beaver City, Furnas county, Neb., where he owned a quarter- 
section of land at the time of his death. He also owned an eighty-acre farm 
on section seventeen, Union township, where he had dwelt since 1882. He 
embraced the faith of the M. E. church, and was a republican in politics. 
While in Nebraska he served as justice of the peace, and in that capacity 
performed a marriage ceremony. In 1877 Mr. Bryant was married to Miss 
Hattie, daughter of G. C. Moffatt, whose biography will be found in this 
volume. They have one son, Holla Calvin, born April 7, 1881, in Richmond, 
Neb. August 21, 1890, Mr. Bryant fell a victim to that grim destroyer, Death, 
an attack of pneumonia causing his decease. His remains were placed in 
Union Bidge cemetery. His gentleness of manner and purity of life will be 
long held in remembrance by his acquaintances, which in number were such 
as a man of his character would attract, and few persons would be more gen- 
erally mourned than he. He died trusting in the faith of the Lord. 

Hugh Mason, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section thirty-two, Elk- 
horn township, was born in Wales in August, 1816, and is a son of John and 
Mary (Whilding) Mason, both natives of Wales. The father was a black- 
smith by trade, which occupation he followed in Wales until his death, which 
occurred in 1852, the mother dying in 1850. Hugh Mason was born and 
reared in Wales until the age of ten years, when he came with his uncle to 
America, and with whom he resided in Wisconsin until he was eighteen years 
of age. In 1863 he enlisted in Company D, First Wisconsin heavy artillery, 
and served until 1S65, when he was discharged and returned to Wisconsin, 
where he remained until 1869. He then came to Plymouth county and 
homesteaded 160 acres where he now resides, and has continued farming 
ever since. He now owns 480 acres of land, and keeps a good grade of 
stock of all kinds. In June, 1872, Mr. Mason married Susan Trow, and they 
have four children: William H., John O., Annie G. and Pearl S. Mr. and 
Mrs. Mason are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. 
Mason affiliates with the republican party, and has held about all the town- 
ship offices. He is a member of the G. A. R. and the Farmers' Alliance. 

Geokge Evans, farmer, Kingsley, was born in Herefordshire, England, in 
March, 1850. His parents were both natives of England, where his father 



962 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

died when our subject was but one year old. His mother came to America 
upon the death of her husband, and located in Greene county, Wis., where 
she remained until her death in 1879. George remained with his mother 
until he was seventeen years old, when he started out to work on a farm. He 
continued at this employment until he was twenty-three years old, when he 
moved to Plymouth county, Iowa, and purchased 160 acres of land in Elk- 
horn township, which he farmed until the fall of 1888. After a year's stay 
in Salt Lake City, Utah, he came back to Iowa, and purchased 120 acres in 
section thirty-six, Elkhorn township, where he has since been engaged in 
farming and stock raising. In February, 1878, he married Evangeline Trow, 
of Albany, Greene county, Wis., and to them have been born two children, 
Bertha A. and Erma E. In politics Mr. Evans is a republican, has been 
township trustee, school treasurer eight years, and after being for five years 
on the board of supervisors, resigned. His wife is a member of the United 
Brethren church. 

Paul J. Ward, one of the oldest settlers of Plymouth county, and a gen- 
eral farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty-four, Elkhorn town- 
ship, was born in Indiana in 1842, a son of Samuel J. and Margaret (Doug- 
las) Ward, the father a native of Virginia of English descent, the mother a 
native of Pennsylvania of Scotch descent. His parents are both deceased. 
He was reared on a farm in Tazewell county, 111. August 9, 1862, he en- 
listed in Company I, Forty-seventh Illinois infantry. He took part in the 
siege of Vicksburg, went through the Red River expedition, and was in the 
siege of Spanish Fort. He served until the close of the war, and was dis- 
charged at Selma, Ala., July 20, 1865. He then returned to his home in 
Tazewell county, 111. The following spring he took a team and wagon and 
passed through southern Iowa, and went down in Missouri, and returned 
in the fall of the same year, going to Guthrie county, Iowa, where he farmed 
for two years. 

In the spring of 1869 he came to Plymouth county, and homesteaded 
forty acres, subsequently purchased forty more, and there he now resides. 
His farm at the time of his arrival was wild, uncultivated prairie; deer and 
elk roamed the prairies, and there was not a tree or shrub in sight. He 
erected a log cabin, the second in the township, and at once commenced the 
work of improving his land. He set out six acres of trees, which now pre- 
sent the appearance of natural growth. He has continued farming ever 
since, except a year and a half, which time he spent with his family on the 
Pacific coast. His log cabin used to be the headquarters for religious meet- 
ings, and the preachers always stopped there on their visits. It was the 
half-way house between Le Mars and Correctionville, and Close Bros, used 
to make their headquarters with him. Mr. Ward was united in marriage 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 963 

with Nancy J. North, January 5, 1869, and they are both members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Politically Mr. Ward is a republican, and was 
a delegate to the state convention one year. He has taken an active part in 
prohibition in his section of the country. He is a member of the G. A. R. 

John D. Trow, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, now residing in Elkhorn town- 
ship, section thirty-sis, was born in Wales in 1844, and is a son of James 
and Martha (Griffith) Trow, both natives of England. When our subject 
was but three years of age his parents left the old country for America, but 
his mother died while on the ocean. His father went to Greene county, 
Wis., where he was farming until his death, which occurred in 1872. He 
and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. John 
D. resided with his father in Green county, Wis., until 1873, during which 
time he received a common-school education. In the spring of 1873 he 
came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and purchased 160 acres of land in Elkhorn 
township, and has continued farming, principally, ever since. In October, 
1863, he enlisted in Battery D, First Wisconsin heavy artillery, and served 
till May 18, 1S65, when he was discharged. Mr. Trow is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. Politically he is a republican, and has held 
the offices of trustee, town clerk, which latter office he now holds, also secre- 
tary of the school board. He is a member of the G. A. P., and the Farmers' 
Alliance. 

Haio Oltjianns Doehing, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born August 9, 
1845, in Germany, a son of Albert and Catherine Doering, who were also 
born in Germany. He attended school until about fourteen years old, when 
he began to work for his father on the farm, where he remained until he was 
eighteen years old. He then came to America, landing at New York, where 
he stayed but a few days, then went through ,to DixoD, Lee county, 111., 
where he engaged in farming, working by the month. He stayed there four 
years, then went to Monticello, Jones county, Iowa, where he remained five 
years. He then came to Grant township, Plymouth county, where he bought 
160 acres in section twenty-five, where he now carries on general farming. 
Since he first came to Grant township he has increased his farm to 700 acres. 
October 26, 1S69, Mr. Doering married Maria, daughter of John and Re- 
becca Roehris, of Germany, and they are the parents of six children: John 
H, George H, Albert, Rose, Willie and Henry Otto. In politics he is a 
democrat, and has been a trustee of the township and school director. He 
and wife are members of the German Lutheran church. 

William Pecks, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is one of the pioneer residents of 
Grant township, and was born May 5, 1834, at Hanover, Germany. He is a 
son of Henry and Tillie Pecks of the same place. He attended the public 
schools until about fourteen years of age, when he began to work on a 



964 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

farm in his neighborhood. In June, 1857, he started for America, going, 
upon his arrival, to Lee county, 111., where he was employed as a farm hand 
until 1862. He then enlisted in Company C, Fourteenth Illinois volunteers, 
and served three years, when he received his discharge and returned to Lee 
county. In a short time, however, he removed to Jones county, Iowa, where 
he resided until 1870, when he bought eighty acres of land in section thirty- 
two, Grant township, Plymouth county, where he has since carried on gen- 
eral farming. He now owns 240 acres in that vicinity. Mr. Pecks married 
Annie Madde, in 1866, and they are the parents of eight children: Matilda, 
Minnie, Henry, Frederick, Bennett, Herd, Annie and William. In politics 
he is a democrat, and is a member of the German Lutheran church. 

Lyman Williams Sibley, farmer, Le Mars P. O., is a grandson of Na- 
than and Rachel (Studley) Sibley, of Massachusetts. His earliest known 
ancestor was an Englishman, who came to Massachusetts in 1628. Isaac, 
son of Nathan Sibley, married Mary Burbank, like himself, a native of Mas- 
sachusetts, and settled in Cuba, Allegany county, N. Y,, where was born to 
them, May 21, 1825, the subject of this sketch. Of their eight children, six 
of whom grew to maturity, he is the seventh. He was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and has always engaged in farming. He is possessed of an 
independent, reflective mind, and makes a progressive citizen. 

In 1845 he married Mary Hammond, a native of Rushford, Allegany 
county, N. Y., and daughter of John and Eliza (Butterfield) Hammond, born 
in New York and Massachusetts, respectively. Mrs. Sibley's grandparents, 
Luthan and Mary (Rood) Hammond, were also natives of New York. Mr. 
Sibley engaged in farming in Cuba till 1864, when he removed to Franklin, 
Story county, this state, and came thence to America, Plymouth county, in 
1872. Here he purchased 240 acres in section thirty-live, and thereon carries 
on general farming. While enjoying the fruits of a life of industry, he is 
surrounded by the following children: Floyd B. ; Stanton; Ada Rosalia 
(Mrs. George W. McLain), Le Mars; Clarence Hammond; Evangeline, a 
teacher, at home; Ruth Elizabeth (wife of Carey G. Williams, America) and 
Samuel Edward, at home. Politically Mr. Sibley is an independent repub- 
lican, and religiously a free thinker. He has served as school director and 
township trustee. 

Chaeles Burns, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born in Conarragh, county 
Wicklow, Ireland, May 29, 1832, a son of Harry and Ann (O'Neal) Burns. 
His grandfather was Thomas Burns, also of county Wicklow. In 1841 he 
immigrated with his parents to Canada, shortly after to Ohio, and later to 
Pennsylvania, where his father died. Of eleven children, Charles was the 
eldest. He received a very limited education, never attending school in this 
country. He has been engaged quite extensively in railroad building; helped 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 96.5 

lay the tracks from Pittsburgh to Steubenville ; was section foreman for two 
years, and traveled as such, south, building levees and ditching. He was 
afterward employed as a farm laborer in Illinois. In 1867 he took up a 
homestead in section thirty-two, America township, where he now lives. He 
has added 100 acres to his domain, and follows general farming. Mr. Burns 
was married in 1865 to Ann Toole, a native of the same place as himself. 
Their first-born child, Maggie, died at the age of twenty-one, and the fifth, 
Mary, when two years old; the living are William, Lizzie, James, Charles 
and Mary. Mr. Burns is a member of St. James Roman Catholic church, 
Le Mars, and has always been a democrat. 

John Becker, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is the eldest of ten children born to 
Casper and Elizabeth Becker, and was born April 7, 1849, in Clayton county, 
Iowa. He attended school until twelve years old, then assisted his father on 
the farm until sixteen, when he finished his education by taking four terms 
at the Briggs academy at Garnavillo, Clayton county. He remained in Clay- 
ton county until the spring of 1874, when he removed to Plymouth county, 
buying 320 acres of land in section twenty-five, on which he has carried on 
general farming ever since. January 21, 1878, Mr. Becker married Amelia, 
daughter of Henry and Clara Niemyer, of Guttenburg, by whom he has five 
children: Clara, John, Elizabeth, Henry and Emily. In politics he is a 
democrat, being elected by that party as a member of the board of county 
commissioners. In religion he is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

Nicholas Freymann, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born, February 22, 1854, 
in Jackson county, Iowa, and is the youngest of six children born to Charles 
and Mary Freymann, of Luxemburg, Germany. He attended school until 
fourteen years of age, and worked on the farm for his father until twenty- 
two years old, when he went to St. Paul, and was engaged as a day laborer 
until the fall of 1877. He then came to Le Mars, where he was engaged in 
the City Rolling mills until 1883, when he built on his fa'rm of 220 acres, 
in section thirty-four, America township, which farm he had bought in 1880, 
and has lived there since, engaged in farming and stock-raising. He has 
since added forty acres to the original farm. March 10, 1888, he married 
Maggie Kleitsch, of Linn county, Iowa, and by her has one child, Charlie. 
His first wife having died December 1 5, 1884, September 27, 1887, he mar- 
ried Lizzie, daughter of Garhart and Kate Wentink, of Port Washington, 
Wis., and one child, Johnnie, has blessed their union. In politics Mr. Frey- 
mann is a democrat; he is a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

Herbert E. Rounds, miller, Hinton, is a son of Harley and Elizabeth 
Rounds, of New York state, and was born at Eureka, Winnebago county, 
Wis., June 27, 1868. He attended school at the latter place until twelve 
years old, when his parents moved to Clear Lake, Iowa, where they remained 



966 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

until 1885, during which time he attended the public school there. He then 
moved to Sioux City, where he attended the Northwestern Business college, 
from which he graduated when in his twentieth year. His father then built 
a flour- mill at Rock Valley, Sioux county, which Herbert E. had charge of 
for the following two years, then came to Hinton, Hungerford township, 
Plymouth county, where he at present runs the Floyd Valley mills, under 
the firm name of E. A. Rounds & Co., the members of the firm being the 
widow and children of the late H. M. Rounds, of Sioux City. 

Gteokge Fletcheb, farmer, Adaville, was born in Cambridgeshire, Eng- 
land, February 17, 1840, a son of John and Mary Fletcher. He has one 
brother named Alfred. His opportunity for obtaining an education was very 
limited, as at quite an early age he commenced to assist his father in cutting 
peat, at which he was occupied until 1852, when, with his father, five 
brothers and one sister, he came to America, and settled at Lyons, Clinton 
county, Iowa, where he remained two years. He then went to Whiteside 
county, 111., where for ten years he was engaged in farming. He then came 
again to Iowa, and homesteaded eighty acres in Liberty township, Plymouth 
county, on which he has lived ever since, carrying on general farming. He 
has purchased 200 acres, which now gives him a farm of 280 acres. March 
4, 1876, he married Elizabeth Whitney, of Plymouth county, and nine chil- 
dren have blessed their union, namely: Martha, Carrie, Emma, Abbie, John, 
Samuel, Rose, Hattie and Reuben. Mr. Fletcher is a firm follower of the 
doctrines advanced by the democratic party. 

Milton Coolbaugh, farmer, P. O. Seney, was born in Bradford county, 
Pa., November 29, 1839, a son of Harry and Polly (Bailey) Coolbaugh, who 
were natives of Pennsylvania, and had grown up near each other. Our sub- 
ject began at an early age to assist his father with the farm work, and ob- 
tained such an education as was possible in the common schools of his time. 
At the age of twenty he worked as a farm hand for the neighbors, continuing 
at this work until September 17, 1861, when he enlisted in Company C, 
Fifty- second Pennsylvania volunteers, in which he served nine months, when 
he was transferred to the Seventh New York light artillery. He remained 
in the service until honorably discharged in the summer of 1865, and re- 
turned to his home in Pennsylvania. Here he remained until October, 1869, 
when he came to Iowa, and took a homestead of eighty acres, in section 
twenty, Fredonia township, Plymouth county, to which he has since added 
forty acres, and where he now lives. In 1867 he married Lucy Preston, of 
Pennsylvania, but she died in 1875, leaving him two children: Charles Lin- 
coln, who died before his mother, and Edith. He married again, December 
24, 1885, taking as his second wife Clara Porter, of Christian county, 111., 
who has borne him two children, Blanche and Bessie. In politics he is a 
republican. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 967 

Watson L. Freeman, farmer, P. O. Seney, was born May 20, 1840, in 
Chittenden county, Vt., and is a son of Walter and Mary Freeman. He was 
educated in the district schools, and chose farming as his occupation. At 
the breaking out of the war, he enlisted as a private, August 27, 1861, in 
Company B, Eighth Illinois cavalry, and participated in several engage- 
ments. He was married, November 24, 1851, to Barbara, daughter of Joseph 
and .Jane Jackson. In 1869 he moved to Le Mars, Plymouth county, Iowa, 
and bought eighty acres of land in Elgin township, where he has lived ever 
since. They are the parents of four children: William J., Mary E., Fred 
B. and Roy W. Mr. Freeman is a republican in politics, belongs to the 
Masonic order, and is a member of the Methodist church. 

James C. Sanford, farmer, P. O. Merrill, was born in the township of 
Cornwallis, King county, Nova Scotia, November 12, 1841, and is the third 
of the twelve children born to James and Harriet Sanford, who were also 
born in King county. When twenty years of age he commenced farming for 
himself, on 157 acres, and was thus engaged until March, 1864, when he 
sold a part of his farm, and rented the remainder, until he returned, in Au- 
gust, 1864, from a trip to Boston. He then kept bachelor's hall until Decem- 
ber 31, 1867, when he was united in the bonds of matrimony with Annie, 
daughter of John and Lydia Eaton, also of King county, N. S. In the spring 
of 1870 he sold out, and went to Boston, Mass., where he lived until 1874, 
when he moved to Cass county, Iowa, and rented a farm, on which he lived 
two years. From there he moved to Caldwell county, Mo., where he stayed 
only three months, going thence to Boston, Mass., but in the following May 
he returned to Le Mars, where he engaged in farming one year. He then 
bought an eighty-acre homestead in Plymouth township, on which he has 
since lived, having added to his farm 400 acres. Mr. Sanford has the repu- 
tation, second to none, as a dairyman, and is known quite extensively as the 
owner of a very fine herd of Holstein cattle. To Mr. and Mrs. Sanford have 
been born seven children, six of whom are living: Fred, Maud, Clara, Wel- 
come, Willie (deceased), Florence May and Myrtle Goldey. In politics he 
is with the republican party. 

William Hoese, farmer, P. O. Merrill, was born August 25, 1819, in 
Germany, and attended school there until fourteen years old, when he began 
to learn the miller's trade, which was his occupation until he came to America 
in the spring of 1856. Landing at New York city, he came through to 
Dixon county, Neb., where he bought a farm and carried on general farm- 
ing for eleven years, then removed to Hinton, Hungerford township, Plym- 
outh county, Iowa, where he ran a flour-mill for five years. He then came 
to Plymouth township, Plymouth county, and bought 160 acres of land, on 
which he has lived ever since, and to which he has added until he now has 



abo HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

5S0 acres. Mr. Hoese was married in October, 1851, to Henrietta, daughter 
of John and Wilhelmina Bandt, of Germany, and four children have blessed 
this union. Louisa, Clara, Frank and William. Mr. Hoese is a republican 
in politics, and is a member of the German Lutheran church. 

John McGillvkey was born at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 24, 1843, 
of Scotch parents. When he was two years old, his father died, and his mother 
moved to Rochester, N. Y., leaving John in the care of his uncle, William 
Russell, with whom he remained and attended school until twelve years of 
age, when his mother married again, her second husband being Isaac Hay- 
green, of Rochester. She then returned to Canada to get her son, and took 
him to New York state, where they lived two years, then moved to Du Page 
county, 111., where they lived only one year, then moved to St. Charles, Kane 
county, 111., at which place they lived until the death of his mother, two 
years later. His step-father then went to Burlington, Kane county, taking 
John with him. John lived there' one year, then returned to Du Page county, 
where he stayed until the war broke out. He enlisted in Company F. One 
Hundred and Fifth Illinois volunteer infantry, in which he served three 
years. On receipt of his discharge he returned to Burlington, and bought a 
forty-acre farm, on which he lived two years. Selling out, he then moved to 
Preston township, Plymouth county, Iowa, where he took up a 160-acre 
homestead, on which he now lives. He has added to his farm since, and now 
has 440 acres. 

In 1866 Mr. McGillvrey married Christine Johnson, of Burlington, and 
they are the parents of ten children: Susan, Emma, John, Laura, Laurn, 
William, Arthur, Herbert, Christine, and an infant, dead. He lost his wife 
by death June 16, 1890. In politics he is a republican; he belongs to the 
Presbyterian church. 

Lewis Shaddingeb, the eldest of seven children born to Abraham and 
Annie Shaddinger, was born March 2, 1836, in Bucks county, Pa., where he 
attended school until nineteen years of age. He then began to leam the car- 
penter's trade, at which he worked in Philadelphia, until the breaking out of 
the war, when he enlisted in Company A, 104th Pennsylvania volunteers, in 
which he served three years, then received his discharge. He returned to 
Bucks county on a visit, remaining eight months, then came west to Chris- 
tian county, 111., here he stayed one year, then went to Omaha, Neb., where 
he also spent one year, then went to Wyoming, where he was two years on 
the plains in the service of the government, after which he returned to Des 
Moines, but stayed there only eight months, then went to Sioux City, which 
he made his home until 1881, when he went to Le Mars, where he lived five 
years, after which he located on 160 acres of land in Preston township, 
Plymouth county, in 1886. Mr. Shaddinger was united in marriage with 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. ybfct 

Charlotte McKay, May 5, 1881, and to this union was born one child, Anna- 
bel. In politics he is a republican; he belongs to the Presbyterian church. 

J. S. Hoyt, liveryman, Le Mars, of the firm of Hoyt & Gondie, was born 
in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1856. His parents were George C. and Eosamond 
(Sears) Hoyt, who eventually removed to Aurora, 111., where they lived until 
death called them from this world. J. S. attended school there, and at the 
beginning of his business life was a farmer in Illinois, but in 1880 removed 
to Le Mars, and engaged in the livery business. In September, 1889, he 
became associated with Thomas Gondie, the firm being as above given. Mr. 
Hoyt married, September, 1876, Sarah E., daughter of Ezekiel Pierce, of 
Oswego, 111. 

Daniel Peaece, one of the old settlers of Union township, Plymouth 
county, where he resides in section fifteen, was born in Kendall county, 111., 
in 1834. He is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Teitsworth) Pearce, the former a 
native of Maryland, of English descent, and the latter a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, of German descent. His father was farming in Kendall county until 
his death, which occurred in 1878. In this county our subject was born and 
grew to manhood. Brought up a farmer's boy, he has always adhered to that 
occupation as a means of livelihood, if not following it actively. In 1865 he 
moved to De Kalb county, where he farmed for the nest ten years. In 1875 
he moved to Aurora, and here made his home. He came to Plymouth county, 
Iowa, the same year, and purchased 160 acres of land, and erected a large 
dwelling, and has a tenant operate the farm for him, he spending part of 
his time here, and part in Aurora with his family. He takes much pride in 
the stock which he raises, and to which he gives his personal attention. In 
1857 he married Miss Hellenda L. Bennett, and to them have been born 
three children: Charles G, Nellie I. and Adclie L. Mr. Pearce is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Pearce upholds the 
principles of the democratic party. 

Isaac B. Ceafts, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, is a son of Thomas and Eliza- 
beth (Blackburn) Crafts, and was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1841. His 
father was born in Nova Scotia, of Irish descent, while his mother, who was 
born in Ontario, was of German and Welsh descent. His parents, who were 
members of the Baptist church, are both dead, his mother having died De- 
cember 24, 1859, and his father about the year 1870. Isaac B. was brought 
up to work on a farm, and, upon the death of his father, took charge of the 
family and resided with them until they were all grown up. In 1882 he 
sold out and came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and purchased 320 acres of 
land on section twenty-three, Union township, where he still resides. He is 
a member of the I. O. O. F., the Farmers' Alliance, and the prohibition party 
in politics. 



970 HISTORY OF WOODBUEY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

John Coatsworth, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section twenty- 
three, Union township, was born in England in 1841, a son of Robert and 
Susanna (Srnedley) Coatsworth, both natives of England. The father was a 
farmer until his death, which occurred in 1850; his wife died in 1881, a 
member of the Primitive Methodist church. John Coatsworth was reared 
on a farm in England, where he received a common-school education. He 
resided with his parents until twenty-two years of age, then engaged in min- 
ing until 1868, when he left England, and located in La Fafayette county, 
Wis., where he followed the same occupation for awhile. For a few years he 
then followed the trade of stone mason and plasterer, and in 1886 came to 
Union township, Plymouth county, and commenced farming, where he now 
resides. In November, 1863, Mr. Coatsworth married Jane Forrester, and 
to them are born nine children, as follows: Elizabeth, Robert, Abraham, 
William, Matthew H., John S., Susanna J., Oliver F. and Alvin Gr. Mr. Coats- 
worth and wife are members of the Primitive Methodist church. 

Copsley E. Clarke, P. O. O'Leary, residing on section fourteen, Union 
township, was born in Green Lake county, Wis., July 31, 1863, a son of 
John and Ann (Stevens) Clarke, both of English descent. His father is en- 
gaged in writing for different periodicals; his mother died in 1871, a mem- 
ber of the Congregational church. He was born and reared on a farm in 
Wisconsin, receiving a common-school education, and resided with his par- 
ents until twelve years of age, when he went to Marshall county, Iowa, where 
he remained two years, then returned to Wisconsin for a year, thence came 
with his parents to Plymouth county in 1878. After a stay of only four 
months, he went back to Marshall county, where he remained one year, going- 
then to Michigan in 1879, where he lived a year. In 1S81 he located in 
Plymouth county, where he now resides. December 6, 1 888, he married Liz- 
zie Gannon, and to this union is born one child, Harry S. Mrs. Clarke is a 
member of the Roman Catholic church. Politically Mr. Clarke affiliates with 
the democratic party, and at present holds the office of assessor. He is a 
member of the Farmers' Alliance. 

Peter Markey has been a resident of Plymouth county since 1873. He 
was born in New Bedford, Mass., November 16, 1851, a son of Bartholomew 
and Mary (Campion) Markey, the former born in Dorsetshire, England, and 
the latter in Ireland. When Peter was three years old his parents moved to 
Du Page county, 111., where they remained thirteen years and where our 
subject received his education. When he was sixteen years of age they 
moved to Kane county, 111., where they remained until 1873, when they all 
came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and bought a farm on section seven, Union 
township, where the father farmed until the time of his death, May 20, 1873. 
Upon the death of his father, Peter took charge of the farm, which he is still 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 971 

conducting, and upon which he raises both grain and live stock. His mother, 
who is a member of the Roman Catholic church, resides with him. In poli- 
tics he is a democrat, and has been school director and road supervisor. 

George T. W. Howes is a son of James M. Howes (whose biography 
will be found elsewhere in this work), and was born in Benton, Wis., Sep- 
tember 26, 1853. He was in his fifteenth year when the family settled in 
Plymouth county, and has always followed farming, with the exception of 
brief periods at railroad grading on the Illinois Central, and coal digging at 
Fort Dodge. He received a common-school education, and is a shrewd bus- 
iness man. He took a homestead on section thirty, Washington township, 
where he now has a quarter-section. Since the spring of 1S90 he has been 
buying stock at Merrill, and contemplates the removal of his family to that 
growing village. He is a steadfast republican, and accepts the creed of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

July 4, 1876, he married Margaret C. Hoover, a native of Monroe county, 
Wis. Their living children are named respectively: Alice J., Herbert J., 
George and Maud M. Mary, the first born, and Annie, the third, died after 
reaching the age of four years each, and one died in infancy. James and 
Elizabeth (Johnson) Hoover, the parents of Mrs. Howes, were among the 
earliest settlers of Washington township, where they settled on a homestead 
in the spring of 1S68, having spent the previous year on the Missouri, above 
Sioux City. 

Alexander Thompson, a pioneer resident of Plymouth county, was born 
in Blanford, Canada, June 7, 1857. His father, bearing the same name, was 
born in Paisley, Scotland, and married Grace Craig, of the same nativity. 
Their golden wedding was celebrated May 13, 1890. In 1858 they removed 
to northern Michigan, and from there came to Iowa about 1870. Mr. 
Thompson took a homestead in Grant township, as did his sons, James and 
Matthew, and daughter, Margaret. In 1885 he sold out and now resides in 
Webster City, Iowa. Following are the names of their children: Jeanette, 
John, Ellen, Matthew, James, Margaret, George, Alexander and Mary Jane. 
The husbands of the daughters, in the same order, are as follows: Donald 
McLean, Le Sueur, Minn. ; William Davis, Marquette, Mich. ; Richard Nes- 
bit, Van Meter, Iowa; William Turner, Dakota. 

Alexander Thompson, Jr., was early in life employed in the Michigan 
Iron mines, and received most of his education in this county. For ten years 
he engaged in farming in Grant township, and sold out in 1SS5 and bought 
one-fourth of section thirty-two, Washington township, where he now resides, 
engaged in mixed farming. He helped build the first Presbyterian church in 
Johnson, and is still a member of that society. Politically he is an independent 
republican, as are his father and brothers. November 1, 1882, he married 



972 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Mary, daughter of Joseph and Emma Warren, all of English birth. Their 
children are Grace, Pearl, Mary Jeannette and Sarah Hershel. 

John Hopkins Brown (deceased) was a farmer at the time of his death, 
though he had also learned the carpenter's trade. He was born in West 
Well, Kent county, England, January 18, 1836, but at a very early age 
came, with his parents, to America. They located in New York state, but 
remained there only a short time, moving to Susses, Waukesha county, Wis., 
where his mother, who is eighty-three years of age, still resides. He at- 
tended the common schools until old enough to earn his living, and with this 
end in view, he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed until he came 
to Iowa in 1875. He bought the southwest quarter of section nine, Wash- 
ington township, Plymouth county. In 1885 he added a quarter of section 
seventeen to his farm, and this he operated until death ended his earthly 
labors, October 19, 1889. December 16, 1867, he married Bethiah, widow 
of Edwin Norten, of Brownsville, Minn., by whom he had two children: Ida 
Marah and Catherine Elizabeth. Mr. Brown served three years in the Civil 
war, enlisting in 1861 in the Sixth Minnesota volunteers, second division of 
the Second brigade. 

James G. Grieve, proprietor of the Grieve livery barn, of Kingsley, was 
born in Scott county, Iowa, February 11, 1847. He is a son of John and 
Elizabeth (Kobinson) Grieve, both natives of Scotland. John Grieve was a 
blacksmith, which trade he carried on in Scotland until 18-45, when he came 
to America and located in Scott county, Iowa, where he carried on the same 
trade for a few years. He then purchased a farm in the same county, which 
he worked until his death, in 1875; his wife died in 1865; both were mem- 
bers of the Campbellite church. 

James G. assisted his father on the farm until he was twenty- two years 
of age, when he farmed for himself until 1883 in the same county. He then 
purchased 320 acres of land in Garfield township, Plymouth county, which 
he farmed for four years, then rented it and moved into Kingsley, since when 
he has been engaged in the livery business. December 25, 1873, he married 
Jeanette Hardie, of Scott county, and they have four children : John, George, 
Frank and Jeanette. The parents are members of the Christian church, and 
Mr. Grieve votes the republican ticket. 

Finley Heakn, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty-two, 
Garfield township, was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., March 23, 1852, and 
is a son of Thomas and Margaret (Hopple) Hearn, both natives of Pennsyl- 
vania, and of German descent. Thomas Hearn carried on farming in Penn- 
sylvania until 1855, when he moved to Scott county, Iowa, where he soon 
died, while his widow survived him until 1881. Finley Hearn was taken to 
Scott county by his parents when he was about three years of age. As he 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHY. 973 

grew up he assisted his brothers on the farm, and received his education at 
the district schools. He remained at home until 1881, when he began farm- 
ing for himself near the homestead. He remained there three years, until 
1884, when he came to Plymouth county and purchased 160 acres in section 
twenty- four, Garfield township, where he farmed until the fall of 1889, when he 
traded for 320 acres where he now resides. Mr. Hearn married Isabella 
Grieve, of Scott county, September 8, 1881, and they have two children: 
Francis and Thomas. The parents are supporters of the Christian church, 
the mother being a member. Mr. Hearn casts his suffrage with the repub- 
lican party. He has been school director, and is a member of the Farmers' 
Alliance. 

Eli Petees, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section eight, Garfield 
township, was born in Hardin county, Iowa, July 4, 1861, and is a son of 
John and Rebecca (Yan Sycles) Peters, the former a native of Pennsylvania, 
of German and French descent, and the latter a native of Virginia, and of 
Irish and Spanish descent. John Peters is engaged in farming in Hardin 
county, Iowa, where he came in 1S54; he has now reached the ripe old age 
of eighty-one years, and is very active for one of his years. Politically he 
is a republican, and has supported the principles of that party since the time 
of Buchanan. Eli Peters resided with his parents until twenty-one years 
old. In 1 881 he came to Plymouth county and purchased 640 acres of land, 
where he now resides. The land was in a wild state, but since his residence 
there he has succeeded in getting it under a good state of cultivation. On 
his farm can be found a stock of Percheron and Clyde horses, and he also 
keeps a good grade of cattle and hogs. Politically he is a republican. In 
the fall of 1888 he was elected supervisor of district No. 4, which includes 
eight townships. He is a member of the K. of P. 

David Habdie, farmer and stock-raiser, resides on section twenty-four, 
Garfield township, Plymouth county. He was born in Scott county, Iowa, 
January 14, 1852. His parents, David and Crawford (Piobertson) Hardie, 
both natives of Scotland, were among the first settlers of Iowa, there being 
then but two log houses in Davenport. His father was a farmer in Scott 
county until 18S5, when he sold out his interests in this country and re- 
turned to Scotland, intending to spend the remainder of his days in his 
native country. His wife, who was a member of the Presbyterian church, 
died in this country in 1857. David Hardie was born and brought up on a 
farm in Scott county, attending school in the winters and assisting his father 
with the work on the farm during the summer seasons. When he was 
twenty-one years of age he commenced to farm on his own account, and was 
so engaged until 1885, when he sold his farm in Scott county, and, coming 
to Plymouth county, purchased 160 acres where he now resides, and which 



974 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

he has since farmed. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance; in politics 
he is a republican. January 9, 1879, he married Mary J. Martindale, of 
Scott county. Both are members of the Christian church. They have one 
child, Clara E. 

Henry De Lambert, a general farmer and stock-raiser, residing on sec- 
tion thirty-six, Garfield township, was born in New York, June 12, 1852, 
and is a son of Joseph and Julia (Prine) De Lambert, the former a native of 
Canada, of French descent, the latter a native of New York, of German 
descent. Joseph De Lambert carried on farming until his death, which 
occurred in Berrien county, Mich., in 1885; his wife died in the same county, 
in March, 1889. Our subject was taken to Michigan, by his parents, when he 
was two years of age, and there he received his education in the common 
schools, residing with his parents until sixteen years of age. He then worked 
out two years, after which he farmed for himself in Berrien county, until 
1885, when he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, where he remained four 
years. He then purchased 320 acres of land in Plymouth county, where he 
now resides. He married Maria S. Laurnan, of Berrien county, Mich., De- 
cember 24, 1874, and they have three children: Claude F., Mabel F. and 
Burton R. They are both members of the Christian church, and politically 
he is a democrat. 

Henry Snyder, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty-five, 
Garfield township, was born in Scott county, Iowa, June 3, 1862, the son of 
John and Catharine (Larkins) Snyder, both natives of Pennsylvania. John 
Snyder carried on farming, in Scott county, until his death, in 1881 ; his wife 
is still living and resides on the old homestead, a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church; both were of German descent. Henry Snyder resided 
with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he commenced farming 
for himself in Scott county, which he continued two years. In 1886 he came 
to Plymouth county and farmed three years, then purchased 160 acres in 
Garfield township, where he now resides. He married Georgina Grieve, in 
November, 1883, and they have one child, Clifford J. In politics Mr. Snyder 
is a republican, and both he and wife are members of the Christian church. 

Frank Mechnig, farmer and stock-raiser, residing on section twenty-three, 
Garfield township, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in September, 1850, a 
son of Anton and Susanna (Schmidt) Mechnig, both natives of Germany, 
who lived and died there. He was reared and educated in Germany, and 
came to America in 1872, locating in Tama county, Iowa, where he worked 
out three years, then purchased a farm and commenced farming for himself. 
In 1883 he sold out and came to Plymouth county, where he purchased 160 
acres of land, on which he now resides, having since added 160 acres to his 
first purchase. On this farm can be found a good grade of stock of all kinds. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 975 

Mr. Mechnig married Elizabeth Mathern, of Tama county, Iowa, April 19, 
1875, and they have four children: Victor K., Elizabeth, Leon and Margaret. 
Both parents are members of the Roman Catholic church. Politically he is 
a democrat. 

James A. Leinbaugh, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section thirty- 
one, Garfield township, was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, November 24, 1857, 
a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Fisher) Leinbaugh. The parents are both 
living, and the father is engaged in farming in Clinton county, Iowa. They 
are natives of Pennsylvania, and members of the German Reformed church. 
James A. resided in Maquoketa until nine years of age. He then went to 
Clinton county, where he resided some twenty years, when he purchased 
eighty acres of land in Elwood and farmed until 1888. At that date he 
came to Plymouth county, where he purchased 160 acres of land where he 
now lives. He makes a specialty of Red Poll cattle and Poland China hogs. 
Mr. Leinbaugh married Martha Whit sell, of Elwood, Iowa, in 1881, and to 
them have been born four children: Laura M., William W., Harry L. and 
Mattie A. Mrs. Leinbaugh is a member of the Congregational church. Po- 
litically he is a democrat, and has held the office of constable four years. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 

Ulbich G. Mueller, banker, Kingsley, of the firm of Mueller & Robin- 
son, was born in Germany, July 11, 1860. He is a son of Gustavus Mueller, 
consul general of the kingdom of Belgium, and late president of the 
Deutsche bank of Berlin, Germany, in which city he died in July, 1889, 
leaving a very large estate to be divided among four children. Our subject 
served a few years in the German cavalry, and then went to England, where 
he was employed in a large London banking house. He came to America in 
1887, and located in Plymouth county, Iowa, where he purchased about 1,000 
acres of land, and engaged in stock-breeding, which he still carries on. He 
went into the banking business, in the spring of 18S9, with P. R. Robinson. 

Jacob C. Milleb, a general farmer and stock-raiser, P. O. Kingsley, 
residing on section thirty-five, Henry township, was born in Washington 
county, Md., in 1859, a son of Daniel and Mary (Lambert) Miller, both 
natives of Maryland, the father of English and German descent, and the 
mother of English descent. The father is by occupation a farmer, and resides 
in Ogle county, 111. ; both he and wife are members of the Dunkard church. 
Jacob C. was born and reared on a farm and came to Ogle county, 111, with 
his parents when four years of age. He received a common-school education, 
and resided with his parents until he was nineteen years of age, when he 
commenced farming for himself in Ogle county. In 1885 he came to Plym- 
outh county, Iowa, and purchased 320 acres of land, which he farmed two 
years, then sold out and purchased 160 acres of land where he now resides. 



976 HISTORY OF WOODBUBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

February 25, 1880, Mr. Miller married Amelia Ackert, of Lee county, 111., 
and they have two children: Ada M. and Vernon L. In politics he votes 
the republican ticket. 

Oliver Miller, farmer, P. O. Merrill, was born in East Vincent township, 
Chester county, Pa., October 27, 1859, a son of Franklin and Martha Miller. 
He attended school there until thirteen years of age, and then assisted 
his father on the farm. When seventeen years old, he came to Plymouth 
county, Iowa, with his brother-in-law, George Irwin, and bought an eighty- 
acre homestead claim, in section eighteen, Stanton township, on which he 
carried on general farming until 1886. He then sold out, and moved to 
Plymouth township, on a 160-acre farm that he had bought some time be- 
fore, and on which he now resides. Mr. Miller was married in October, 1879, 
to Angie Irwin, of Chester county, Pa., which place he has visited twice since 
he has lived here, first in 1881, and again in 1S83, the last time to attend 
the funeral of his father. He votes with the republican party, and is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

William Crane, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is the eldest of four children 
born to William and Olive Crane, of New York state, and was born in Geauga 
county, Ohio, May 30, 1843. He left Ohio with his parents when six years 
old, and moved to Dane county, Wis., where he attended school until eighteen 
years of age. He then worked on his father's farm until the war broke out, 
when he enlisted in Company I, Twenty-third Wisconsin infantry, with which 
he served one year, then enlisted in Company B, Thirty-sixth infantry, with 
which he served until July, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge, 
and returned to Wisconsin. In the fall of 1878 he moved to Plymouth county, 
Iowa, but soon after to Liberty township, Plymouth county, where he bought 
eighty acres of land on section two, on which he lived two years. He then 
sold out, and came to Plymouth township, where he bought 160 acres of 
land, on which he has since lived. March 4, 1872, Mr. Crane married Eliza- 
beth, daughter of James and Ann Davison, of Dane county, Wis., and their 
union has been blessed with five children : Olive, Eugean (deceased), Nellie, 
William and Charles. In politics he is a republican. 

Joseph Sheirbon, farmer, P. O. Merrill, was born in Grant county, Wis., 
May 10, 1848, a son of John and Hannah Sheirbon, who were born near 
Hull, Wis. He attended school until sixteen years of age, then farmed until 
twenty-one, when he married Eliza, daughter of William and Mary Smith, 
of Wisconsin. The following year he moved to Nodaway county, Mo., where 
he worked as a farm hand one year, then returned to Wisconsin, where he 
carried on farming in La Fayette county for three years. He then succes- 
sively teamed in Norway, Wis., threshed in La Fayette county, farmed 
near Darlington, Wis., and in Gratiot county, Mich., a short time in each 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 977 

place. He then went to Jo Daviess county, 111., where he carried on general 
farming for four years, after which he went to Plymouth county, Iowa, 
where he bought eighty acres of land south of Le Mars. After a short 
sojourn, however, he sold out and bought 120 acres in Plymouth township, 
Plymouth county, where he now resides. Mr. Sheirbon is the father of six 
children: Mary Melissa, Willie (deceased), Willis Leroy, Libbie Merilda, 
Eliza Nellie and Wilber Harrison. In politics he is a republican, and has 
been president of the Farmers' Alliance of Plymouth county. He is a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church. 

James Thomas Harkee is the eldest of seven children born to John and 
Alice Harker. His parents were from Arkendale, Yorkshire, England, but 
were living in Jo Daviess county, 111., at the time of his birth, September 4, 
1854. Two years later they moved to Lafayette county, Wis., and here he 
was reared and attended school until he was eighteen years of age, when he 
went to work on a farm, at which labor he was employed until twenty-seven 
years old. He then came to Plymouth county, Iowa, and worked at farming 
and blacksmithing in Stanton township for two years, after which he moved 
to Le Mars, where he stayed another two years, after which he came to Mer- 
rill, Plymouth township, where, in connection with Mas Suther, he opened a 
blacksmith shoj), in which business he has since been engaged. Mr. Harker 
was united in the bonds of matrimony with Rosina, daughter of Michael and 
Sarah Holmes. They have a family of five children, namely: Lida, Charley, 
Prankie, Lillie and Eliza. In political matters Mr. Harker takes the repub- 
lican side; in religious faith he holds to the views advanced by the Presby- 
terian church. 

James E. Knox, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, is a son of James and Lasira 
Knox of Whiteside county, 111., and was born October 5, 1859. He attended 
the Normal school of Valparaiso, Ind., after which he attended the Normal 
school at Fulton, 111., for a time. January 15, 1882, he married Cynthia, 
daughter of Rosseel and Lucinda Lewis, of Whiteside county, 111., and worked 
a part of his father's farm until the following year, when he came to John- 
son township, Plymouth county, where he bought 120 acres of land in sec- 
tions twenty-three and twenty-six, where he carried on general farming. In 
1886 he went to Yuba county, Cal., for his health, and remained one year, 
after which he resided in Whiteside county, 111., for two years before return- 
ing to Johnson township), Plymouth county. Mr. and Mrs. Knox are the 
parents of one child, Amy. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in poli- 
tics is a republican. 

George Darvill, farmer, P. O. Seney, was born near New London, Eng- 
land, June 7, 1847, and is a son of Henry and Ann (Cartes) Darvill, who 
came to America in 1854 and settled in Marengo, McHenry county, 111., and 



978 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

engaged in farming. George worked with his father on the farm, and at- 
tended the common school. In 1870 he moved to Le Mars, Plymouth coun- 
ty, Iowa, and took a homestead of eighty acres in Elgin township, where he 
has since lived. September 20, 1868, he married Miss Elsie Reeves, of Ba- 
tavia, 111., and they have a family of six children: Bertha L., Mina C, Min- 
nie M., Abbie M., Grade M. and Harrison Morton. Mr. Darvill is a mem- 
ber of the Methodist church, and in politics is a republican. 

William Hodgson, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section nine, 
Elkhorn township, was born in Durham county, England, in April, 1854, a 
son of William and Jane (Lowes) Hodgson, both natives of England. The 
father was a lead miner, which occupation he followed in England until 
1872, when he came to America, but died two weeks after his arrival; the 
wife died in 1877; both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

William Hodgson was born and reared in England, where he received a 
common-school education. At the age of eighteen years he came to America 
with his parents, and located at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and was there engaged 
in mining coal for five years, thence came to Plymouth county in 1877, and, 
in company with his brother, purchased eighty acres of land in Stanton town- 
ship, where he farmed until 1885, when he purchased the eighty acres in 
Elkhorn township whereon he now resides, and which he has since farmed. 
Politically he is a republican, and a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In 
religion he holds to the views of the United Brethren church. 

William Summers, farmer, Kingsley, is a son of George and Jane 
(Adamson) Summers, natives of England, but who were living in Quebec, 
Canada, at the time our subject was born, August 17, 1832. His father, who 
died in 1856, was a farmer in England, but when he immigrated to Canada 
he commenced teaching in Quebec, where he remained till 1841, when he 
moved to Ontario and commenced farming near London, which he continued 
until he died. 

William Summers remained on the farm with his parents until their 
death, when he commenced farming for himself near London, Canada. 
After a few years he removed to Michigan and engaged in lumbering. At 
this he was engaged for three years, then moved to Dixon, 111., where he 
remained for several years, in the employment of Daniel Bovey, a lumber 
and grain dealer. In 1882 he came to Plymouth county, and purchased 160 
acres of land in section three, Elkhorn township, which he has since farmed. 
He also raises considerable stock and is taking some pains to have it brought 
to a better grade. In 1S80 he married Mary A. Couch, and by her has two 
children: Charlotte A. and May. He was married twice before, and by his 
former wives has six children, as follows: Edmond O., Charles H., William 
B., Emma, Mary J. and George D. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGBAPHY. 979 

Edmond Summers, the eldest son, was born in Canada in 1858, and came 
to the United States with his parents when but seven years of age. He has 
always remained with his father, and now in his declining years and failing 
health, he takes full charge of the farm, and stands ready to assist his father 
in every way possible, as he always has done. 

Hebman C. Egek, farmer, P. O. Kingsley, residing on section thirty-three, 
Elkhorn township, was born in Germany in 1849, a son of Jacob and Mary 
(Hegel) Eger, both natives of Germany. His father, who is now farming in 
Indiana, is a republican in politics, and both he and his wife are members of 
the Evangelical church. Herman C. Eger remained in Germany until four- 
teen years of age, when he came to America with his parents and resided 
with them until he was twenty-one years of age. He then came to Clinton 
county, Iowa, and clerked in a store in Clinton five years, then engaged in 
farming in the same county, at which occupation he continued until 1885, 
when he came to Plymouth county and farmed there until 1887. At that 
date he located in Elkhom township, where he bought 160 acres of land, 
and has farmed ever since. Mr. Eger married Mary Pearce, of Clinton, 
Iowa, in 1875. He was formerly a greenbacker in politics, but now supports 
the democratic ticket. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Mrs. 
Eger is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

Archie Patterson Dresses (deceased) was born February 5, 1835, in 
Schuyler county, N. Y., where he was reared, and where such education as 
he did receive, which was very limited, was obtained. At a very early age 
he began to learn the harness-maker's trade, which was his occupation until 
the breaking out of the war of 1861. He then enlisted as engineer in Com 
pany M, Fiftieth regiment New York volunteers, with which company he 
served until June 19, 1865, when he received his discharge at Fort Berg, 
Va. He returned to his old home to make a visit, then settled in Dubuque 
county, Iowa, where he worked at his trade until he came to Le Mars. After 
coming here he was for some time engaged in teaming on the railroads, then 
.started a city dray, which he ran for the nest five or sis years, then started 
a railroad eating house. This he conducted until his death, May 27, 1884. 
May 15, 1870, he married Emma, daughter of Caleb and Elizabeth Peed, of 
New Hampshire, by whom he had four children: Lottie, Hattie, Josie and 
Helen. In his political views he was with the republican party. 

Edwin H. Lowe, of the firm of E. H. Lowe & Co., hardware dealers, now 
doing business at Salix, was born in Rockingham county, N. H, October 14, 
1863, a son of John H. and Mary A. (Wilson) Lowe, both natives of the same 
county in New Hampshire, the father of English and Irish descent, and the 
mother of Irish and Scotch descent. John H. Lowe is by occupation a 
farmer and fruit-grower, in Kockingham county, N. H. ; he and wife attend 
the Presbyterian church. 



yoU HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Edwin H. Lowe was born and reared on a farm in New Hampshire, and 
received his education at the Pinkerton academy, at Derry, N. H. He resided 
with his 'parents until he was eighteen years old, when he went to De Kalb 
county, 111., where he lived until 1885, at which date he came to Woodbury 
county, and worked at various places until 1887. He then purchased a half 
interest in the hardware store in which he is now doing business. Polit- 
ically he is a republican. Mr. Lowe married Anna Lawson, December 29, 
1889; his wife is a member of the Lutheran church. 

Alfred Fessenden (deceased), whose family now reside on section nine- 
teen, Floyd township, was born in New York, December 2, 1841, a son of 
"William and Rachel (Bowen) Fessenden. His father was a farmer until his 
death, which occurred in 1887. Our subject was born and reared on a farm 
in New York, and received a common-school education. He resided with his 
parents until the war broke out, when he enlisted in Company C, Thirty- 
second Wisconsin infantry. He participated in the battle of Memphis and 
several others, and was honorably discharged in 1865. He then went to 
Green Lake county, Wis., where he purchased 120 acres of land, and com- 
menced farming for himself. He continued to farm this land for seven 
years, then traded that farm for one of 160 acres, which he farmed for three 
years. In 1878 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, and purchased 200 
acres of land, on which he resided until his death, which occurred November 
22, 18S3. He was united in marriage with Rachel Semple, of Canada, in 
1865, and to them were born four children: Clara, Eleanor F., Alfred and 
Alice. In politics Mr. Fessenden was a republican. 

William Turman (deceased) was one of the earliest pioneers of Woodbury 
county. He was a native of Montgomery county, Va., and was born in 1798, 
and died May 24, 1876. His parents were John and Eachael Turman, of 
English and Welsh descent. Mr. Turner was reared on the Big Sandy river 
in Kentucky, and in 1827 went to Lafayette county, Wis., where he was em- 
ployed in a lead smelter. Later he returned to Virginia, where he was mar- 
ried, and in 1836 again went to Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. In 
1853 he removed to Iowa, settling on section fifteen, Little Sioux township, 
where he remained until his death. His wife survived him nine years, dying 
in May, 1885, in the eighty-first year of her age. Mr. Turman inclined to 
the Dunkard faith and was widely respected. He was an active republican, 
but never sought or accepted office. His six children are all living, viz. : 
Charles Wesley, La Barge, Wyo. ; Anthony M., Oto, Iowa; Mary (wife of 
Minor Mead), Grant township; Melissa (Mrs. C. W. Shattuck), Smithland; 
William S., on homestead; Sarah Elizabeth (wife of Jesse Hendrick), Mount 
Coffin, Oregon. 

Oliver Chapman Bell, farmer, Smithland, is a son of Stephen and Mary 
(Button) Bell, natives of Glastonbury, Conn., and is of Scotch descent. He 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 981 

is the younger of two boys, the only children born to his parents. He was 
born in Portland, Conn., March 15, 1846, and remained at home until 1867, 
working with his father at stone masonry and farming. He then came to 
Iowa and rented a farm, remaining on it four years, when he bought the 150 
acres he is now on in Little Sioux township, Woodbury county. He married, 
November 4, 1872, Lida Jane Hiett, a resident of Ohio. They have had seven 
children born to them, all of whom are living at home. Mr. Bell is a repub- 
lican, but takes no active part in politics. He is highly esteemed among his 
neighbors, and is a man of good business ability. 

Edwin August Milleb, farmer, Smithland, was born in New Lyne, Ash- 
tabula county, Ohio, February 21, 1835. He is the eldest of three children 
of Ersia Beckwith and Sophronia Baldwin Miller, both natives of America. 
He came to Iowa in 1856, and in 1861 enlisted for the war in Company I, 
Ninth Iowa infantry, under Julius H. Powers. Mr. Miller was in sev- 
eral skirmishes, but his company guarded bridges most of the time. At the 
end of eight months he was taken sick and discharged. He draws a pension 
now. In 1863 he came west and located in Dakota, remaining there four 
years. Each year the grasshoppers completely destroyed his crops. In 
1867 he came to Iowa. He was married to Phcebe Ann Bishop, in Pennsyl- 
vania, December 4, 1854. This union has been blessed with nine children, 
eight of whom still live. Mr. Miller is not a church member, but inclines 
toward the Seventh Day Adventists doctrine. In politics he is a republican. , 

Albert Eli Aldkich, farmer, Smithland, was born in Franklin county, 
Vermont, October 12, 1851, and is a son of Liberty and Maria (Barch) Aid- 
rich, natives of New York state. Liberty Aldrich was a farmer, and had a 
family of five children. Our subject was reared on a farm, attending the 
public schools in the winter. He was married to Flora Huntly, a native of 
New York. He came to Iowa in 1880 and bought 160 acres, which he soon 
after disposed of and bought his present farm, consisting of 120 acres, in 
1886. His family consists of five children, all living at home. Mr. Aldrich 
has held the township office of justice of the peace, being elected on the 
republican ticket. 

Alton J. Wabneb, farmer, Smithland, son of Erastus and Melvina War- 
ner, was bom in Bremer county, Iowa, August 4, 1859, where he attended 
school and remained at work on his father's farm until 1882. December 30, 
that year, he married Ida, daughter of Dennis and Hannah Sanford, and 
then removed to Little Sioux township, Woodbury county, where he now has 
a farm of 240 acres. His family consists of three children — one boy and two 
girls — all living at home. Mr. Warner is a republican in politics. 

Benjamin William Wassick, farmer, Smithland, was born in Holland, 
December 7, 1859, and is the son of John Henry and Anna Gertrude (Gro- 



982 HISTOBY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

chen) Wassick, natives of Holland. His father came to America in 1869, 
and engaged in farming and stock-buying in Wisconsin. The early mem- 
bers of the family were identified with the Methodist church. Our subject 
joined the army in Holland, in 1869, but deserted, and came to America. 
He did odd jobs of work, hiring out as a farm hand, steamboating, and spent 
two years in the pineries of Wisconsin. In 1876 he came to Pottawattamie 
county, Iowa, and rented a farm, remaining on it until 1885, when he bought 
the eighty acres he now lives on, in Little Sioux township. He married 
Gennette Hiet, of Iowa, December 14, 1876, and to their union are born six 
children. Mr. Wassick is a democrat, and a member of the Presbyterian 
church. 

William Deboae, farmer, Danbury, was born in Holland, July 21, 1850. 
At the age of two years he was taken by his parents to America, and they 
first lived two years in New Jersey, and then went to Livingston county, 111. 
At the latter place our subject attended the common schools, and at the age 
of twenty-two years came to Cherokee county, Iowa, where he lived on a 
rented farm until 1878, at which time he came to Morgan township and 
squatted on a school section, and in 1882 bought and located on the farm 
where he now lives. His parents, John and Annie Deboar, are farmers in 
Illinois. William Deboar was married, in 1873, to Euretia Smith, whose par- 
ents, James and Emily (Benedict) Smith, were of Irish descent. They have 
eight children: Horace A., Katie, John, Damie, Walter, May, Melissa and 
Agnes. Politically Mr. Deboar is a republican, and has liberal views in regard 
to religion. He was one of the earlist settlers of Morgan township, having 
helped to organize the same, and has held the position of road supervisor. 

Fkank M. Kesel, farmer, Danbury was born in the state of Baden, Ger- 
many, December 28, 1841. In April, 1854, he with his parents came to 
America and located at Mendota, 111., where he was engaged as brakesman, 
night watchman and baggage-master with the Illinois Central railway until 
1883, when he came to Woodbury county, and located where he now resides. 
William Kesel, his father, and Joanna (Both) Kesel, his mother, were Germans. 
William Kesel was a mason by trade, and was naturalized in 1857. Our sub- 
ject was married in 1866 to Marian Geddes, whose father, Bobert Geddes, is 
Scotch. They have nine children: Annie, Lizzie, Frank, Aggie, Maggie, 
Bobert, Charles, William and John (twins). The daughter Annie is married 
to C. Kelcher, and lives in Danbury, and Lizzie lives with an aunt in Illinois. 
Mr. Kesel is a member of the Catholic church, and his wife of the Presbyte- 
rian. Politically he is a democrat, and has held the position of school director. 
His farm consists of 120 acres of land, and has on it a fine grove. 

Lafayette D. Bobbins, farmer, Danbury, was born in Franklin county, 
Ohio, August 11, 1839. There he attended school, and at the age of eight- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 983 

een moved to Clinton county, Ind., and then, in 1868, came to Crawford 
county, Iowa, and in 1884 to his present location. He is nest to the young- 
est in a family of sis children, two of whom served four years each in the 
war. His parents, Thomas and Eleanor (Garlinghouse) Bobbins, were 
Americans, and lived on a farm. Both his grandfathers, John Eobbins and 
Thomas Watts, were in the Eevolutionary war, and took part in the battles 
of Bunker Hill, Monmouth, Quebec and Saratoga. Lafayette Eobbins was 
married September 12, 1870, to Amanda Hunt, whose father, Amos A., was 
killed in the late war, having enlisted in Omaha, Neb., in Company D, of the 
cavalry. They have five children: Henry, Mary E., Amos A., Levi D., 
and Charles E. One son, Clay, died in 1886, at two years of age. Mr. Eobbins 
has 160 acres of land under cultivation, with running water, and five acres 
in a nice grove. He is in sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and politically is a republican. 

Henry T. Wilcos, harness-dealer, Danbury, is a son of Samuel E. and 
Mary (McDowell) Wilcos, who were of Scotch descent. Henry T. Wilcos is 
the fourth in a family of nine children, and was born in Allamakee county, 
Iowa, April 23, 1857. In 1864 he moved, with his parents, to Freeborn 
county, Minn., where they remained until 1871, when they went to Dison 
county, Neb., where he made his home until 1881. He received most of his 
education in Minnesota, and while in Nebraska served an apprenticeship of 
two years and a half at his trade. He has traveled over the greater part of 
Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and Dakota. In 1883 he married Emma P. 
Dicks, and they have two children: Eva M. and Bertha. Mr. Wilcos is in 
sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal church, a republican in politics, and 
has been through the blue lodge in Masonry. 

John Kampmeyer, merchant, Danbury, is a son of Henry and Mary (Lake) 
Kampmeyer, and was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 28, 1859, where he re- 
mained until nine years old, when he came to Clayton county, Iowa, with 
his parents, and there he was educated in the common schools, afterward 
taking a classical course in the college at Prairie du Chien, Wis. Before tak- 
ing this latter course of study, he was employed in a store at New Vienna, 
Dubuque county, for three years, and spent another three years at similar 
employment immediately after completing his education. In August, 1886, 
he went into general merchandising on his own account, as a member of the 
firm of Adams & Kampmeyer, at Danbury, but a year later he bought out 
his partner, and has since conducted the business himself. His father and 
mother were both Germans, and came to this country in 1848, and both are 
still living. Of their nine children our subject was the second. He was 
married November 16, 1886, to Mary, daughter of Anthony and Margaret 
(Nihil) Jordan, and has two children: Anthony H. and Mary M. He is a 



984 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

member of the Roman Catholic church, one of the city council, and a demo- 
crat in politics. 

W. B. Boohee was born in Huntingdon county, Pa., January 16, 1854, and 
in 1864 came with his mother to Johnson county, Iowa, where his mother 
died in 1878, and where he received a common-school education, after which, 
with his brothers and sisters, he went to Shelby county, where he farmed for 
himself until 1878. He then spent three years working at the carpenter's 
trade, and in 1882 came to Danbury and went into the implement business; 
six months later he added furniture to his stock, and again, in 1887, hard- 
ware and buggies. His parents were Samuel and Elizabeth (Snyder) Booher, 
both Americans; his grandfather was Samuel, and grandmother, Hannah 
Booher. His father died in the Civil war. He had seven children, of whom 
W. B. Booher was the eldest. Our subject was married in 1885 to Louisa, 
daughter of John Ehrke, and they have one child, Edith. In his religious 
views he is in sympathy with the Methodist Episcopal church, in politics, is 
a republican, and a member of the town council. 

James Lee, farmer, Danbury, was born in London, England, October 18, 
1840, and came to America in 1854 with his father, William Lee, his mother, 
Mary (Bouch) Lee, coming two years later. He attended school in London 
and Chicago, after which he located on a farm in Marquette county, Wis. ; 
from there he went to Madison, Wis., and attended high school. Returning 
to the farm he remained one year, and then left home at the age of seventeen, 
and worked by the month until 1861, when he enlisted in Company H, 
Eleventh Wisconsin infantry, under Gen. Steele. In July, 1870, he came 
to Iowa and has farmed ever since. He is of Irish descent, and the fourth 
of eight children born to his parents. October 10, 1863, he married Edna 
Smith, and they have seven children: Mary, Will, Steve, Charles, Lillie, 
George and Ethel. Mary is married to Frank Schrunk, and lives in Wheeler 
county, Neb. Mr. Lee is a member of the Seventh Day Adventists, and votes 
the republican ticket. 

John Herkixgton, farmer and stock -dealer, Danbury, was born in Luzerne 
county, Pa., in 1841, but three years later came with his parents to Illinois. 
In 1867 he went to Woodbury county, Iowa, where he took a homestead, and 
has since remained there, now having one of the best farms on the Maple 
river. His parents, John and Theresa (Townsend) Harrington, probably of 
French descent, came with him to Iowa, and took up a homestead adjoining 
him, and there lived seventeen years; both are now deceased. Our subject 
was married, in 1869, to Mahala Koker. They are the parents of seven chil- 
dren: Charles, Addie, Merat, Earl, Flossie, Archey and Harvey, all of whom 
are still at home. Mr. Herrington was a soldier, having enlisted in Company 
H, Ninety-second Illinois regulars. In religion he favors the tenets of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he votes the democratic ticket. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 985 

John Gleason was born in county Cork, Ireland, in 1839. In 1848 he 
crossed the ocean, his father having preceded him five years. They lived in 
Chester and York counties, Pa., for twenty years, most of the time on a farm. 
John attended schools in both counties, and at the age of eighteen started to 
work for himself, and for a number of years worked out on farms and nur- 
series. During the war he was engaged as teamster, and was in the front 
many times. In 1872 he came to Carroll, Iowa, and in 1881 to Woodbury 
county, locating on a farm near Danbury, where he has since remained. Mr. 
Gleason was married in 1869 to Catherine E., daughter of Patrick and Mary 
(McGan) Conley, of Irish descent. They have five children: Frank, Mary 
E., William, Edward and Thomas M. Mr. Gleason is a member of the Ko- 
man Catholic church, and is a republican in politics. 

James M. Clingenpeel, farmer, Danbury, was born in Indiana, July 18, 
1856, and there he lived and attended school until he was eighteen years old, 
when he started to work for himself, working by the month until 1877 ; in 
that year he married Olive, daughter of James White, and has since been 
farming for himself in Liston township, Woodbury county. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Clingenpeel have been born three children: Allen L., Lester and Arthur. 
While not a member of any church, our subject believes in religion. He is 
a member of the labor party. 

William Castle, Correctionville, was born at Spencer, Tioga county, N. 
Y., August 25, 1817, and is a grandson of Daniel Castle, of New York. The 
latter was early left an orphan, and was reared by his maternal grandfather, 
Samuel Monroe. Samuel Castle, father of our subject, was a native of 
Dutchess county, N. Y, and was a major in the militia of that state. Lu- 
cetta (Gridley) Castle, his wife, was of Connecticut birth, both coming of 
old New England families. In 1836 they removed to Springfield, Erie county, 
Pa., where William Castle first started in business as a broom manufacturer. 
In 1856 he came to Iowa, and remained fourteen years in Buchanan county, 
where he dealt in lands. In 1870 he came to Kedron township, Woodbury 
county, and bought land. Three years later he settled in Correctionville, and 
made an addition of twenty-five acres to the town plat. In 1854 he married 
Melissa Lewis, a native of Potter county, Pa., who has borne him nine chil- 
dren. He had previously married Mary Ann Whiting, of Speedville, N. Y., 
who died, leaving four children. Following are the names of Mr. Castle's 
offspring, in the order of their birth: Gridley W., Jane A., Frank W., 
Laucetta, Luetta, George, Oscar and Orson (twins), Lily, Christine, Cornelia, 
Nettie, William and Annie. 

Ohson D. Castle, of the firm of Orson D. Castle & Bro., jewelers, Cor- 
rectionville, was born December 25, 1860, and is a son of William and Me- 
lissa (Lewis) Castle. He is a native of Buchanan county, Iowa, and was 



986 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

reared on a farm in Woodbury county. He learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed until 1886, when he went into the jewelry business at 
Correctionville. In 1889 his twin brother, Oscar D., went into partnership 
with him and put in a stock, which, with that of his brother, makes one of 
the largest stocks of jewelry in the county, outside of Sioux City. They are 
both energetic business men. Politically they are both republicans. Orson 
is a member of the K. of P. and Oscar of the I. O. 0. F. In 1888 Orson D. 
Castle married Dollie Roby, of Correctionville. 

William M. Rheubottom:, harness dealer, Correctionville, was born in 
Ashtabula, Ohio, January 23, 1846, and is a son of Allen and Mary Ann 
(Potter) Rheubottom, natives of New York, the former of English descent, 
and the latter of German and English ancestry. Allen Rheubottom was a 
manufacturer of woolen goods, which business he carried on in Ashtabula, 
Ohio, until his death in 1848; his wife is still living and resides at Chau- 
tauqua Lake, N. Y. William M. was born in Ashtabula, Ohio, but was 
taken to New York by his mother when he was but two years of age. He 
received a common-school education at the high school of Chautauqua Lake, 
and at the age of nineteen commenced to learn the harness-maker's trade, 
which he continued to follow until 1874, when he moved to Grant county, 
Wis., where he resided two years. He then moved to Clinton county, Iowa, 
and remained there until 18S4, when he located in Correctionville and opened 
a harness shop in the following spring. He chose his wife in the person of 
Miss Annie E. Dearborn, and they were married in March, 1878, and have 
two children: Cora and Fred. He casts his vote for the nominees on the 
republican ticket. He is a member of the Masonic and K. of P. societies. 

Feedinand Spengleb, miller, Correctionville, was born in Inspruch, Baden, 
Germany, August 24, 1841. His parents, Joseph and Theresa (Schemel) 
Spengler, brought him to America when he was but ten years old. They 
settled on a farm in Harlem, Stephenson county, 111., and later moved to 
Shannon, Carroll county, same state. Here the mother still resides, the 
father having died in 1886, aged seventy-seven years. Of their fifteen chil- 
dren, nine grew to maturity, Ferdinand being the fourth. He enjoyed the 
advantage of both German and English education. When nineteen years 
old he began to learn the carpenter's trade, which occupation he followed 
for several years. In 1863 he came to Iowa, and enlisted in the same year 
in the Seventh Iowa cavalry, Company K, and served two years on the west- 
ern frontier. For some time he engaged in farming on section one, Kedron, 
and then traded his farm for a mill property on section thirty-four, Union 
township, where he now dwells. For twenty years he has engaged in bridge 
building in this region, and for twelve years that has been his chief occupa- 
tion. In 1889 he built fifty-sis bridges, wood and iron. Mr. Spengler is 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 987 

treasurer of the local Catholic church society, in which his family are com- 
municants. Politically he is an independent republican, and is a member of 
the G. A. R. October 17, 1869, he married Lydia Amanda, daughter of 
Joseph and Mary (Olmstead) Devore, of French and German extraction, 
respectively. Following are the names of Mr. and Mrs. Spengler's children : 
Mary Theresa, Edward Leo, Joseph Benedick, Amire, Victoria May, Tres- 
ence, John and Emma. The eldest is the wife of Charles Wolff, of Dayton, 
Iowa. 

David B. Shontz, machine dealer, Correctionville, was born in Platts- 
ville, Oxford county, Canada, in 1856. (See sketch of Benjamin Shontz for 
ancestry.) He was reared on a farm in his native town, and educated in the 
common schools. When seventeen years old he went to learn the machinist's 
trade at Mitchell, and followed that occupation for thirteen years, including 
four years of apprenticeship. In 1878 he went to Minneapolis, and six years 
later to Brainerd, Minn., where he was employed nearly three years in the 
railroad shops. In March, 1S86, he came to Correctionville, and engaged in 
the implement trade in company with his brother. This was succeeded by 
the hardware trade, which, after two years, he sold out in the spring of 1890. 
Mr. Shontz is a member of the Masonic order and K. of P., and a steadfast 
republican. He holds the religious faith of his fathers, and is regarded as 
an upright and successful business man. In February, 1887, he married 
Daisy Catherine Paine, who was born in Nebraska. Her parents, William 
and Annie Paine, are natives of Dublin, Ireland, and now reside in Brainerd, 
Minn. Two children bless the home of Mr. Shontz, named William Earl 
and Ethel Geraldine. 

John Thomas Thatchee, farmer, Wolfdale, was born one mile north of 
Paris, Clinton county, Ohio, July 13, 1829, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah 
(Matson) Thatcher, of Pennsylvania and Virginia birth, respectively. His 
grandfather was Elijah Thatcher, probably of English lineage. When John 
was nine years old his parents moved to Putnam county, Ohio, where he was 
reared on a farm, receiving such education as the rate schools afforded. He 
remained with his parents till their death, which took place when he was 
twenty-six years old. He afterward learned the carpenter's trade, and be- 
came the owner of forty acres of land, which he tilled. August 10, 1862, he 
enlisted in the Ninety-ninth Ohio infantry, Company I, and served in the 
army of the Cumberland, till discharged for disability March 12, 1863. He 
was in skirmishes at Paris and Butler Station, and the battles of Perryville, 
Stone River and Murfreesboro. Recovering as far as possible from his disa- 
bility, which was a serious rupture of the abdominal skin and muscles, he 
enlisted for guard duty in January, 1864. He was stationed at Bowling 
Green, Chattanooga, Knoxville and other points, and was one of the defend- 



ys» HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

ers of Athens Court House, Term., also helped build a fort at Clinch Gap, 
and was a member of the expedition to release prisoners at Salisbury, N. C. 

In 1867 he left his Ohio home, with a team for Iowa, and in April, 1868, set- 
tled on his present farm, the southeast quarter of section twenty-two, Wolf 
Creek, which he secured as a homestead. He helped to organize the town- 
ship, and was one of its first trustees. Previous to his army experience he 
was a democrat, but has since been a stanch republican. In religious faith 
he coincides with the Baptists. In October, 185S, he married Rebecca Jane, 
sister of Henry Dicus. (See sketch of latter for her parentage.) Following- 
are the names, with residence, of Mr. Thatcher's children: Almon B., Mo- 
ville; Orlando M., Sioux City; John Sherman, with parents; Cora, wife of 
Lorenzo Baker, Wolf Creek; Hattie May, wife of Martin Sinkey, the same; 
Ulysses O, George E., Orin F., Leona B., Samuel and Claude Howard, at home. 

F. H. Fabley, barber, Sloan, was born in Washington county, Iowa, in 1S41, 
a son of Sylvester and Candace A. (Barnett) Farley. He belongs to a very 
long-lived family, his great-grandfather, Francis Farley, who went through 
the Revolutionary war, having lived to the age of one hundred and four years; 
his grandfather, Edward, died at the age of sixty-eight, but he has four sons 
over seventy years of age, one of whom, Drewy, was ninety-four. Edward Far- 
ley's children were Frank, Silas, Elias (deceased), Drewy (deceased), John 
(deceased), Edward (deceased), Joseph (deceased), Nancy Parker (in Iowa, 
aged eighty-six), Jane Hinkell (in Texas), and Sylvester, the father of our 
subject, who is eighty years old. 

F. H. Farley grew to manhood on the farm in Washington county, and 
October 17, 1861, he enlisted in the Thirteenth Iowa and was in the battles 
of Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, and was taken prisoner, July 22, 1864, during 
the siege of Atlanta, and was put in Andersonville prison, but after three 
months' confinement he was transferred to Florence. He remained there 
until March, 1865, having been in prison eight months and twenty-three 
days, when he was let out on parole, and the following June he was mustered 
out at Davenport, Iowa, at the expiration of service for his regiment, Eleventh, 
Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth, known as Crocker's Brigade, having 
made a special record through the entire war. He tried farming and several 
other businesses after leaving the army, but his health had been too much 
impaired while in prison to allow him to follow an active business, so in 1880 
he went to Pottawattamie county, and learned the barber's trade, and in 
1883 came to Sloan, and has since followed that trade. In 1876 he married 
Mary Clemins, and they have one child, Rolla, and have adopted a daughter, 
Susie. Mr. Farley is senior warden and charter member of the Masonic 
order, Attica Lodge 502, and also belongs to the G. A. R., and the I. 0. O. 
F. In politics he is a republican, and is liberal in religious views. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 989 

Henry Bier with, farmer, Peiro P. O., was born in Ostrodde, Hanover, 
February 15, 1832, a son of Conrad and Elizabeth (Barnar) Bierwith, both 
natives of Germany. In 1857 he came to Plattsraouth, Neb., thence went 
to Pacific City and St. Mary's, laboring in each jilace. In I860 he went to 
Pike's Peak and the Rockj' mountains, engaging in mining. Returning to 
Plattsmouth, he worked in a flour-mill for a short time, and then went to St. 
Louis, Mo., where he enlisted in Company C, First Missouri regiment, light 
artillery, serving in the war eighteen months, and taking part in the battle 
of Nashville. After the war he worked in a brewery at Council Bluffs, and 
in 1867 came to Sioux City, where he had a cooper shop. In 1877 he came 
to his present place, where he has farmed and raised stock ever since. He 
married Mary Cornils, of Sioux City, September 28, 186S. She was born in 
Schlawig, Germany, September 29, 1832. To their union are born three 
children: Rudolph, July 10, 1869; Annie, March 15, 1871; Andrew, Janu- 
ary 1, 1873. Mr. Bierwith has 450 acres in his farm. 

Peter A. Smith, farmer, Correctionville, was bom in Delhi, Delaware 
county, N. Y., September 16, 1834, and is a son of William and Polly (Place) 
Smith, also natives of New York, but of Holland descent. He received a 
common-school education, and was reared a farmer. In 1855 he moved to 
Pecatonica, Winnebago county, 111. July 30, 1864, he enlisted in Company 
C, One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois volunteer infantry. In 1866 he 
moved to Fayette county, Iowa, and in June, 1868, to Saline county, Kas., 
and took a homestead and proved up on it. In 1874 he moved to Harlan, 
Shelby county, Iowa, where he remained until 1880, when he came to Cor- 
rectionville, Woodbury county, and purchased the place he now owns in sec- 
tion twenty-three, Rock township. He is a member of the Methodist church. 
April 15, 1869, he married Susan Ashmore. This couple were the parents 
of five children, two of whom are yet living. Mrs. Smith died April 25, 
1878. In 1882 he married Miss Josephine, daughter of William and Judith 
(Robinson) McCarty. He votes the republican ticket. 

George A. Dewell, farmer, Cushing, was born in Dayton township, Ce- 
dar county, Iowa, August 17, 1859, and is a son of Nathaniel and Winnie 
(McHowe) Dewell, natives of Indiana. His ancestors were of French de- 
scent. His mother's death occurred in March, 1865, but his father survived 
until March, 1890. George A. was reared on a farm, and received a com- 
mon-school education. He has made farming his permanent business, and 
financially has been successful so far in his life. The farm on which he now 
resides consists of 120 acres. February 27, 1879, he married Agnes Moore, 
also of Cedar county, and of English and Irish descent. Mr. Dewell is a 
republican, and a member of the Methodist church. He and wife have six 
children: Maud A., Blanche M., Edith, Cora, George and Wilbur. 



990 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

William A. Bacon, farmer, P. O. Pierson, was born in Cayuga county, 
N. Y., in 1843, a son of Amos and Aclisah (Merrit) Bacon. Amos Bacon 
was born in Fulton county, N. Y., in 1802, and his wife in Connecticut in 
1806. They reared a family of eleven children, of whom our subject is the 
ninth. William A. received a fair education in his early life in the common 
schools. In 1864 he married Miss Emma Carson, of Cayuga county, N. Y., 
and daughter of John and Eliza (Smith) Carson, the latter a daughter of 
Ward and Mary Smith, of New York. They moved to Whiteside county, 
111., where they lived until 1874, when they moved to Shelby county, Iowa, 
where they were engaged in farming until they came to Woodbury county in 
1883. They settled on the eastern half of section twenty-eight, Rutland 
township, and have since .added to their farm the northern half of the north- 
east quarter of section eighteen. They have had sis children, of whom five 
are now living: Harry L., born in 1867, died the same year; Charles C, 
bom in 1869; Archa R, born in 1873; Amos A, born in 1876; Myrtle A, 
born in 1878; Edison C, born in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Bacon are both mem- 
bers of the Evangelical association, as are all of the children. In politics 
he is a republican. 

Alice J. Weight, manager of a farm, P. O. Kingsley, was born in Alle- 
gheny county, Pa., in 1841, but when about two years old her family moved 
to Washington county, Pa., where she lived with them for about fourteen 
years. In 1856 she was married to William M. Greenly, of Iowa county, 
Iowa, to which place they moved and lived for seventeen years, and from 
there she removed to Rutland township, Woodbury county, in May, 1874. 
She was married, a second time, in 1867, to Enos Wright, of Iowa county, 
Iowa. She has two children: W. R., who married Mary McKee, of Sioux 
City, in 1882; and Christina, married to Isaac Hathaway, of Woodbury 
county, in 18S5. Mrs. Wright is a member of the Christian church. 
Could she cast a vote it would be of assistance to the democratic party, as 
she thinks the principles of that party are the ones she could best uphold. 
Thomas J. Elliott, father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1810, 
and died in 1844; his wife was born in 1814, and died in 1856. Thomas 
Elliott, her grandfather, emigrated from Ireland in 1790. Her maternal 
grandfather, Zephaniah Barnett, was a Scotchman, and married Liddie 
Pearce; they came to this country in 1785. 

Platt Armstrong, farmer, P. O. Pierson, was born in the eastern district 
of Canada West, a son of Henry and Martha (Guernsey) Armstrong, the for- 
mer a native of Canada, of Irish descent, and the latter a native of Vermont. 
Henry Armstrong was born in 1800, and lived until 1874. John Armstrong, 
the paternal grandfather of our subject, and his wife, Sarah Wolrey, were 
of Irish and Scotch descent. Samuel Guernsey, his maternal grandfather, 
was born in Vermont, and married Miss Sally Bull, of Canada. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 991 

Mr. Armstrong came to Clinton county, Iowa, in 1854, and lived there 
twenty-three years, carrying on farming. In 1877 he moved to Sac county, 
on a farm of 640 acres, and in 1880 bought 200 acres at Wall Lake, 
and in 1881 laid out an addition to Lake View, on Wall Lake proper. 
He bought a fine residence in Le Mars the same year, and there resided 
until 1889, when he moved on his farm near Pierson. He owns 1,306 
acres of well-improved land, 720 acres lying in the fertile parts of southern 
Minnesota. He served three years in the late rebellion, having enlisted 
in the Twenty-sixth Iowa volunteers. In 1852 Mr. Armstrong married 
Emelie McCarter, of St. Lawrence county, N. Y. She bore him one child, 
Alden, born in 1853. His first wife having died in December, 1855, he mar- 
ried a second time, taking as his wife Amanda McCarter, who bore him the 
following children: Kimball, born in 1856; Moody L., born in 1858; Bufus, 
born in 1860; Milly, born in 1S62; Guernsey, born in December, 1866, died 
in 1868; Nina L., born in 1868, and Lowry, born in 1872. The parents of 
Mrs. Armstrong, Robert and Amanda (Marshall) McCarter, were natives of 
Washington county, N. T., the former born in 1793. Her grandfather, 
Stephen Marshall, was born in Boston, and married a Miss Cunningham, 
of the same locality. Her paternal grandparents, Joseph McCarter and 
wife, were born in Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong are "New," or known 
as Swedenborgian churchmen in principle and doctrine. He is a repub- 
lican and a member of the G. A. R. 

Samuel S. Strohji, farmer, P. O. Pierson, was born in Ohio in 1851, a 
son of Samuel and Anna E. (Satamen) Strohm, natives of Pennsylvania. 
His father was born in 1816 and died in 1876; his mother was born in 
1830 and died in 1877. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Satamen, was 
born in Germany. Samuel S. Strohm received a fair education in the com- 
mon schools in the early part of his life. He located in Woodbury county 
in 1876. In 1872 he married Mary E. Goodnow, of Clinton county, Iowa, 
a daughter of James G. and Elizabeth Goodnow, natives of Vermont. They 
have a family of six children, all but one of whom are yet alive: Bertha B., 
born in 1873, died in 1881; Anna G., born in 1876; James W., born in 
1879; John A., bom in 1881; Curtis G, born in 1887; Flotilla, bom in 
1889. Mr. Strohm votes with the democratic party. 

George P. McKenna, farmer, Oto, was born in Dubuque county, Iowa r 
June 22, 1848, where he remained with his parents, William and Susan 
(Mulligan) McKenna, until he was of age. In 1870 he moved to Woodbury 
county, and located in Miller township, where he now resides. He was mar- 
ried to Millie Follis, of Jackson county, this state, and has six children, all 
under nine years of age, living at home. Mr. McKenna is a member of the 
Farmers' Alliance, votes the democratic ticket, and attends the Roman Cath- 
olic church. 



992 HISTORY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Eobeht Tinsley Arnold, farmer and stockman, Anthon, was born in 
England, April 7, 1850. In 1851 he was brought to America, and received 
his education in Illinois, where he remained until 1881, when he came to his 
present abode in Miller township, Woodbury county. He was married to 
Anna Cox, of England, February 9, 1871, in Illinois. They are the parents 
of six children. Mr. Arnold at one time held the office of justice of the 
peace. He votes the republican ticket, and both he and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. 

Joseph Malcom, farmer, Athon, is the son of Horatio and Lucina (Streator) 
Malcom, of Connecticut. He was born April 12, 1835, in New York state, 
but when three years of age his parents removed to Michigan, where he was 
reared and educated. At the age of sixteen he went to Illinois, and worked 
at the shoemaker's trade till he was twenty-one years old; then he devoted 
ten years of his life in seeing the west, traveling through Idaho, California, 
Arizona, and other parts of the west, until 1881, when he came to Iowa and 
located on the 160 acres he now owns. He married Parmelia A. Payne, in 
September, 1868. Mr. Malcom is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and 
in politics is a republican. 

Levi Anderson Cbeagee, farmer, Oto, was born in the state of Ohio, Jan- 
uary 8, 1824. When three years of age, he removed with his parents to In- 
diana, and remained there till the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted 
in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Indiana regiment, Gen. Grant, 
chief commander. He was not engaged in any pitched battles, but twice 
was lined up in action. He was in several skirmishes, was discharged, on 
account of poor health, and now draws a pension. After the close of the 
war, he removed to Michigan, then to Indiana, and then, in 1882, to Iowa, 
on his present place. He married Margaret Faulk, who died, leaving him 
six children. On September 16, 1861, he was again married, his second wife 
being Harriet Susan Wresler, and this union has been blessed with three 
children. Mr. Creager votes the republican ticket. 

Chaeles Doneby, farmer, Oto, was born in Albany, N. Y., March 31, 
1835, where he was reared and educated, and where he remained until of 
age. He then went to Illinois, but soon moved to Iowa, in 1866. October 
5, 1879, he married Mary T. Murphy, a resident of Iowa. They have five 
children. Our subject's father was John Donery, of Ireland. Mr. Donery 
has one of the best farms in Woodbury county. In politics he is a demo- 
crat, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. 

Petee Sobenson, farmer, Anthon, was born in Denmark, May 13, 1857, 
and when a boy learned the cooper's trade and worked at it till he came to 
America, in 1877, and located in Shelby county, Iowa. After farming for a 
few years, he went to Council Bluffs and engaged in the milk business, and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 993 

there remained till 1883, when he came to Miller township, Woodbury coun- 
ty, and bought 160 acres of choice land, which he is now farming. April 
13, 1886, he was married, at Danbury, Iowa, to Maggie Johnson, a native of 
Denmark. His parents, S. P. and Anna (Christison) Sorenson, natives of 
Denmark, are both deceased. 

David Low, a farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section thirty-four, 
Banner township, was born in Dundee, Scotland, November 25, 1842, a son 
of James and Eason (Will) Low, both natives of Scotland. His father was 
engaged in farming in Will county, 111., at the time of his death, which oc- 
curred May 12, 1879. His mother died September 27, 1859, a member of 
the Reformed Presbyterian church, as was her husband. David Low was 
born in Scotland, and came with his parents to America when he was eighteen 
months old. He continued to reside with them until he reached the age of 
twenty-one, when he received a fracture of the right arm, from which he was 
a cripple for five years. At the age of twenty-three he commenced school 
teaching and the manufacture of patent wire window screens, then, at the 
age of twenty-eight years, he commenced carpentering in Chicago, which 
occupation he followed seven years. He then took charge of his father's 
farm for three years, and in March, 1880, came to Woodbury county, and 
purchased 160 acres of land in Banner township, where he now resides, and 
has continued farming ever since. He affiliates with the republican party, 
and is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. November 25, 1870, Mr. Low 
married Miss Agnes B. Davidson, of Glasgow, Scotland. Both he and wife 
are members of the Presbyterian church. Since their residence in the coun- 
ty they have been active in Sunday-school and church work, having aided in 
the building up of some churches, and the organization of others. 

James Eldridge, farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section thirteen, 
Banner township, was born in England, June 3, 1837, and is a son of Ben- 
jamin and Mary (Smail) Eldridge. The father was a contractor of the Illi- 
nois canal at the time of his death. The mother died in 1859. Both Ben- 
jamin Eldridge and wife were of English descent, and members of the 
Church of England. James Eldridge was born and brought up on a farm 
in England, where he received his education. He came to America in 1850 
• and located in Cook county, 111., where he remained until 1861, when he en- 
listed in the army, Company B, Eighth Illinois infantry. He participated 
in the battle of Gettysburg, among others, and was honorably discharged in 
June, 1S65. He then resided in Colorado two years, and in 1S70 came to 
Woodbury county, and purchased 160 acres of land where he now resides, 
and is one of the oldest settlers. Mr. Eldridge affiliates with the republican 
party, and has held the office of township trustee. In 1871 he married Bo- 
setta Lutz. Both he and wife are members of the United Brethren church 



994 HISTOKY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

Thomas James Baker, farmer, was born in Wisconsin, December 15, 1853, 
and after receiving a fair education and helping his parents until 1877, he 
went to Iowa and located in Pottawattamie county, remaining there until he 
came to Grant township, Woodbury county, in 1882. His parents were both 
of English birth. He was married to Julia A. Thompson, January 9, 1883, 
at Edmund, Wis., and two children have come to them. Our subject is the 
son of Francis and Mary (Dony) Baker, of English descent. Mr. Baker 
votes the republican ticket. 

William Palmer, farmer, P. O. Peiro, was born in Rock Island, 111., January 
25, 1841, and is the son of Benjamin and Albina (White) Palmer, the former 
born in Indiana, and the latter in Tennessee. He remained on the home farm 
until 1852, when, in the spring of that year, he came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, 
and lived with his parents in that state until 1S64. After two years in 
Council Bluffs they moved to Big Grove, where they remained ten years. 
Our subject then went to New Town, or what is now called Avoca, Iowa. 
He lived there seventeen years, and in 1881 came to Woodbury county, 
where he has since resided. August 25, 1864, he married Cora A. Sin Clair, 
at Avoca, and twelve children have blessed this union, eleven of whom are 
still living. Mr. Palmer is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and votes 
the republican ticket. 

Andrew J. Connett, farmer, P. O. Oto, was born in Cass county, Ind., in 
1844, a son of Isaac and Margaret (Gillen) Connett, American farmers. His 
grandfather, Nicholas Connett, came from England, and was somewhat noted 
there as a soldier. At the age of five years Andrew J. was taken to Jasper 
county, Iowa, where he was reared on a farm. In 1863 he enlisted in the 
Third Iowa cavalry, and was in Steele's raid at Little Bock, Ark. He was 
under A. J. Smith in 1864, and under Gen. Willson in 1865. He was mus- 
tered out in August, 1865, at Davenport, Iowa, after which he returned to 
the farm in Jasper county, where he remained two years. He then went to 
Dakota, where he took up a homestead and farmed until the flood of April 
1, 1881, when he lost all he had. He then went to Woodbury county, Iowa, 
where he opened up a new farm of 160 acres, which is all under cultivation, 
and on which he raises all kinds of cereals and handles stock. He has a 
grove of five acres, and a four-year-old orchard, with all small fruits. In 
1867 Mr. Connett married Martha E., daughter of John and Bachel Gilbert, 
of Dutch descent; and this union has been blessed with nine children, eight 
of whom are living: Gilbert G., Emma, Ellis, Melvin B., Ella, Lottie, 
Elmer and Roy, and one child, Rosa, who died at the age of fourteen, No- 
vember 12, 1885. Mr. Connett is a member of the G. A. R. ; politically he 
is a republican, and liberal in his religious views. 

C. H. Wilson, Sioux City, is a native of Illinois, in which state he re- 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 995 

ceived his education. For nine years Mr. Wilson has been engaged in the 
wool, hide and tallow business. He was, until lately, in the employment of 
H. M. Hosick & Co., having entire charge of the affairs of their office in Sioux 
City. The house established in Sioux City is one of eight belonging to this 
firm, and employs seven men here. The entire wages of this company 
amounts to about $75,000 per annum. Mr. Wilson belongs to the Masonic 
order. 

S. L. Staeblee and his partner, lumber dealers, came to Leeds, Iowa, and 
commenced business in January, 1890. They have entered into business in 
quite an extensive manner, their buildings now covering five lots, and their 
business is already extended throughout Woodbury county. They also handle 
lime and stucco, and are engaged in buying cattle and hogs. They were 
formerly of Ontario, Canada. 

W. A. Dean & Company, music house, formerly at No. 416, Fourth street, 
Sioux City. This musical emporium was established in Sioux City, in No- 
vember, 1883, the proprietors being W. A. Dean and W. S. Stratton. They 
took rank among the leading business houses in the city, and handled such 
musical instruments as the Weber, Decker Brothers, Everett and Kimball 
pianos, Estey, Mason & Kimball organs, and kept a fine stock of all kinds of 
musical instruments. Their business grew to quite extensive proportions, 
caused largely through the fair treatment extended to their patrons, but 
January 1, 1891, they saw fit to dissolve the firm, which was done. 

H. P. Chesley, manager of the Union Stock Yards company, Sioux City, 
was born in New York state in 1855. His early life was spent in railroading, 
which vocation he followed fifteen years. During that time he was employed 
in telegraph operating as station agent at several of the most important sta- 
tions, and as traveling freight agent for the Illinois Central railroad company. 
In January, 1890, he was appointed to his present responsible position as 
general manager of the Union Stock Yards company, which position he fills 
very creditably. In 1880 he married Miss Anna F. Tyson, of St. Paul, Minn. 
Mr. Chesley is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Unitarian church. 

Db. J. M. Henby is a native of Huntingdon county, Pa., and was born in 
1859. He attended Huntingdon university, Pa. In 1884 he entered Balti- 
more Medical college, and graduated from that institution in 1887. From 
the time' of his graduation until February, 1890, he practiced his profession 
in Baltimore, but at that time he came to Sioux City. Dr. Henry makes a 
specialty of the throat, nose and lungs. He receives a liberal patronage of 
the Sioux City people. He is a republican in politics. 

E. J. Tobin was born in Dayton Ohio, in 1868, and graduated from the 
Cincinnati Law college May 28, 1890. He was admitted to the bar in Sioux 
City, and began practice here. In politics he is a democrat. 



yyb . HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

M. H. Moeeison & Co. liverymen, Sioux City. M. H. Morrison is now 
the sole owner and proprietor of this firm. He is a native of Sibley, Iowa, 
and has been in Sioux City but a short time. When he first came he en- 
tered into partnership with W. A. Waldo, who is a native of Wisconsin, and 
came to Sioux City nineteen years ago, but for the three years previous to 
August of this year (1890), he was engaged in the livery business in Cali- 
fornia. This firm entered into business in Sioux City in August, 1890, on 
Iowa street, opposite the Hotel Gordon. Mr. Morrison has twenty-two head 
of horses and a fine line of carriages, and gives his entire attention to his 
business interests. 

James Lester, dealer in light and heavy horses, Sioux City, was born 
November 17, 1865, in Hamilton county, Canada West. His father, John 
L., was born in Pennsylvania, and his mother, Eliza (Henitt) Lester, was 
born in Benbrook county, Canada. To the union of John L. Lester and 
wife were born six sons and two daughters, of whom four sons and one 
daughter are still living. John Lester, with his family, removed to Detroit, 
Minn., in 1877, remaining there until his death, September 6, 1885. He was 
in early life a shipbuilder at Montreal and Quebec, Canada, but later 
turned his attention to farming and stock-growing, which business he con- 
ducted on a large scale up to the time of his death. In 1886 Mrs. Lester, 
with her family, removed from Detroit, Minn., to Bassett, Neb., where she 
remained until the following year, when she bought real estate in Sioux 
City, where she, with her sons, James and Arthur, engaged in the stock busi- 
ness, making fine horses a specialty. The business interests were divided 
July 1, 1890. James, the subject of the sketch, married Miss Olive, daugh- 
ter of Milton and Sarah Swalley, of Sergeant's Bluff, Iowa, July 6, 1890. 

Joseph Hutteeee, cigar manufacturer, Sioux City, is a member of the 
firm of Hutterer & Schafstall, and was born in Canada in 1856. He learned 
his trade when but thirteen years of age, and has followed it ever since, in 
different states. He was married in 1883 to Bell Kaiser, and one child has 
been born to them. He entered into partnership with Mr. Schafstall, Octo- 
ber 1, 1889. They give employment to eleven men, and are both practical 
cigar manufacturers. Mr. Hutterer is a member of the Roman Catholic 
church and a democrat in politics. 

George H. Brown, general manager and treasurer of the Sergeant Bluff 
and Sioux City Brick company, has charge of the general office of this com- 
pany at Sioux City. The company makes a specialty of paving bricks. 
Mr. Brown has been with this firm the past year. A description of the 
works which he represents appears elsewhere in this book. The above com- 
pany was reorganized in October, 1890, by Mr. Brown, with a capital of 
$150,000. Nearly $100,000 has been expended during the past winter in 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 997 

erecting a mammoth plant with a capacity for 80,000 brick per day, the plant 
consisting of the best and most complete machinery which the market affords 
for the manufacture of paving brick, and of five down draft kilns, lined 
throughout with fire brick, to burn the product in, these latter costing 
822,500. The company's real estate holdings now consist of 1SS acres of 
clay land, and they are in a position to increase their capacity to 120,000 
brick per day at very little expense, should the demand for paving material 
justify such a course. 

Philip Weber, farmer, P. O. German City, was born in Monroe county, 
Ohio, in March, 1838, a son of Henry and Margaret (Yockey) Weber, both 
deceased. His parents were German farmers, who came to this country from 
Germany about 1840. He was reared on a farm, and did not receive the ad- 
vantages of an. education. In 1865 he came to Iowa, and lived in Smithland 
for a short time, then located in Willow township, Woodbury county, where 
he has since made his home. He was married, in 1860, to Margaret, daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Elise Stimber, who came from Germany at an early day. 
They have two children, Arthur Edward and Clement William. Mr. Weber 
owns 400 acres of land, mostly used for pasture, but which includes four 
acres in a grove and orchard. He handles hogs and cattle quite extensively. 
In his political belief he is democratic. 

Abbaham Lincoln Ball, farmer, Eodney, is a son of James and Diana 
(Howard) Ball, and is of Scotch descent. He was born in Bock Island, 111., 
on April 26, 1862, and has followed farming since he was twenty-five years 
of age. Mr. Ball is a man of good education, and has taught school until 
the past five years. He came to Iowa in 1872, and lived with his father on 
the farm he now owns, until 1889, when he bought it, and now is farming 
120 acres. He was married, February 15, 1888, to Phoebe Ann Chapman, 
and has one child, Laura Effil, a baby of eleven months. Mr. Ball is a mem- 
ber of no particular denomination, but is always ready and willing to sup- 
port them. Politically he is a republican. 

John C. Schwabland, farmer, P. O. Glen Ellen, residing on section 
thirty-four, Woodbury township, was born in Germany, April 14, 1844, a 
son of John and Margaret (Keithley) Schwabland. The father was a farmer 
in Wisconsin at the time of his death, which occurred in 1888 ; the mother 
is still living; both were of German descent, and members of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. John C. was born in Wittenburg, Germany, but came to 
America in 1851 and located in New York city, where he continued to reside 
until 1860, when he came to Wisconsin and remained there until 1866. He 
then went to Minnesota and resided there until 1871, when he came to 
Woodbury county, Iowa, and purchased 160 acres of land, subsequently sell- 
ing it, however, and buying 100 acres where he now resides, and which he 



998 HISTOKY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

has under a good state of cultivation. He was united in marriage with Ma- 
linda Aughenbaugh, of Minnesota, in 1868, and they have ten children: 
John, Frank, Andrew J., Margaret, William T., Benjamin, Wallace, Amanda, 
Harvey and Eliza. The mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. Mr. Schwabland is a democrat in politics, and has held the office 
of school director. 

Jacob Mabquaet, farmer and stock-raiser, now residing on section twenty- 
seven, Banner township, was born in Germany, February 15, 1841, and is a 
son of Philip and Barbara (Cotzimoyer) Marquart. The father is now 
engaged in farming in Cedar county, Iowa, and both he and wife are mem- 
bers of the Reformed church. Jacob Marquart was born and reared on a 
farm in Germany, and received a common-school education. In 1846 he 
came with his parents to America and located in Ohio, where he resided ten 
years, and then removed to Cedar county with his parents, where he lived 
until 1881. At that date he located in Woodbury county, where he now 
resides, purchasing 1 60 acres of land, to which he has since added 240 acres, 
making 400 in all. Politically he is a democrat, and has held the office of 
trustee for two years. He is a member of the Farmer's Alliance. In 1878 
Mr. Marquart married Mary A. Wilier, and to this union have been born 
three children: Charles F., George A. and Philip H. The family are 
members of the Reformed church. 

Heney C. Bappe, a farmer, now residing on section twenty-seven, Ban- 
ner township, was born in Shelingstadt, Germany, May 22, 1826, and is a 
son of Christopher and Margaret Bappe, both deceased. The father was a 
cooper by trade, and was engaged in that occupation at the time of his death. 
Both he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. Henry C. was 
born and reared on a farm, where he received his education. He was but 
six months old when his father died, and his mother's death occurred when 
he was ten years of age, but he resided in Germany until twenty-five years 
of age, when he came to America (after three years' service in the Prussian 
army) and located in New York. He remained there one year only, when he 
moved to Michigan, and resided there one year, and thence went to Indiana, 
remaining one year, and from there came, in 1S54, to Cass county, Iowa. 
He farmed there three years, then moved to Page county and farmed three 
years, then moved back to Cass, where he farmed twenty years, then came to 
Woodbury county, in 1S83, where he now resides, and purchased 240 acres 
of land. Politically he is a republican. Mr. Bappe married Sarah J. Por- 
ter, a native of Lawrence county, Ohio, in 1857, and to their union have been 
born eight children: Hemy P., William P., Emma J., Ella R., Sarah I., 
George T., John E. and Julia E. Mrs. Bappe is a membw of the Presby- 
terian church. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. ya'd 

Joseph Vigaes, farmer, was born in Michigan, April 21, 1850. His par- 
ents were Joseph and Mary (Down) Vigars. The father is engaged in farm- 
ing in Hardin county, Iowa. The mother is deceased. Both were of En- 
glish birth and members of the Methodist church. They came to America in 
1S48, and in 1852 settled in Iowa. Joseph Vigars was born in Copper Har- 
bor, near Lake Superior, and resided with his parents until he was sixteen 
years of age, when he started out for himself. He then went to Hardin 
county, Iowa, and engaged in farming until 1882, when he came to Wood- 
bury county, and located on section twenty-three, Arlington township, where 
he now resides. Mr. Vigars was united in marriage with Sarah Hoover, in 
November, 1872, and they have five children: Effie M., William, Alice, Jen- 
nie and John. The mother is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Vigars 
belongs to the republican party. 

Rodney W. Rice, residing on section eleven, Grange township, was born 
in Pennsylvania, September 5, 1845, and is a son of Gilbert and Remem- 
brance (Jones) Rice. His father, who died in October, 1886, was a farmer, 
while his mother is still living, and resides in Jones county, Iowa. Rodney 
W. was reared on a farm in Iowa, and resided with his parents until eight- 
een years of age, when he left home and started out in life for himself. He 
enlisted for the war in Company H, 31st Iowa infantry, and participated in 
the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Savannah, Ben- 
tonville and Jonesboro. He was honorably discharged August 5, 1865, and 
returned to his home in Jones county, Iowa. He went to Omaha, where he 
resided one year, and then returned to Jones county, and resided there two 
years, after which he spent a year in Ft. Dodge, then went to Dakota county, 
Neb., where he resided five years. In 1875 he came to Woodbury county, 
and lived in Smithland seven years, after which he lived in Sioux City five 
years. He then purchased a farm of 200 acres of land, where he now resides. 
April 2, 1872, Mr. Rice was united in marriage with Emma E. Myers, of 
Jackson, Neb., and to them have been born three children: William, Ed- 
ward and Charles G. Mrs. Rice is a member of the Catholic church. Polit- 
ically he is a republican; is a member of the G. A. R., Hancock Post and the 
Masonic order. 

W. W. Maeple, who has been among the foremost merchant tailors of 
Sioux City was bom in Chester county, Pa. He has been engaged in mer- 
chant tailoring for fourteen years. He was in the business at Norfolk, Neb., 
for eight years, and came from that place to Sioux City quite recently, and 
opened one of the finest merchant tailoring and gents' furnishing goods 
stores in the city, occupying three floors of the Krumann block, and gave 
employment to fifty men. Mr. Marple also had a branch store in the Black 
Hills. He was joined in marriage to Miss Ada Ruster, a Missouri lady, and 



1000 HISTOBY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

to this union one child, a son, has been born. He belongs to the Masonic 
order. 

The Corn Palace Laundry. The present organization of this prominent 
Sioux City industry was completed April 14, 1890. The individual proprie- 
tors are H. C. Miller and W. H. Knowlton, the former a native of Iowa, and 
the latter of Massachusetts. The location of this laundry is at 415 and 417 
Water street, and under the present management has become one of the 
leading, if not the most reliable laundry, in the city. 

Mrs. Mary Welter, Le Mars, was born in Belgium, August 28, 1852. 
In 1862 fire destroyed her parents' home, and five years later she came to 
America. November 7, 1870, she married Clement Welter, and settled at 
Waterloo, where they remained until 1871, when they came to Le Mars. 
Her husband was in the saloon business, and by fortunate real estate invest- 
ments, secured a competency, consisting of "property in Sioux City and Le 
Mars. He died in 1883. Mrs. Welter inherited his property, and by judi- 
cious investments, is constantly adding to her wealth. 

Louis Petry, barber and ladies' hairdresser, Le Mars, was born in the 
city of Darmstadt, Grossherzogthum, Hessen, Germany, February 17, 1855. 
His grandfather, Ludwig Petry, was a farmer in Wichshausen, Kreis, or near 
Darmstadt, where his father, Carl August Petry, was born June 22, 1824. 
His relations on his father's side were all Protestants, while his mother and 
her relatives were Catholics. His mother, Katrina (Faerster) Petry, was 
born in Nierstein am Ehein, August 7, 1836, but was brought up at Worms 
am Rhein by an aunt, sister of her mother, named Glock, afterward Gotz, 
with whom she lived until fifteen years of age, then went to Darmstadt, where 
she lived with her mother prior to her marriage. Louis Petry's mother's 
father was a carpenter by trade, and died young, also the one brother she 
had. Carl A. Petry started to learn the barber and hairdresser's trade at 
Frankfurt am Main, but afterward entered the German army, as he had an 
uncle named Petry who was captain of the Hessen army at Darmstadt at 
that time, and then served thirty-two years in the army, and took part in the 
revolution of 1848, and the wars of 1866 and 1870-71, retiring with the 
rank of sergeant-major. He died July 14, 1881, aged fifty-seven years, 
while his widow survived him three years, when her demise occurred Octo- 
ber 2, 1884, at the age of forty-eight years. 

Our subject is the eldest of nine children, eight of whom are still living, 
one sister, Yeda, having died July 9, 1877, at the age of five years. For 
eight years he attended school at Worms am Rhein, where the First Hessen 
regiment, No. 115, infantry, to which his father belonged, had been sta- 
tioned for eleven years, prior to 1871. At the age of fourteen he began to 
learn the trade of a barber there, under a prominent barber and hair-dresser 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1001 

named Valentine Lerch, but as his father's regiment was ordered back to 
Darmstadt a year later, he went there three months after, and spent the next 
two years in learning hair-work and ladies' hairdressing, under W. Shaefer, 
ladies' hairdresser and perfumer, at the Eoyal Theatre. For the next ten 
years he traveled through Germany, Switzerland and Belgium as a journey- 
man, and worked in the cities of Frankfurt am Main, Mannheim, Stutgart, 
Newschatel, Geneva, Berne, then at Bonn am Rhein, Bad-Kreutznach, Co- 
logne and Liege\ October 7, 1882, at Nippes, near Cologne am Rhein, he 
married Eliza Bohn6, a native of Brussels, Belgium, born November 30, 
1854, and one of sixteen children born to Johann Baptist and Katrina Louise 
Bohne\ Her father was born at Brussels in July, 1830, and her mother at 
the city of Luxemburg, August 20, 1828. In 1831 she moved with her par- 
ents to Brussels, where she was married, August 23, 1852, to J. Bohne\ The 
Bohne' family moved to Cologne am Bhein, Germany, in the fall of 1867, 
then to Nippes, near Cologne, where, January 26, 1875, the mother died, 
the father surviving her five years, when his demise occurred at Cologne, in 
August, 1880. Of their family, six children only are living, four being still 
in Cologne, one brother having been a dentist there for the last ten years, 
the other brother was a soldier, having served three years in the German 
regiment, No. 99, at Strassburg am Rhein ; one sister married and one single. 
They are a Roman Catholic family. 

Louis Petry was not an active soldier in the old country, but was in the 
First class Ersatz reserve infantry. He came to America in October, 1882, 
landed at Philadelphia with his wife and child, and as he had an aunt, on 
his father's side, Mrs. Kehres, afterward Mrs. Miller (widow), whose daugh- 
ter had married Professor J. Wernli, and who was living at Le Mars, he lo- 
cated there November 1, of that year. In the following year he started in 
business with a barber, Charles Shroer, locating under the First National bank. 
This partnership lasted but four months; in March, 1890, after being there 
six years, he purchased from A. R. T. Dent the building which he now occu- 
pies on Sixth street, two doors west of the Union hotel, and follows his trade 
there, having bath rooms besides. He is a member of the German M. E. 
church, of the Swiss society, and the I. O. O. F., his wife ^belonging to the 
Rebecca degree of that order. They have four children: Fina (Josephina) 
Louisa, born at Cologne am Rhein, July 9, 1880; Dora Katrina, born at Le 
Mars, August 17, 1883; Carl August, born February 9, 1S86; and Louis 
Emil, born November 5, 1888. 

Mr. Petry has three sisters: Anna, Elise and Emilie, and two brothers: 
Henri and William. His brother William, who is twenty-six years old and 
unmarried, learned the barber's trade with him, then worked in Sioux City 
and Ponca, Neb., and now works with him again in his barber shop; his 



1002 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

brother, Henri, who is twenty-three years of age and single, is a machinist in 
St. Louis, Mo. Two of his sisters, Anna, aged thirty-four years, and Emilie, 
aged twenty years, both single, are in Sioux City, working for Banker 
French, while Elise is married to W. Bosek, a machinist, and a native of 
Shwerin, Germany, who lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. These brothers and sisters 
came to America from three to six years after he did. He has two other 
brothers married, living in Darmstadt; one, George, thirty-two years old, a 
machinist, who was three years in' the army, Hess artillery, No. 25, at Darm- 
stadt, and the other, Carl August, thirty years of age, is employed in the 
railroad car factory and repair shops there. He has relatives on his side by 
the name of Shuchmann living in Darmstadt, Blosser at Koenigstadten, Keh- 
res at Wichshausen, and Faerster at Nierstein am Rhein, Germany, while on 
his wife's side there are relatives living in Brussels, Belgium, named Wax- 
weiler (a brother of her mother), a brother of her father in Bruges, Belgium, 
and another in Paris, France, i One brother of Mrs. Louis Petry, Franz 
Bohn6, a cook by trade, about thirty-four years old, has not been heard from 
for the last twelve years. He started from Brussels in 1877 to travel, and 
was working in Bad Ems, Germany, in a hotel, the last heard from. It is 
not known whether he is now alive or not. 

Jacob Gottlieb Koenig, barber, Le Mars, a native of Germany, is the 
fourth of eight children of Christian and Elizabeth (Moebus) Koenig, of 
Hesse-Kassel. He was born in Meimbressen, Hesse-Kassel, March 10, 1840, 
and attended school till fourteen years old, after which he became a hotel 
waiter. His grandfather, George Koenig, was a laborer, and his father a 
shoemaker and musician. In 1858 he came to America, and learned his 
present trade in Baltimore, Md., where he began business on his own account 
in 1865. Four years later his parents came to Baltimore, where the father 
died, in 1889, aged eighty-three years. The mother died, while on a visit to 
Europe, at the age of seventy-two. In 1871 J. Gottlieb Koenig came to 
Plymouth county, and bought land in Plymouth township, where he engaged 
in farming for ten years. He then sold out and moved to Le Mars, and 
opened his present shop, which he owns, in 1882. He is a member of the 
German Evangelical church, the I. O. O. F., the Masonic order and Iowa 
Legion of Honor. Politically, he was a Stephen A. Douglas democrat till 
1863, since which time he has acted with the republicans. In September, 
1865, he married Mary Elizabeth Gorden, a native of Georgetown, D. C, 
and daughter of James and Elizabeth Gorden, of American and German 
parentage. Their living children are Carrie Virginia, Lillian, Ida Cordelia, 
Florence Estella, Herbert D. Elroy, Jacob G., Jr., and George Walter. The 
eldest is the wife of Philip Schneider, of Hungerford township. The second, 
Jacob Merriman, died at the age of thirteen months. 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1003 

E. B. Hammond, veterinary surgeon, Le Mars, was born in Townsend 
township, Norfolk county, Canada, in 1860, where he was reared and studied 
veterinary surgery, and began its practice. He had a school at Sincoe, and 
remained there until 1886, when he removed to Le Mars, where he has an 
office and enjoys an extensive practice. He is a member of Giblem Lodge, 
322, F. & A. M., and of Occidental Chapter 114. In October, 1889, he 
married Ida Clouse, of Canada. 

E. J. Chester, cigar manufacturer, Le Mars, was born at Suffield, Conn., 
in 1857, and was reared and educated at Westfield, Mass. He learned the 
cigar trade, and was in business there as a manufacturer of cigars until he 
removed to Indiana, and in 1883 to Le Mars, where he is now engaged in 
the same line, employing four men and making from 160,000 to 180,000 
cigars annually. He is a member of the Le Mars Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 
255. In 1879 he married Nellie Brass. They have four children. 

Edwin Wesley Lent, blacksmith, Correctionville, is a native of Illinois, 
born at Naperville in 1855, and is a son of Norman and Matilda (Eichmond) 
Lent, natives of Pennsylvania and New York, respectively. His grandfather, 
William Lent, was a native of New York, of Dutch descent, while his mother 
came of English lineage. Edwin Lent was educated in the schools of his 
native city, and began to learn his trade with his father at the age of eight- 
een. In 1877 he came to Correctionville, and started in business for himself. 
He now owns a valuable property, including his shop and residence. He is 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and I. O. O. F. Politically 
he is a republican, and has been a member of the town council six years. In 
1879 he married Addie Landon, a native of Winneshiek county, this state, 
and a daughter of Henry and Almeda Landon, of Connecticut. They have 
three children: Ernest, Ealph and Ha. George Lent, brother and assistant 
of Edwin, was born in 1862, and joined the latter here in 1S80. 

Alfred Holcomb, farmer and stock-dealer, Correctionville, was born in 
Mendota, La Salle county, 111., August 6, 1865. His parents were Warren 
and Sarah (Livingston) Holcomb. His ancestors were natives of Scotland. 
His parents moved to Grand Mound, Iowa, March 17, 1879, when he was but 
fourteen years old, and he lived there until March 1, 1883, when he came to 
Correctionville, Woodbury county, Iowa, and bought 320 acres of land in 
section twenty-five, Eock township, which he still occupies as a farm, and for 
the raising of fine stock. December 16, 1880, he married Elizabeth Alleson, 
of Grand Mound, Iowa, and they have two children, Eobert and Alma. 

Isaac H. Vannorsdel, farmer, Pierson, was born in York county, Pa., in 
1854. His parents, Isaac and Mary (Heighes) Vannorsdel, were of York 
county, Pa., and of German descent. They reared a family of thirteen chil- 
dren, of whom Isaac H. is the youngest. He moved to Lee county, HI, in 



■lOO'i HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

1863, and in 1874 to Marshall county, Iowa, where he was quite successful 
as a farmer for eleven years. In 1883 he came to Woodbury county, Iowa, 
and settled on the northeast quarter of section four, Rutland township. He 
married Helen Vanwarn, of Marshall county, Iowa, in 1879, and they have a 
family of four children: Ethel, born in 1880; Dana, born in 1882; Roy, born 
in 1885, and Rosco, born in 1887. Mr. Vannorsdel is a republican and a 
man of good moral character. 

Samuel Cueken Boohee, farmer, Danbury, was born in Huntingdon county, 
Pa., July 14, 1864, and is one of seven children of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sny- 
der) Booher, natives of Pennsylvania, both deceased. He has followed farming 
nearly all his life, having been raised on a farm until about eighteen years of age, 
when he learned the carpenter trade. He worked at one place and another 
until 1887, when he bought the eighty acres on which he now lives in Oto 
township. When work is slack on the farm he now falls back on carpentering. 
He married Ella Martin, January 2, 1887, and two children have blessed this 
union: Eva, two years old, and Clayton Ellis, born in April, 1890. Mr. and 
Mrs. Booher attend the Methodist church. In politics he is a republican. 

Joseph Montag, farmer, P. O. Ireton, was born in Germany in January, 
1836, and is a .son of Henry and Clara Montag. He came to America in 
1S56, landing at Castle Garden, where he remained but a few days, then 
proceeded to Chicago, where he stayed until the fall of that year, when he 
removed to Grant county, Wis., and there farmed. August 4, 1862, he en- 
listed in the Twenty-fifth Wisconsin volunteers, Company I, and served till 
June 15, 1865, when he received an honorable discharge and returned to 
Wisconsin. In the spring of 1871 he moved to Le Mars, Plymouth county, 
where he homesteaded 160 acres on section eighteen, Grant township, on 
which he moved the same fall, and where he has carried on general farming 
ever since. Mr. Montag married Miss Catherine Maring, of Wisconsin, in 
April, 1862, and they have three children: John P., Joseph P. and George 
D. In politics he sympathizes with the republican party. 

Patrick Henby Collins, farmer, Oto, was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, 
July 1, 1861. When an infant his parents moved to the place where he now 
lives, and where he was reared and educated. He remained there until 1886, 
when he went to Danbury and engaged in the livery business, remaining 
there until 1890, when he returned to his old home, and now owns and runs 
the farm. January 7, 1890, he married Maggie Fitzpatrick. Mr. Collins 
does not mix in politics, but votes for the best man. He is a Roman 
Catholic. 

Ockhe Osteebuhe is the eldest son of Ockhe and Annie (Albers) Oster- 
buhr, and was born August 26, 1840, in Germany. He was reared on a farm 
and received a common-school education. He worked for his father and 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1005 

neighbors on farms until October, 1862, when he came to America, landing 
at New York city. He came right through to Dixon, Lee county, 111., 
where he remained but a short time, going thence to Monticello, Jones county, 
Iowa, where he resided six years. He then came to Le Mars, Plymouth 
county, where he lived Jrat a short time, and then bought 160 acres of land 
in Grant township, on which he moved and has since lived, carrying on gen- 
eral farming. Mr. Osterbuhr married Miss Mary Hartman, of Germany, in 
1864, and they have six children: Lizzie, Gerdie, Annie, Willie, Otto and 
Fred. In politics he is a democrat. He is a member of the German 
Lutheran church. 

Jubgen Kenken, farmer, P. O. Le Mars, was born in Hanover, Germany, 
November 8, 1850, and is a son of Henry Kenken, of the same place. His 
education was very limited, as his parents were in very humble circumstances, 
which made it necessary for him to strive for a living for himself at a very 
early age. He worked for his neighbors until twenty-two years old, by 
which time he had saved enough money to bring himself and mother to 
America, his father having died when he was quite young. They landed at 
New York, and came through to Jones county, Iowa, where he worked on a 
farm for five years, then moved to Grant township, where he bought eighty 
acres of land in sections fourteen and fifteen. He has since added 240 acres 
to his farm. June 26, 1881, Mr. Renken married Miss Augusta, daughter 
of William Burk, of Monticello, Iowa, by whom he has four children, viz. : 
Herman, John, Gertrude and Wilhelmina. He is a democrat, and belongs 
to the German Lutheran church. 

Mads Westad, farmer, P. O. Climbing Hill, was born in Jovik, Norway, 
April 12, 1858. His parents were Andrew and Margaret (Hubred) Westad. 
His grandparents, on his father's side, were named Mads and Martha Westad. 
He attended the common schools in Norway. In 1867 he came to Monona 
county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming until 1879, when he came to his 
present place in West Fork township, Woodbury county. He has 200 acres 
of fine land, and is engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is a member 
of the Lutheran church; in politics a republican. 

Anton Solbeeg, farmer, P. O. Climbing Hill, was born near Jovik, Nor- 
way, September 30, 1848. His parents were Ola and Nicollene (Olkytrud) 
Solberg. In 1866 he came to Dane county, Wis, and engaged in farming 
until 1868, when he came to Monona county, Iowa, and in 1882 to his pres- 
ent place in West Fork township. He was married in 1870 to Martha Maria 
Westad, who was born in Norway. Her parents were Andrew and Mar- 
garete (Hubred) Westad. Mr. and Mrs. Solberg have had eight children, 
six of whom are living, viz.: Nettie, born January 25, 1872; Annie, born 
January 30, 1874; Oscar, bom July 12, 1876; Minnie, April 28, 1878; Ed- 



1006 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

win, bom March 8, 1886; Alma, bom September 14, 1888. Mr. Solberghas 
100 acres of land, and is engaged in farming and stock-raising. He received 
his education in the schools of Norway. In politics he is a republican. 



*-»&[) 93 $^f* 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGEAPHY. 1007 



SKETCHES RECEIVED AFTER PRECEDING MATTER WAS IN PRINT. 



Hon. F. T. Evans was born November 28, 1835, in. Geauga county, Ohio. 
He left the boyhood home in 1855, to seek his fortune in the wild, wild west, 
making his first stop near Stevens' Point, Wis. In the fall of 1856, in com- 
pany with two other young men, he took a skiff and pulled down the river 
to Davenport, from whence they traveled by rail to Iowa City. From Iowa 
City the trio walked to Kanesville (Council Bluffs), a then Mormon outfitting 
post. Barefooted and out of money, they drifted into Omaha in search of 
work, and through Mr. Evans secured a contract of wood chopping at $1 
per cord. Mr. Evans soon found that his companions presumed too much 
on his superior strength, and were too willing to have him do all the chop- 
ping, while they did the housekeeping, hence he determined to leave the 
camp and seek more lucrative employment. This he apparently found in a 
logging canip, where he spent the winter of 1856-57. When the dial pointed 
to '58, he was the sole owner of a fine yoke of oxen. With these he con- 
tinued the logging business during the year, never losing a clay's time, al- 
though from frequent attacks of ague his body was often racked with pain. 
He shook regularly each alternate day, and often had to climb upon the log 
his trusty cattle were dragging, while his frame was burning with fever. 

In 1859, in company with a party of eight, he purchased an outfit and 
started for Pike's Peak. Rumor reached them that Pike's Peak was a hum- 
bug, and after reaching the summit of the Rockies, the parties held a council, 
and decided to go either to California or to Washington, to decide which, 
each man cut a pole and stood the pole on the summit, and agreed to take 
the course indicated by the falling pole. This resulted in five of the party 
going to the. Walla Walla valley in Washington, and three of the number 
going to California, Mr. Evans being one of the number that landed in 
Walla Walla valley. In 1S60 he returned with a herd of ponies to Missouri 
Valley. In 1861 he bought a ranch near Grand Island, Neb. This proved 
his mascotte. Here he gathered a thousand head of cattle, and was also very 
successful in raising horses, sheep and hogs, and in general farming. Here 
he became the first custodian of Hall county's cash, and, later, represented his 
county in the Nebraska Territorial legislature. And here too, near the banks 
of the ever-changing Platte, Cupid first shied an arrow through his great, throb- 
bing heart, and in the year 1863, when the wild flowers were just peeping 



1008 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

into life, he took for "better" Miss Theresa M. Beal. Many spring flowers 
have bloomed and faded, and many dark clouds have hovered so close and 
heavy as to almost shut out the light, but the lovely Theresa M. (Beal) 
Evans has ever been the gentle, guiding star that kept hope high, and am- 
bition unfaltering, until to-day, Mr. Evans is one of the most successful 
business men in the northwest. 

In this same fertile valley Fred T. Evans, Jr., the eldest of the four 
children that added cheer and comfort to this happy union, first saw the 
light. The scene changes, in 1868, from the valley of the Platte to the valley 
of the "Big Muddy." In this year Mr. Evans founded the town of Sloan, 
Iowa. After making purchase of a large body of land, he platted the town, 
and established a general store, in addition to his many other enterprises. 
From his timberland he furnished ties to build the Illinois Central railway 
from Le Mars to Sioux City, and also furnished lumber for dej:>ots and 
bridges. In 1871 he removed to Sioux City and engaged with Mr. Frank 
Peavey in the hardware and agricultural implement business. 

The year 1875 found this man of nerve launched in a new and untried field. 
This year he organized the Black Hills Transportation company, and here 
begins a chapter in the career of this truly courageous man, for which time 
and space only allow the merest mention. Mr. Evans, as superintendent 
and manager of the Black Hills Transportation company, purchased his out- 
fit, and made up his party to go gold hunting. The company's train con- 
sisted of six four-mule teams. About two hundred men constituted the 
party, many farmers joining in the procession with their private teams. 
The freight Mr. Evans' company had contracted to carry, consisted largely 
of seventy men and their baggage. Their route lay across Nebraska, 
through Covington, Creighton, O'Neill, and through the sand hills to Chad- 
ron. Many little clouds flitted over the bright sky of anticipation of this 
hopeful company of men who were ever eager for the almighty dollar, but 
nothing serious occurred until the train reached about the point where Gor- 
don now stands. On going into camp they noticed a company of United 
States cavalry headed toward them, but nothing heeded until the cainp was 
surrounded by the blue-coats. Capt. Walker commanding, called for Mr. 
Evans and informed him that he was under arrest by order of General Sher- 
man, orders having been given that no white man should cross the Indian 
reservation. The next morning, vexed, disappointed and weary, the train 
was headed for Fort Randall as prisoners under conduct of the soldiers. 
When they came near the crossing of the Niobrara river, Mr. Evans discov- 
ered that he was not on the reservation, and that Capt. Walker had exceeded 
his authority. He therefore refused to go farther, after he had posted his 
men, and had succeeded in taking his mules from the wagons and stamped 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1009 

them up into the sand hills. When Capt. Walker discovered that he 
had been outwitted and outgeneraled, he was very wrathy, and ordered 
fifteen soldiers to place Mr. Evans under arrest and take him into the fort. 
But after a few minutes' red-hot contest, the captain recalled his order. 
Mr. Evans succeeded in getting away with two wagons and all of his mules, 
and returned to Sioux City, and the gallant ( ?) captain piled up and burned 
the remaining wagons. 

The following year Mr. Evans, in company with John Hornick, formed 
the Evans & Hornick Transportation company, running a steamboat from 
Sioux City to Pierre, and from Pierre, freighting goods into the Black Hills, 
with mule and bull trains. Mr. Evans also fitted out the first transportation 
trains between Chamberlain and the Black Hills. He continued his freight- 
ing business until the advent of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley 
railroad into Rapid City, July 4, 1886. During these years of freighting 
Mr. Evans passed through untold trials and difficulties that only a man of 
almost superhuman power could undergo. His trains were often attacked 
by Indians, and often almost buried in black mud. In 1880 his men entered 
into a conspiracy and general strike. Many knives were whetted for his 
blood and many " 44-calibres " were primed to jrierce his heart. Only a man 
of his undaunted courage could have escaped with his life. 

Later Mr. Evans was one of the corporators of the Union Stock Yards 
company at Sioux City; he built and operated Sioux City's first street rail- 
way, and assisted in the organization of the Northwestern National bank of 
Sioux City, of which he is now president. The crowning effort of his life, 
however, is the development of the Dakota Hot Springs, which promises to 
be the leading health and pleasure resort in the west. He has twice visited 
Europe, thoroughly acquainting himself with all important "watering" 
places, and adopting such ideas as are practical in making his already famed 
resort the best. 

Hon. Isaac S. Stbuble, of Le Mars, was born near Fredericksburg, Va., 
November 3, 1843. His parents were Isaac and Emma (Teasdale) Struble, 
natives of New Jersey. In 1845 they moved to Ohio, with their family, re- 
maining there until 1857, when they came to Iowa, and settled on a farm 
near Iowa City. Mr. Struble's early education was received in the common 
schools of Ohio and Iowa, but after the war he attended the Iowa State uni- 
versity, studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1870, and later was 
admitted to practice in the United States supreme court. 

At the age of eighteen he enlisted, in August, 1862, in Company F, of 
the Twenty-second Iowa infantry, marching in the ranks as a private until 
after the battle of Cedar Creek, Va., in 1864, when he was promoted to the 
rank of sergeant. The Twenty-second Iowa was a regiment of fighters, and 



1010 HISTORY OF WOODBDBY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

among Iowa's distinguished soldiers it holds a proud place. With his regi- 
ment, Mr. Struble saw hard service, until he was mustered out, July 25, 
1865. Besides others of less historic interest, Mr. Struble was a participant 
in the battles of Port Gibson, siege of Vicksburg, battle and siege of Jack- 
son, Miss., and Cedar Creek, Va. 

In 1866 he went to St. Louis, where he remained about a year, as book- 
keeper in the wholesale house of J. H. Teasdale & Co., his uncle being the 
senior partner. After admission to the bar, in 1870, he began the practice 
of law, at Polo, 111., where he remained until 1872, when he removed to Le 
Mars. Here he applied himself closely to his profession, and never held any 
public office until elected to the Forty-eighth congress, in 1882. 

In 1884, 1886 and 1888, Mr. Struble was renominated by acclamation, 
having the distinguished honor of being three times returned without oppo- 
sition in his own party. At his last election, in 1888, he received a majority 
of 6,259 votes over his democratic opponent. In 1890, on the forty-third 
ballot, the nomination went to Hon. George D. Perkins, of Woodbury 
county. Mr. Struble entered actively and vigorously into the campaign 
which followed, giving iinqualified support to Mr. Perkins' candidacy. Of his 
career in congress, the congressional record is the best evidence. He was 
always considered a strong member. Himself a soldier, he devoted much 
time to the interests of his soldier constituents, as many a veteran will testify. 
Of his persistency and vigorous efforts in advocacy of measures receiving his 
personal attention, the Sioux City public building bill, which became a law 
during the last session of the Fifty-first congress, is a good illustration. Mr. 
Struble occupied prominent positions on several committees, but it was in the 
committee on Territories that he figured most prominently. During his entire 
term of service he was a member of that committee. His speech on Oklahoma 
showed so thorough a grasp of territorial matters that he became authority 
on affairs pertaining to that and other Territories. He was made chairman of 
the committee on Territories of the Fifty-first congress, and as such had much 
to do in shaping legislation in reference to the organization of the Territory 
of Oklahoma, other important territorial legislation, and the admission of 
the new states of Idaho and Wyoming. 

When Mr. Struble returned from congress to settle down to the practice 
of law, at Le Mars, his neighbors and friends turned out, regardless of party, 
and gave him a grand reception at the opera house. The following from 
his home paper indicates the cordial spirit in which this demonstration was 
made: 

" After a man has closed his official career, when he comes home to his 
neighbors and friends to settle down to private life, and gather up the ends 
of private business, to make a living for himself and family, then, when 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGKAPHT. 1011 

postoffiees and fat appointments are no longer in his hands to dispense, that 
is the time when true and unselfish regard and friendship shows itself. 
That is the time when a public ovation means a sincere endorsement of the 
man and his work that has been done, rather than an enthusiastic prediction 
of future greatness, or a bid for future patronage." 

During the winter of 1890-91 Mr. Struble received a very strong endorse- 
ment from the Iowa bar and press, as well as from business men, led by the 
almost unanimous petition of the Sioux City bar, for his appointment to the 
vacancy probably to be caused on the U. S. District bench, by the promo- 
tion of Judge 0. P. Shiras. 

At present he is actively pursuing his profession, and engaged in his 
duties as president of the Western Investment company, of Le Mars. He 
was married, June 3, 1874, at Unity, Maine, to Addie E. Stone, daughter 
of Jonathan and Sarah (Stevens) Stone, of Puritan stock. Their family con- 
sists of Guy Treat, born June 3, 1875; Dwight Stone, born July 9, 1877; 
George Freeman, born May 5, 1878; Myrtle Adelaide, born April 8, 1880; 
and Isaac Irving, born August 18, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Struble are mem- 
bers of the Congregational church, and he is an honored' member of the 
Masonic, Knights of Pythias, and Grand Army orders, at Le Mars. 

Chakles Feanexin Hott, capitalist, Sioux City, was born in Tennessee, 
McDonough county, 111., November 13, 1842, and comes of old New England 
stock. His grandfather and father, both of whom bore the name of Jona- 
than, were natives of New Hampshire, the latter being born in 1808; the 
former was noted as a very strong man, and often gave exhibitions of his 
prowess, in carrying great weights, at militia trainings. His wife was 
Jemima Ford, and both were probably descended from English ancestry. 
Elizabeth Eowley, mother of Mr. Hoyt, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., in 1819. 
Our subject was reared on the farm and attended the common schools. In 
his twenty-second year he set out with two companions for the mining 
regions of Idaho. They took turns in driving the team so that each walked 
two-thirds of the distance. Mr. Hoyt spent three years prospecting and 
mining, in Idaho and Montana, with moderate success, and during this time 
he became noted for his ability in finding his way over the rugged, snow- 
capped mountains of that region. He then spent three years in traveling, 
and during his wanderings he learned the art of photography. 

In 1870 he came to Sioux City, and soon formed a partnership with J. 
H. Hamilton, which continued four years, in conducting a gallery. Mr. 
Hoyt then engaged in the manufacture of vinegar and pickling materials, in 
' which he continued till 1S90, being the founder of the Sioux City Vinegar 
and Pickling works. He was also active in establishing the Sioux City Brick 
and Tile works, of which he is president, and is the founder of the Sioux 



1012 HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 

City Stoneware works. He is president of the Sioux Paving Brick company, 
which is a growing and valuable industry. Mr. Hoyt is largely interested 
in real estate operations in Sioux City, and is an extensive landholder in 
Kansas. He laid out Highland, Springdale, Edgewood Terrace and North 
Riverside, second filing. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the K. of 
P. lodges. He entertains liberal religious views, and politically is a demo- 
crat. He served six years as a member of the city council, and an unexpired 
term as mayor, to which office he was elected for the succeeding term. In 
1871 Mr. Hoyt married Miss Martha Goldie, a native of Leroy, N. Y., and 
daughter of William Harris, of England. They have five living children, 
viz.: Charles L., Frank A., Mattie, Harry and Edna. Ralph, the fourth, 
died in infancy. 

Thomas Hubert Conniff (deceased) was born, May 19, 1816, in the city 
of Athlone, Ireland. His early education was acquired in the private schools 
of his native city, where he lived with his parents until seventeen years old. 
At that early age he enlisted in the British army, serving in the Eighty- 
eighth infantry. With his regiment he was quartered for some years in the 
East Indies, during the rebellion of that country. Returning to England, he 
was chosen one of the body guard that accompanied Lord Durham to Canada 
when he was made Governor General of that province. While stationed at 
Niagara Falls his term of service expired, and he crossed to the United 
States, to make it his future home, settling at Lewiston, N. Y. Here he 
met and wedded Sarah McSpadden, July 14, 1842, who still survives him. 

In Lewiston he began the study of law, but gave it up on the outbreak 
of the Mexican war, and offered himself as a volunteer in the service of his 
adopted country. He was with Scott's army that marched from Vera Cruz 
to the City of Mexico. After the surrender of the army of Santa Anna, he, 
with his regiment, was stationed at Fort Mackinac, Mich., where he received 
his discharge, after three years of good and faithful service. He located on 
a farm near Neenah, Wis., where he remained with his family for five years. 
Disposing of his interests there he located at Houston, Minn., where he 
turned his attention again to law. During his residence in Minnesota he 
was early identified with the political history of the state, holding several 
public offices at various times. He was a member of the Constitutional con- 
vention that made Minnesota a state; afterward was a member of the lower 
house of the general assembly. In 1856 he was elected district attorney, 
which office he held for three terms. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he 
was one of the first to offer himself in the service of his country, being at 
that time colonel of the Second Minnesota guards. He was ordered to the 
front to engage in the first battle of Bull Run, but was relieved of command 
on account of ' age and delicate health, much to his regret. He served as 



GENEALOGY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1013 

recruiting officer during the last years of the war, in which position he did 
much valuable service. At the expiration of his term of office as district 
attorney, he moved to Iowa, locating on a farm near Sioux City. Here he 
lived quietly, taking great interest in educational and political questions, 
and devoting his time to farming and stock-raising. 

He died August 6, 1S85, after a brief illness, while on a visit to his son 
and daughter living at Bridgewater, S. Dak. His aged widow, six sons and 
three daughters, survive him, as follows : Mrs. J. A. Eberly, of Bridgewater, 
S. Dak. ; Mrs. O. E. Comstock, Hutchinson, Kas. ; Mrs. J. A. Blandel, Sioux 
City; Thomas H, Pierre, S. Dak.; Edwin R, Bridgewater, S. Dak.; Fred, 
Denver, Col. ; and William, George and Bobert, Sioux City. Mr. Conniff was 
a man whom it was a pleasure to know, possessing a kind and jovial disposi- 
tion and a knowledge of current events that was remarkable. He always 
made and kept friends. He was a close student of the political history of 
the times, engaging actively in politics and educational matters. 

David Kifeb, farmer, residing on section fifteen, Floyd townshija, was 
born in Westmoreland county, Pa., January 5, 1822, and is a son of Jacob 
and Mary (Byerley) Kifer, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Ger- 
man descent and the latter of English descent. Jacob Kifer was a stone 
mason by trade and followed that occupation in Westmoreland county, Pa., 
until his death, which occurred in 1846; his wife died in 1872. Jacob Kifer 
was a member of the German Beformed church and his wife of the Lutheran 
church. 

David Kifer was born and grew to manhood in Westmoreland county, 
receiving a common-school education there. He resided with his parents 
until the death of his father and the re-marriage of his mother, when he 
started out for himself. He learned the trade of milling, which he followed 
in Westmoreland county about five years. In the spring of 1850 he came 
to Dubuque county, Iowa, and six years later built a flouring mill, which he 
operated about twelve years. He then returned to his old home in Pennsyl- 
vania and built a mill, which he operated nine years. In 1883 he came to 
Woodbury county, Iowa, and purchased 640 acres of land, which he has 
farmed ever since. In 1847 Mr. Kifer married Lucinda Miller, of West- 
moreland county, and to this union have been born three children: George, 
William A. (who is county treasurer of Woodbury county) and Mary C. 
Both he and wife are members of the Beformed church, and he is democratic 
in politics. 



1014 HISTOBY OF WOODBUKY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



INDEX 



Acts of Boards of Supervisors si 

Adams, "William H ' '" s^G 

Advertisement, Odd 70 

Agricultural Society 1 Plymouth Co.) "'" 470 

Agricultural Society (Woodbury Co.) 120 

Ainslie,J. M 489 

A k™n......... '..'.'.'.434, 560 

Albright, B. F ' 714 

Albright, J. F ' 861 

Aldrich, A. E " " 9S1 

Aldrich, Fred E '.'.'.'.'.'. 554, 803 

Allan, Francis P 940 

Allan, Robert 940 

A |}? n . £ ; D '.'.'.".'.'."195; S5S 

A line, A A COS, 620, 7S3 

Allison, John P CI, S4. 93. 131, 172, 190, 224, 660 

America Township (Plymouth Co.) 590 

American District Telegraph Co.. o 31 

American Fur Company 50 

American National Panic 030 

Amos, Col. Frank 477 

Andersen, A S4S 

Anderson, Cornelius S06 

Anderson, E. J 843 

Andrews, G. T 955 

Antlion S9 3413 

Appleton, Hon. A. E 61, 91, 154,'lS3,' 6SS 

Appleton, Mrs. H. A 689 

Argo.G W 144,261', 476 

Arlington I ownship 1 Woodbury Co.). . 375 

Armstrong, Mrs. Mary ' 670 

Armstrong, Piatt 990 

Armstrong. Prof. Allen " ' 103 669 

Arnold, B. T '990 

Artesian Well "25 99 

Ashworth, Dr. Charles " '369' S3 

Assassination of Key. G. C. Haddock ' 055 

Austin, C. H 930 

Babbitt, Joseph P '.'.'.V.'.'.'.'.S0,d5, 265 

Babue, F. X 849 

Bacon, James M 198 750 

Bacon. William A '990 

Badgerow, G. B..„ 636 

Bailey, Dr. John 638 

Bailey, George A 323,' 325, S23 

Bailey, H. M 229, S45 

Baker, Howards 037 

Baker, T.J ™ 4 

Baker, W. F. & Son oof 

Ball. A- I, 597 

Ballou Banking Company, The 22b 776 

iianking, Sioux City 2">4 

Banks, Dr. E. H 485, 511, 514, 7S6 

Banner Township (Woodbury Co.)... 385 

Bappe, Henry C .'.'.'.' 998 

Barrett, William 414 

Barron,Eev. J. P '" 617 

Barrow & Valleau 933 

!i'"T' m V,'?-TT •■219, 938 

Barto, W. H ' 344 

Basset! Key. Carrie A 94, 114, 'lis, S89 

Hatchelder, A. 1 846 

Bates, Gipson 76 283, 705 

hates, Leonard 76, 93 -V 1 033 

Beard, C. A. 379 ; £40 

Beaver, S. P 954 

Beck, Christian '" 793 

Back F F 4o 

Beck, John . " 811 



Becker, John ogg 

1 i eggs , ( + . W "I!"'" 662 

Behr, Prof. E. T 940 

Belfrage, John B 91' 837 

Bell.oiiverC 930 

Bellows, B F 405, 893 

Bennett, Bernck 87S 

Benton Group ' " ' 44 

Betswi .rtb, B. F 593, 597 6 96 

Bierwith, Henry 939 

"Big Muddy" "13' 50 

Big Sioux Bridge 053 

Big Sioux Eiver is,' 36,' 32, "46 

Big Sioux \ alley 32 <n 

Big Whiskev Creek 09' 21 

Big Whiskey Slough ' " '341 

Bigelow, A. T ssi 

*# Dr J C- YA 88- 

Bilhngs, Eev. D. P 831 

Black, Andrew 726 

Black, Eev. William ' 65,300 

Black Hills Expedition 246 

Blewett, John '907 

FkxKl 1 P .'3G 

Blurt Formation K 32 

Boa, Eobert 910 

Board of Supervisors, First 82 

Boehmler, Mrs lui, iw, 115 

Bolton, James H 91 95 

Booge, Charles P 61 72 

Booge, James E 01, "".",. 226 236, 7"0 

Booher, S. C 1004 

Booher.W.B 370' 984 

Booth, J. L " 904 

Borman.C '. S53 

Bornschien, Charles 860 

Bosshard, W. E 937 

Bounty Fund 82 

Bowen, B. C "'950 

Bowman, A. P 782 

Bowman, Dr. H. P .' . ' ."481 ,' 6li', 022 

Boyd, B. E 379, 3S0, S41 

Bradstreefs Commercial Agency 230 

Brands, J. X 754 

Brasch, Dr. G '.".".'" 205, 902 

Brasos, Johnny 51 

Breen, Dr. Mary '432 

Brenan, John '739 

Brick, Dr. Paul L isi 762 

Brick Clay 36 

Bridge, First 79 

Brink, Dr. Henry J ''^82 

Broadbent, E. A ' 7S9 

Brockman, N. J 514 910 

Brostrom, C. A ' 791 

grower, Dr. E. D !.!!'. Ms! 6», 8M 

Brown, A. P 593,756 

Brown, Charles 339, S91 

Brown, Charles P 909 

Brown, George H ' 221 996 

Brown, J. H ' '972 

Brown, J. M 936 

Brown, H. E 903 

Brown, Mrs. B. M 970 

Bruguier, Theophile. .51, 5:;. 61, 79, 95, 270, 33b, 689 

Bryant, S. E 960 

Buchanan, J. C 4S7 

Buchanan, W. I b" 746 

Buckley, W. D '. "3941770 



1015 



PAGE. 

Bundy, Thomas W 774 

Bunnfj. A 80S 

Burns, Charles ■ • ■ • 96* 

Burns, F. TV 60G, 922 

Burns, Lemuel 391, 950 

Burns, W. H '36 

Burtness, O. T 904 

Butters, J. F 943 

Byrne, Miss Carrie *57 

Camarigg, C ■■■ 94S 

Cameron, Samuel 62, 82, 9o 

Campbell. Judge, J. L 81,93, 441 

Canadian-French 5° 

Carter, JohnB 935 

Carter & Brown 935 

Cassadv, Mrs. S. H >» 

Cassady, Samuel H 75, 79, 91, 93, 13G, 172 

Cassady & Moore 06, 79, 224 

Castle, George N 372, 884 

Castle, Orson D 324, 98o 

Castle, Oscar D 324, 9S0 

Castle, William 985 

Ceinaiiskv. George •■ 904 

< hadwick, E. 0. B ^35, 882 

Chamberlm, C. J 858 

Chambers, John : if 

Chappel, Frank ' 50,89, 131 

Charles,' John H 61,249, 061 

Charles & Stutsman 66 

Chase, K.J •■■• 654 

Chassell, E. D 4S8, 60S, 619, 725 

"Cheney, D. P 195,236, 852 

Cheney, Mai. J. T 686 

Chesley, H. P 995 

Chester, E.J •■1°«3 

Chicago & Northwestern R. B 122, 40, 

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. PauiK. E 124, 467 

Chicago Newspaper Union ............ 231 

Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha E.E. 

123, 467 

Child, First Born in Sioux City 54, 79 

Choquette. Joseph 825 

Christy, Mrs. Q. A 323 

Christy. Q. A 900 

Churches, Sioux City 192 

City Hall and Public Library 17< 

Civil War Period 166 

Claim Club "0 

Clark, C.H 112, 938 

Clark, Dr. R.D 485,500, ,87 

Clark, Frank 205, 850 

Clark, James S 945 

Clark, M. A 947 

Clark, T. ElWOOd.75,81, 86, 93, 95, 100, 13G, 272, 283 

Clark & Lewis Expedition 50 

Clarke, C. E 970 

Clarke. Hon. Willis G • 91, 144, 2G1, 749 

Cleland, Jonas M 184, 75G 

Climbing Hill 35G 

Clingenpeel, A 827 

Clingenpeel, James M 98d 

Coatsworth, John 970 

Cole, E. W 121 

Colledge.A. C 611, 922 

Collins, Charles 61, 1G2 

Collins, Patrick 372, 830 

Collins, P. H 1004 

Commercial Interests of Sioux City 221 

Commercial State liank 226 

Concord Township i Woodbury Co.) 3S3 

Connett, A. J 994 

Connitf, Thomas H 1012 

Cook.C. C 372, 8S5 

Cook, Br. JohnK. 53, 59, 61, 65, 74, 79, 89, 93, 

136, 153, 171, 179. 184. 202. !'.'_'.". 

Coolbaugh, Milton 505, 966 

Corkery, C. E 611 

Corn Exchange National Bank 225 

Corn Palace Laundry 1000 

Corn Palace of 1890, View of 247 

Corn Palaces ■■2*9-252 

Corn Palace City 00, 1,6 



PAGE. 

Corn Palace Trains 252 

Cornils, Peter 957 

Correctionville 89,111, 322 

Cox, A. F 810 

Crafts. I. B 969 

Craig, W. T 6b7 

Crane. William 976 

Crawford, E.B 183, 714 

Creager, L. A 992 

Creasey, Stephen 911 

Criterion. The 164, 3,3 

Croekweli, Dr. J. D. M 75, 81, lo5 

Crossan, Allen 781 

Crouch, Andrew W 548, 797 

Crouch, M. F ■•■■ 7S3 

Crouch, Eobert 548, 787 

Crowell & Martin 21 9 

Culver, C. G ■• 6b8 

Currier, John 61, 65, 121, 132, 150, 171 

Currier, J. C 335, 837 

Currv J B *H 

Curtis', Hon.' H.C'.'.'.'.i44','440. 475. 004, 616, 620, 699 

Cushing -90, 343 

Cutting. F.H 1G ? , 40o 

Cutting, Herman A 40a, 950 

Dalley, George 517 

Daily 'limes, The ■■ 162 

Dakota Group * 2 , 46 

Dakota Indians ••■■ *1° 

D'lltnn 435, do' 

Daltcn T F ^ 302 601.-!'; 

Dalton's Opera House ■ ■ • 601 

Daubury »J, 3'i 

Darville, George *95, 9,7 

Davenport, W. C 905 

Davidsi in, B ■ ■ ■ *» 

Davis, F.W 82, 9o 

Davis, John W 841 

Davis, Joseph ■ • • • ■ •; 

Davis, S. T.G1, 66, 81, 143, 150, 161, 172, 1S3, 184, ^ 

gal; dA. p p.v- "-"■:::. ■= : M g 

Headman's Kun -^J 

Dean, W. A. & Co....... ?9o 

Deane, Prof. Charles W 103 

Deboar, William "8- 

DeGuibert, L. C 905 

Delamater, B. A 9j9 

De Lambert. H "J* 

Democrat. The • • • ■ - • • • «J 

Dent.A.E.T *33, 611, <o0 

Dent. Hon. William H 440, 603, 664 

Depee, Alonzo °™ 

Derome, L. G °£> 

Desparois, N °£! 

Dewell, George A • ■ ■ • °?° 

Dewey. John A 510 < '„%% 

1 licus, Henry |2° 

Dillon, M.J °?5 

Directory of Sioux City, 1S66 ■ ■ ■ 213 

Doilson, Charles 5*' jA 

Dodson, David *? 

Doering,H. O 963 

Donaldson, E. M $™ 

Donery, Charles ■•■ |°- 

Donnidy, James.......... «> Hi 

Doss, Christian, Fred and John *-■ 

Downing, Thomas • ■ ■•■■■■ *" 

Drainage Commissioners iWoodbury Co.).... 93 

Dresser, A. P °7J 

Dresser, Mrs. E. H. ■ ■ • ii, 

Dubuque & Pacific E. E.... 63, 4G3 

1 mbuque & si, nix City E. E •• ■ ■ ^ 

Dula, George H 293,946 

Duncan, Josephus '°| 

Dunlap, William A ■•■ °'° 

Durley, A.W «5, *76 

Durst, Godfrey ,7^»„' S™ 

Duns, Hon. A. M **0, 611, '52 

Early Settlers of Floyd A alley 411 

East' Addition to Sioux City « J 



1016 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



PAGE. 

East Sioux City 89 

Eastman, J. M. C 920 

Eberley, P. C 83, 96 

Ede, David 793 

Edgar, Nathaniel 831 

Educational (Plymouth Co.) 449 

Educational i Woodbury Co.) 100 

Edwards. John S 82, 95 

Eger, H. C 979 

Eggers, Dr. Aug 933 

Eisentraut, (leorge 713 

Eldredge, Ira E 496 

Eldridge. James 993 

Election, first General (Woodbury Co.) 76 

Election Returns i Plymouth Co. ) 441 

Elephas 1'riniigenious 36 

Elevated Railway. 236 

Elgin Township i Plymouth Co.) 492 

Elkhorn Township i l'lymoutli Co.) 498 

Elliott, Alex 3S2, 944 

Elliott, Peter 915 

Ellis, Dr. G. V 485 

Ellis, John S 509,511, 700 

Emmick, J. M 3S0 

Ensminger, Dr. W. H 4S0 

Evans, F. T., Jr 204, 100S 

Evans, F. T., Sr 222, 1007 

Evans, George 499, 961 

Evans, M. C 865 

Everts, George 95, 342, 816 

Pahs, Rev. D. W 458 

Farley, F. H 98S 

Farm Statistics 119 

Farmers' Exponent, The 165 

Felt, G. W 1S5, 662 

Fenner, Robert 606, 924 

Fenton, Col. James 527, 784 

Ferryboat 79, 81, 213 

Fessenden, Alfred 980 

Fessenden, Mrs. R 980 

Fink, Mike 51 

First National Bank 224 

Hrst Newspaper 60, 160 

First Wedding 54 

First White Child 54 

First White Woman 54 

Flag Presentation 174 

Flack, J. D 934 

Fletcher, Alfred 928 

Fletcher, George 966 

Fletcher & Case Co 221, 808 

Flinn, M. L 745 

Flood, Matthew 94S 

Flood of 1881 241 

Flour Mill 79 

Floyd, Sergt. Charles 50,89, 265 

Floyd River 20,24,32, 50 

Floyd Township i Woodbury Co.1 381 

Floyd's Bluff .' .64, 73, 76, 86, 264 

Foley, J. C SS8 

Follett. J. L 61, S3, 96, 681 

Follis.W. S 750 

Ford, Judge Henry 121, 140, 473 

Foster, G. W. , M. D 458 

Foster, L 836 

Fourth of July Celebration 160, 254 

Fowler, Rev. E. W 939 

Fowler & Simme 907 

Fraternal Societies, Sioux City 201 

Frazier, Thomas 349, 8S7 

Frear, E. D 395, 769 

Fredonia Township (Plymouth Co.) 503 

Freeman, D. K 322,324, 823 

Freeman, John M 313, 316, 820 

Freeman, Watson L •. . . 504, 967 

Freeman, W. S 864 

Freer, George T 805 

Fremont. Elkhorn & Missouri Valley R. R.. . 123 

French, C. B., Jr 937 

French-Canadians 55 

Frentres, T. W 372 

Freymaun, N 965 



PAGE. 

Frontier Guards 166 

Frost, William 554, S04 

Fry,J. T 953 

Fur Trade 71 

Fyffe, Alex 941 

Gagnon, C 81 

Gambs, Nicholas 892 

Garber, S. C 949 

Gardner, A. R 390, 952 

Garfield Township (Plymouth Co.) 507 

Garner, Charles 822 

Garretson, A. S 195, 209, 214, 229, 236, 340 

Gaynor, F. R 608, 765 

Gearen, J. F 853 

Gendreau,A. R 343, 709 

Geological Formation 25 

Geology 14 

Gere, T. P 129, 214, 221,225, 677 

German City 390 

Gilford, W. R 957 

Gill,F. E 934 

Gillespie, John 903 

Gilmore, E. H •. 940 

Glass, Rev. R. C 194, 195,209, 771 

Gleason. John 985 

Globe, The 489 

Goetz, Charles E 847 

Goldie, Richard 490 

Golwey, John 62, 95 

Gordon, Rev. Elinor E 907 

Gordon, William 744 

Gore, Mahlon 161 

GOSS, C. G 323,325,896 

Grand Army Record and National Guardsman 163 

Grange Township (Woodbury Co.) 336 

Grant Township i Plymouth Co.) 516 

Grant Township (Woodbury Co.) 362 

Grasshoppers 239, 415, 431 

Green, Thomas 220, 690 

Greenland Trees 37 

Grieve, James G 511, 972 

Grieve, John S67 

Grieve, William 868 

Griffey, Hon. Thomas L 52, 73, 76, 94, 265, 717 

Griffin, A. B 82, 95 

Griggs, Rev. George L 557, S03 

Groninger, A 61, 94 

Gould, C. F 937 

Guenther, A 907 

Gutridge, Isaac 313, 960 

Haakinson. Ed S3, 9;.;, 96, 222, 236,393, 659 

Hackett, Dr. C. J 4S0 

Haddock. Rev. George C 194, 255 

Haddock, Robert 951 

Hagy, John 61, 674 

Hale, Amos 749 

Halev. A. M 776 

Hall,' Edwin 352, 401, 835 

Hall, Corydon 411 

Hall, C. A 892 

Hall, Rainier 892 

Hall, P. S 872 

Hall, William 543 

Hallock, A. D 846 

Halseth, A 203,221, 719 

Hammond, R. E 611, 1003 

Hancock Township (Plymouth Co. 1, 523 

Hand, Walter 372 

Hanford Produce Co 322, 939 

Hanson Bros 903 

Hardie, David 973 

Harker, Jas. T 554, 977 

Harrington. M 881 

Harris, D. H 958 

Harris. J. A 932 

Hart, C. H 47S 

Hasbrouck. Ben 915 

Hatch, Dr. S. C 848 

Hauswald, F. A 532, 787 

Havilaud, Mrs. S. W 707 

Haviland. Squire W 91, 121, 707 

Hawkins, J. W 526, 527, 785 



1017 



PAGE. 

Hawkins, S.M ^7 

Hawson, Geo ■•■■ ** 

Haylnek, < !ei >rge 'Si 

Haylor, Benj -■■ ^ 

Heacock, J. J B Vn'2?-' -na 

Heald, Oliver U olO, olo, ,99 

Hearn, Finley ^■iW."™ S 

Hedges, Charles E 61, 84, 98, 121, 136 

.Hedfes; D. T.. .61, 84, 93, 171, 184, 213, 222, 22o, ^ 

Henderson. Elisha • • • ™5 

Henn, Bernhart 64, «« 

Henn, William & Cook 59. S9 

Henry, A. L °" 

Henry, Dr. J. M.... ...... 995 

Henrv Township ( Plymouth Co.) 526 

Herbert, Thos gH 

Hermann, Dr. J •£* 

Herold. The *89 

Herrington, A. W "28 

Herrington, John ■ • • ■ J« 

Herron, Mrs. S. J 60 °' om 

Herzeg.L.J 539 

Hick.y, John 60S 

Hiekey, J. C £* 

Higgins,J.M . 914 

High I i.iHitv sheriff J« 

Highland Park Motor Line ■■■■ 23» 

Hitman \V. E '-09, 21b, 2M, ,06 

HiS"rt M 399. 6C8 Cll CI". 620, "43 

Hill. H.'H 833 

Hilleluand, Dr. C. M *82 

Hiller. G. P •■■- 8*4 

Hills. F. C 129 > ™? 

Hines, Dr. J. W «1 

Hinton 530 

Hirsch, Prof. J. F «Sik"-™ 

Hittle, John 61, 185,- ,80 

Hodgson, Wm •"» 

Hoese, F « 968 

Hoese, Win 9OT 

Hogan, H. F 931 

Hogle, Andrew L <« 

Hogue, Ellis ,895 

Holccimli, Alfred 1003 

Hollv Springs 390 

Holman, A. M ■ - ■ ■ ■ • ■ • «* 

Holman, Chas. J 121, 292, S3o 

Holman, W. P 82, 83, 95, 106, 275, 283, 6So, 874 

Holmes, Lorenzo «>L1 

Holt, A |*1 

Home Savings Bank ■ - ■ 2-& 

TTornick ' ' °"1 

Hornii Jchn 7.18.^ %±. 834 

Hortun J S S3, 95, 401, 893 

Hoskiu's, J. C. C. ..61, 94, 113, 136, 151. 183, 211, 648 
Hotels, First ™ 

Ho^;Seo!V.-::-:::::::::::::::2i6;m8| 

Howes, A. J ™ Si? 

Howes, Geo. T. W S70, 971 

^^s a V:.:::::::::::::.:::.Ys4;226;^;'i| 

Hcyt J S „„ 369 

Hovt&Gondie 611, 909 

Hutbard.H--n.AW 31, Sf, 51. | 1;9 13C, ^ 

Hubbard, E.H 91 1 142', 261, 860 

Hudson & Joy 66, 100, loO 

Huffman, Adolphus ■ • • ■ 94b 

Humbert, Leroy 216, .94 

Humphreys, J. H 830 

Hundt, W.L •■■■••■■ 848 

Hungerford. E. S 411, 419, 529 

Hungerford Township (Plymouth Co.) 528 

Hunt, Dr. A. M 61, 66, 94, 113, 154 

Hunt, Frank 799 

Hunt, G.W ■••• «9 

Hunting, F.O 392, 7,o 

Huntley, E. E 336, 8,7 

Hutehins, James ' iaa 

Hutterer, Jos aJb 



Ibs.C.P 8 J2 

Illinois Central R. R 123 

Incomes in 1868 ••■ 62 

Indian Depredations 64, 106 

Indian Scare *14 

Indians, Treaty with ■ ■ ■ ■ 12 

Independent Lumber Co 219, 93s 

Industrial Review, The ••■■•• 163 

IngallS, J. A 509,515, 801 

Inoceramus Beds 46 

Iowa Territi iry < >rganized • •• ■ ■•• 12 

Iowa Falls and Sioux City R. K 123, 416, 463 

Iowa Liberal ■ *S9 

Iowa Loan & Improvement Co 846 

Iowa Savings Bank 22o 

Iowa State National Bank 2A> 

Irish, O.J S 9 *. "0 

Irwin, G.W 806 

Iverson, Peter jii'Wiv; SS„ 

Jackson, James A 195,21 236 

Jackson, S.B 1M, 809 

James ***> ™" 

Jayne, Prof. J. M ■••• 772 

Jeffrey. Geo. S 394, 9o3 

Jenkinson Bros 85- 

Jepson, Dr. Wm 933 

Jerman, J. O — •■■■■• 9oo 

Jobbers & Manufacturers' Ass n, Sioux City.. 219 

Johnson, Lee 515 

Johnson, Levi H °°° 

Johnson, H. C 940 

Johnson, H. H 903 

Johnson Township (.Plymouth Co. ) 531 

jonesTenGlorgeV.V.V.V.V.V.V.ll'.sd/ei; 129, Is5 
Jones,' ML . . ..* 96, 296, 304, 306, 695 

j^Scn Wm I, a. ffi a, no, ISO,' i:% *g ^ 

Judicial (Plymouth Co.) 473 

Junk, James • ■ • ■ £" 

Kaiser, N. B 608,92b 

Kampmeyer, Jno •><-> j>°2 

K3atl;y Col. I;hnH . „ . '"?. 

Keil ron Township ( Woodbury Co.) 344 

Keitges. Nicholas •••• »Jo 

Kelley.J.C. 162 ' f31 

Kelley, Joseph C •■■■ *<7 

Kellogg, Geo. W 261, ,10 

Kellogg, L. L 2W ' ?01 

Kellogg. Mrs. Eva D 104 

Kennedy, J. L..... ••■ 9J" 

Kennedy, James Y « " m VjnfS' ,S 

Kent, Charles 61,84,93,113, lo4 

Kernan, Wm *»g 

Kesel, Frank M ■ ■ • • 982 

Kettleson, Louis --■-■ 8ob 

Kiefter. J. P *?2 

Kifer, David ™]i 

Kifer, W.A gfo 

Kim: 'all & McNamara 810 

Kimberly, F. W ™- 

King, G.E 921 

King, Oliver •■•■ %°% 

Kingsley «5, 508 

Kingslev Times 4 ->l' °ll 

lSfaid rt Thol e j A ::::::::::6i;82,204V2?3; m 

KirkfE.'R .6i; 62, 172, 183, 200, 213,' 233, 240, 682 

Kirkie. '■ Wild Frenchman " ■ ■ ■■■■ 56 

Kluckhohn, C. H 60S, 621, 922 

Kneebs, Fred °'° 

Knos.L.P 

Knox, J. R 

Koenig, J. G 

Koenig, Leonard 

Kohlhauff, John 

Kramer, Wm ' ■it 

Ivnfring, R if. 

Kridler & Flack J 3* 

Kruinann Samuel al 



613,621, 1002 

553, 944 

322, 821 



1018 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



PAGE. 

Ladd, Hon. S. II 475 

Laddusaw, Wm 5S2, 916 

Lake, J. B 886 

Lake, T. D 344, 959 

Lakeport Township i Woodbury Co.) 326 

Lamb, Curtis 93, 132, 265, 269 

Lambert, Chas. A 716, S46 

Lambert, F. J 61, 94, 95, 140, 716 

Lambert, J. A 896 

Lamoreaux, Clement 76 

Land Office 1S6 

Landon, Henry 900 

La Plant, John 51 

Larimer, Judge A. V 236, 698 

Larson, Alex 229, 792 

Laude, F. J 512, 912 

Law, John 3S2, 873 

Law, Joseph 385, S72 

Lawrence, Hon. A. H 440, 476 

Lawrence, Job A 91 

Lawrence, J. S 144, 758 

Lawrence, W. J 554, 619 

Leader, The 165 

League of the Cross, The 163 

Leander, Hans 851 

Lee, Eli 80, 82, 94. 95. 265. 269. 353, 386, 774 

Lee, James 984 

Lee, Wm. H 380, S70 

Leeds 90, 1R5 

Leinbaugu, J. A 975 

Le Mars 433, 596-622 

Banking 002 

Churches 612 

Commercial 599, 60S 

County Seat 597 

Early Settlers 597 

First Events 598 

First Railroad 598 

Flour Mills 005 

Gas Works 007 

Hotels 600 

Incorporation 598 

Location 596« 

Mayors 599 

Newspapers 4S7, 601 

Opera House 601 

Origin of Name 596 

Post Office 598 

Recorders 599 

Schools 593 

Secret Societies 618 

Water Works 599, 60S 

Le Mars Sentinel 4S7 

Lent, Edwin W 322. 324, 1003 

Leonais, Joseph 51, 52, 56, 60, 01, 270 

Lessenich, John J 751 

Lester, James 996 

Letiller, L -. 61 

Lewis, Hon. C. H 140,261,474, 633 

Lewis, John W 61, 95 

Lewis, T. W 92S 

Liberty Township (Plymouth Co.) 536 

Liberty Township i Woodbury Co.) 332 

Library, City 210 

Life in the Fifties 66 

Lincoln Township (Plymouth Co.) 540 

Linn, W. G 1S5, SOS 

Linseed Oil Mill 221 

Liston 110 

Listoii Township (Woodbury Co.) 366 

Little Sioux River 21-23,30, 32 

Little Sioux Township i Woodbury Co.).. ..272, 293 

Little Whiskey Creek 20 

Livermore, A 306, S80 

Livingston, W. H 213, 682 

Lohr, F. W 931 

Lohr, William F 930 

Lohr & Lohr 930 

Loring, C. H 509.510,514, 802 

Lothrop, J. S 781 

Loucks, R. H 371, 372, 726 

Low, David 993 



PAGE. 

Lowe, E. H 979 

Lucky Valley S9, 364 

Luse, B. W .872 

Luton 341 

Lutz & Sears 902 

Lynch, J. S 709 

Lynn 135 

Lynn & .Sullivan 9111 

McAllister, Duncan 863 

McAllister, D.W 539 

McAllister. John M 824 

MeArthur, N 929 

McCarter, R, M 379, 380, 766 

McCollum.Hon.D.D 475 

Mccracken, John R 911 

McCurdy, W. S 590,594, 804 

McDougall, James 862 

MoDuffi'e, I.J 477 

McElrath, W. W 96,370,379, 765 

McGillvrey, John 968 

McKen na, George P 991 

McLaury, H. H 932 

McMahan, Dr. J. C 481 

McNamara, w. C Sll 

McNear, Thomas 324 

McXear, W. T 899 

McNeil, H.C 848 

McSparran, J. S 106,110, 164, 394, 395 

Mackenzie, Rev. D. L 788 

Maclagan, G. C 003, 782 

Magill, F.A 909 

Magner, D. P 770 

Magoun. J. A 861 

Mahoney, James V 129, 219 

Mahoney, John 950 

Major, R. 711 

Maleom, Joseph 992 

Malone, Thomas 185, 729 

Mandelkow, William 929 

Marchant, D. 580, 919 

Marion Township (Plymouth Co.) 542 

Market Report, 1857 71 

Markev, Peter 970 

Marks. Hon. C. R 91.2m. 22n. 230 234,424, 757 

Marple, W. W 999 

Marquart, Jacob 998 

Marriage, First in Flvinouth County 430 

Marriage. First in Win idburv County 85 

Martens Bros 90S 

Martin. C. H 219, 221, 934 

Martin, George 932 

Martin, IraT cos, 7C4 

Martin, J. T 918 

Martin, T. S S12 

Marvin, Dr. H. N 705 

Mason, Hugh 499, 961 

Mason, Dr. R. D 4S5, 511,512, 910 

Mathers, John 334, SS0 

Mathers. William 82, 95 

Mead, George A 221 

Meadow Township il'lvmoutli Co.) 545 

Meagher, Rev. T 829 

Means, J. F 855 

Means, James H 942 

Mechnig, Frank 974 

Meeks.E. W 477 

Melbourne 413, 434 

Menzies, R. M 871 

Merchants National Bank 229 

Merrill 435, 553 

Merrill Record, The 490 

Metcalf, Wilbur 365 

Metcalf, W. S 943 

Mielke, Henry 851 

Michigan, Territory of 11 

Milchrist, William.". 930 

Mill. First ilivmouth Co.) 413 

Mill. First iWoodburv Co.) 76 

Millard, Capt. A. J 61,63, 109,172,174, 6S6 

Miller, A. B 766 

Miller, E. A 9S1 

Miller, George A 932 



1019 



PAGE. 

Miller, Jacob C 975 

Miller, James S 3o2, 834 

Miller, Oliver 976 

Miller, William C 324, 326, 894 

Miller, W. H 514, 913 

Miller Township i Woodbury Co.) 351 

Mills, Hon. D. M 411, 413, 415, 419, 576, 718 

Mills, J.C 350, 769 

Millspaugh, J. J. S 851 

Missouri Bluffs 30 

Moffatt, G.C 820 

Mommens, P.J 956 

Montag, Joseph 1004 

Molltross. George D 394, 953 

Moore, Dr. A. J. 791 

Moore, Frank A 792 

Moore. M. F 61,79,91, 136 

Mon-ton. H. J 619, 923 

Morf, J. H 213,554, 5S6, 619, 701 

Morgan Township ( Woodbury Co.) 350 

Mormons 56 

Morn iugSide 181, 185 

Morris. Parley 892 

Morrison, M. H. & Co .996 

Moville 90, 110, 379 

Moville Mail, The 165, 380 

Moville Township (Woodbury Co.) 364 

Mueller, C. G 784 

Mueller, TJ. G 752, 975 

Munchratli, Fred., Jr 857 

Munehrath, Fred., Sr 62, 211, 775 

Mundt, Henry 527, 927 

Murphy, George 61, 224 

Murphy, T.P 747 

Myers, J. W 602, 603, 619, 749 

Naming of Whiskey Creek 21 

Nason.'J. E 902 

National Bank of Sioux City 230, 815 

Nelon, James 771 

Nelon, Miss B. M 104, 115 

Nelson, Ed 905 

Nelson, Hiram 59, SO, S9, 94, 265, 269 

Neupauer, C. B S91 

Newell, H. N 919 

Newspapers i Plymouth Co.) 486 

Newspapers i Woodbury Co.) 159 

Nicholson, James B - 747 

Nichols, William H 880 

Niobrara Group 43, 46 

Niobrara Route 244 

Normal Institutes 115 

Northwestern Business College 112 

Northwestern Normal School 45S 

Oberholtzer, George W 763 

Oldest Brick Building 59 

( ildis. John K 309, S79 

Oliver, Hon. Addison , — 146, 473 

Oltman, D. A 512, 753 

Ongie, Victoria 70 

Ongie War, The 70 

Orner, A 323, 325 

Orr, Charles C 709 

Osbom.W. E 949 

Osterbuhr, O 1004 

Ostnmder. C. E 355, 794 

( isti ander. V. D 95S 

Ostrom, J. H :...372, S85 

Oto SO, 110, 404 

Oto Township i Woodbury Co.) 399 

Oyens 435, 545 

Pacific Short Line 126 

Pacquette, Paul 51, 52, 61, SI 

Palmer, Hon. E. C 1S5, 254, 743 

Palmer, Prof. N. E 94, 114, 115, S88 

Palmer, William 994 

Pardee, Rev. Ira N 209, 762 

Pardee, George M 70S 

Patterson, Ira Z 912 

Patterson, M. E 817 

Patterson, Norman 83, 96, S17 

Paulson, Peter 887 

Payette & Comean 853 



PAGE. 

Pearce, Daniel • 969 

Pearl Steam Laundry S55 

Pease, Thomas C 230 

Peavey, James F 219, 225, 235, 719 

Pecaut. Gustave 51, 52, 61 

Pecks, William 963 

Peiro 364 

Peltier, Albert ■ 51 

Pendleton, Judge Isaac . . Cl , 60, 91 , 139, 150, 170, 

261, 473 

Perkins, Henry A 91, 161 

Perkins, Hon. George D.. ..91,92, 161,233,240, 673 

Perry, Robert 52, 53 

Perry Township 1 1'lvmouth Co.) 547 

Peters, E. C 236, 728 

Peters, Eli 973 

Petry, Louis 1000 

Petty, Alfred H 324, 822 

Pew, George E 608, 925 

Phelps, George H 725 

Physicians I Plymouth Co.) 479 

Physicians ( Woodbury Co.) 153 

Pierce, John 129 

Pierson 89, 350 

Plymouth City 434 

Plymouth County 409 

Agricultural Society 470 

Board of Supervisors 420 

Finances 430 

Organization 419 

Political History 439 

Population 435 

Plymouth Township (Plymouth Co.) 412, 550 

Pontoon Bridge 254 

Poor Farm 83 

Population (Plymouth Co.) 435 

Population (Woodbury Co.) S6 

Portland Township .Plymouth Co.) 55S 

Post Office, First 76 

Powell, W. E 185, S48 

Powlesson, Kichard H 773 

" Prairie Flower " 70 

Prescott.T. C 906 

Preston Township (Plymouth Co.) 564 

Pridgeon, Isaac S34 

Private Schools 112 

Prohibition, Votes on 99 

Projected PLailroads 130 

Prosser, Dr. W. O 4S1 

Prouty, F. W 873 

Prugh, J.K 205,216,808 

Public School, First (Plymouth Co.) 413 

Puck, James , 815 

Purchase from Indians 12 

Quorn 435, 500 

Eagsdale, G. H 441, 488 

Kailroail Land Grants 462— 

Kailroads (Plymouth Co.) 462 

Railroads! Woodbury Co.) 122, 214 

Railroads. Miles in Plymouth Co 468 

Kailroads, Miles in Woodbury Co 130 

Kailroads, Projected 130 

Randall & Newcomb 936 

Rapid Transit Lines 234 

Rathbun.F. A 90S 

Rawlings, John 832 

Rea,A. E 420, 529 

Receivers of Land Office 186 

Redmon, Neville S05 

Reed, D.M S75 

Reed. George W 807 

Registers of Land Office 186 

Reliance Trust Company, The 933 

Remsen 434, 563 

Remsen Bell, The 491, 569 

Remsen Glocke 492 

Remsen Township i Plymouth Co.) 567 

Renken. Jargen 1005 

Rheubottoin, William 323,325, 9S6 

Rice, Dr. R 91 

Rice, Rodney W 999 

Rich, Dr. Guy C 938 



1020 



HISTORY OF WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



PAGE. 

Rich, Prof. A. M 459 

Richards, William 824 

Richardson, Eri 220, 747 

Richardson, Henry 861 

Richardson, L 313 

Richardson, L. G 899 

Riehey, Dr 481 

Rieke, William 510, 514, S66 

Rishel, P. S 477 

Ritz, John W 8S3 

Riverside 1S5 

Rohhius, D. H 313, 900 

Roliliins.L. D 982 

Rohes, Thomas 76 

Rohinson, F. R 752 

Robinson, Liege 59 

Rochel. John 733 

Rock Branch 350 

Rock Township (Woodbury Co.) 342 

Rogers, M.J 82, 826 

Rogers, R. R 344, 959 

Roney, Barney 411 

Roseberry, F. M COS, S64 

Rounds, Herbert E 965 

Rowe Affair, The 54, 70 

Rowe, Mrs 104 

Rubel, Jacob 493, 862 

Rutliroff, J.C 309, 947 

Rutland Township i Woodbury Co.) 349 

Sackett, R. E 809 

Sacs and Foxes 12 

Harford, Rev. Mary A 906 

St. John, Dr. L. E 793 

St. Mary's Academy 112 

St. Patrick's School 112 

Salix 89,110, 335 

Sammis, J. U 60S, 621, 923 

Sanborn, Luther C 6S0 

Sanborn, W. L 379, 870 

Sand Hill Lake 17 

Sanf ord, James C 967 

Sangster, Mrs. Charles 54, 79 

Santee, I. B 372, 8S4 

Santee Sioux Indians 64 

Saturday chronicle 163 

Saville, J. J 61, 94, 100, 154, 201 

Saw-mill. First 76 

Sawyer, C. W 818 

Sawyers, J. A til, 244, 715 

Schafstall, C. A 905 

Schlawig, John J 62, 733 

School Fund Commissioners 113 

School Statistics 104 

Schuster, G. H 675 

Schwabland, John C 997 

Schwartz, J. T., Jr 946 

Sehwlnd, Dr. Peter 481 

Scott, William W 950 

Security National Rank 226 

Seibold, C. F 372, S2S 

Selmser, E. E. & Co 751 

Semple, William M 79S 

Seney 435, 496 

Sergeant's Bluff , 50,74, 89, 106, 264, 292 

Sergeant's Bluff and S. C. Terra Cotta, Tile 

and Brick Co 220 

Sergeant's Bluff City 74, 86 

Sergeant's Blutt" Township (Woodbury Co.) 

264. 272 

Severance, G. W 869 

Seward, E. N 3S6, 390, 952 

Sliaddinger. Lewis 565, 90S 

Slianlev, .lames F 901 

Sheafler, Ellas 842 

Sheetz, A. C 172,201,411,413, 419 

Sheirbon, Joseph 976 

Sherwin, G. W. F 420 

Sheppard, F. T 491 

Sherman, V. C 931 

Shoemate, Silas S62 

Shontz, B 817 

Shontz, D. B 320, 9S7 



PAGE. 

Shoup, Prof. J. S 94, 106, 111, 114, 115, 164, 738 

Sibley, L.W 904 

Silberhorn, W. H. Co 223 

Simms Bros 939 

Sioux City 13, 49, 00, 74, 70, 79, 89, 170- 263 

Banking 224 

Churches 192 

Civic Societies 201 

Commercial Interests 211 

Corn Palaces 249 

Directory, 1860 213 

Early Settlement 49 

Library 210 

Mayors 184 

Old Settlers 61 

Population 182 

Population, 1856 63 

Schools 100 

Suburbs of 1S5 

Water Works 233 

Sioux City a Railway Center 214 

Sioux City & Northern Railroad 126, 468 

Sioux City& Northwestern Railroad 129, 249 

Sioux City & Pacific Railroad 122 

Sioux City & Pembina. Railroad 124 

Sioux City & St. Paul Railroad 123 

Sioux City Prick and Tile Works 220 

Sioux City Butter Tub Factory 221 

Sioux City (.'aide Railway 233, 235 

Sioux City Cavalry 173 

Sioux City Courier, The 162 

Sioux City Daily and Weekly Times 162 

Sioux City Electric Co 232 

Sioux City Engine Works 220 

Sioux City Gas Light Co 232 

Sioux City Iowa Eagle 60, 71, 100 

Sioux City Journal 101 

Sioux City Library 210 

Sioux City Linseed Oil Works 221 

Sioux City Market Report, 1857 71 

Sioux City Register 101 

Sioux Citv Savings Bank 229 

Sioux City stock Exchange 162 

Sioux City street Railway Co 235 

Sioux City Tribune 102 

Sioux City Volksfreund 103 

Sioux City's Infancy 64 

Sioux City's Wholesale Trade 215 

Sioux fndians 166,410 

Sioux National Bank 229 

Sioux Township (Plymouth Co.) 575 

Sioux Valley Journal 491 

Sioux Valley News 164, 324 

Skinner, D. H. & Co 390 

Skinner.E. W 091 

Sloan 89, 110, 393 

Sloan, James B 761 

Sloan, M. L 95, 96, 221, 762 

Sloan Star. The 164, 395 

Sloan Township 1 Woodburv Co.) 391 

Slvter, W. O 82. 95 

Smith, C. K . . . . 56, 01, 172, 182, 184, 202, 214, 553, 674 
Smith, Dr. Win. R...01, 92, 121, 153. 166, 169, 

171, 174, 184, ISO. 190, 240, 242, 642 

Smith, E. R 845 

Smith, G.N 815 

Smith, J. B 365, S39 

Smith, John H 886 

Smith, O. B 63, 81, 93, 105, 265, 269, 295, 300 

Smith, Peter A 989 

Smith, William 697 

Smith, W. F 511, 914 

Southland 89, 105, 309 

Smutty Bear 59 

Snyder, Henry 974 

Social Societies, Sioux City 205 

Solberg, Anton 1005 

Sorenson, Peter 992 

Some, W. W 936 

Sparks, Mrs. Carrie M 900 

Spencer, Frederick 850 

Spreng, Dr. T. F. H 930 



1021 



StaeWer, George A 939 

Staebler, S. L 995 

Stanton Township (Plymouth Co.) 579 

Starks, M. W S55 

State Representatives 91 

State Savings Bank 229 

Steele, Peter 5S3. 868 

Stevens, S. H 819 

Stevens, T. H 195, 809 

Stinton, Joseph 534, 927 

Stinton, Mrs. Hannah 921 

Stinton, William 920 

Stock Raising , Plymouth Co.) 469 

Stock Raising i\V Dairy Co.) 120 

Stone, I. N 195, 231, 856 

Stone, Thomas J 61, 93. 133, 184, J24, 229, 625 

Stortz, C 510, 866 

Strange Bros 341 

Strange. Walter 72S 

Strickland, Key. C. H 767 

Strohm, Samuel S 991 

Strong, J. H 955 

Struble 435, 498 

Struble, Hon. I. S 440, 476, 1009 

Struble, J. H 476 

Sturges Bros 931 

Stylus, The 163 

Summers, E. 979 

Summers, 'William 978 

Sun, The 490 

Sunday Telegram 163 

Swamp Lands 99 

Swan, Col. J. H 757 

Syverson & Johnson, 852 

Swanson, John A 203, 850 

Swiggett, Setli W 60, 160 

Tabke, Mrs. Mary 957 

Tatt, James A 876 

Tangeman, David 372, 883 

Taylor, Henry 518 

Taylor, O.J 230, 661 

Teachers' Institute 114 

Tennis, A. H 797 

Thatcher, A. B 165, 379, 3S0, 844 

Thatcher. John T 359, 987 

Thelander, C. C 203, 903 

Thoma, A ...608, 924 

Thomas, W. F 782 

Thompson, Alex 971 

Thompson, J. 322, 897 

Thompson, T. A 933 

Thompson, "William B 12, 13, 51, 56, 74, 

76, 80, 131, 264, 281 

Thompsontown (Floyd's Bluff) 60, 76, S6 

Tiedemann, N 668 

Tobin, E. J 995 

Todd, Edward 642 

Todd, JohnE S57 

Topography 14 

Townsend, Dr. Justus 155 

Township History i Plymouth Co.) 492- 595 

Township History i Woodbury Co.) 264- 405 

Townsley, Marshall .... 59, 74, 80, 93, 133, 265, 2S2 

Tracy, Rev. T S45 

Treaty with Indians 12 

Tredway, O. C 61, 66, 143, 150, 698 

Tredwav, William B 61, 65, S2, 121, 132, 676 

Tripp. Howard C 491, 515, 671 

Tritz, M. B 764 

Trostle, Joseph W 955 

Trotting Park Association 470 

Trow, John 499 

Trow.J. D 963 

Tucker. John 812 

Turman, William 272, 295, 302, 306, 980 

Turman, William S 9S0 

TJlrich, Fred 411 

Union Pacific Railroad 125 

Union Planing Mill Co 222 

Union Stock Yards and Packing Houses 222 

Union Stock Yards state Bank 226 



PAGE. 

Union Township (Plymouth Co.) 582 

Union Township i Woodl mrv Co. i 311 

United States Land Office 1S6 

University of the Northwest 112, 209 

University of the Northwest, View of 117 

Utter, W. D 394. 952 

Valleau, J. H 219, 938 

Valuations in 1890 (Woodbury Co.) 120 

Vannorsdel, Isaac H 1003 

Van O'Linda, Judge William . . . .2.-4, 412, 419, 441 

Varley, J 380, 840 

Varner, J. F 509, 510, 511, 514, S01 

Varvel.A. J 944 

Vernon, W. Cx. H 225, 514, S44 

Vigars, Joseph 999 

Votes for Governor 1 Woodbury Co.) 92 

Votes for President 1 "Woodbury Co.) 92 

Wahkaw 73 

Wakefield, E. C 849 

Wakclicld, Hun. George W..95. 149, 226, 233, 

262, 475, 658 

Wakefield, L. F 736 

Walcutt. Dr. J. W 485 

Wall. James P 692 

Ward. P. J 499, 962 

War Eagle, Chief 51, 180 

Warner, A.J 981 

Warner, Dorleans S79 

Warner, J. W 917 

Washington Township (Plymouth Co.) 585 

Wassick. Benjamin W 981 

Waterman. Dr. G. F 405, S26 

Weare, George .61. 66. si. 113. 132. ls4, 196. 224, 067 

Weare & Allison 75, S3, 214, 224 

Weber, H 938 

Weber, Philip 997 

Webster, E. P 293, 945 

Weeks, Dr. A. J 94, 96, 322, 324, 70S 

Welc ll , N 2 93 , 87 7 

Wellington. Elizabeth W 891 

Wellington, L. D 84, 890 

W r elte, Jacob 372, 948 

AVelter, Mary 1000 

Wenbourne. William 954 

Wendel, D. S 878 

Wernli, G.L 602 

Wernli, Prof. J 455, 45S, 619, 630 

Wernli, W. J 606,608,616, 619, 783 

Westad, Mads 1005 

Western Bugle 73 

Western Delta, The 491 

Western Independent 161 

Western Fanners' stockman 163 

Westfield 434, 58S 

Westfield Township (Plymouth Co.) 5S7 

West Fork Township iW Ibury Co.) 353 

We-Washeta 55 

Wheeler, Luke 589, 930 

Whitfield, Rev. Witm. .t 195, 209, 712 

Whitnev. I laniel 514, S06 

Whitney, U. G 937 

Wholesale Trade, Sioux City 214 

Wightman. E. E 848 

Wilcox, H.T 372, 983 

Wild Game 55 

Wilder, Dr. J. J 4S5, 511, 514, SCO 

Wilkins. Miss Mary E SO, 100. 160 

Wilkinson, A. L 96,372, 827 

Williams. D. A S59 

Willow Township W Ibury Co.) 386 

W'ilson, Andrew 532, 929 

Wilson. Charles H 994 

Wilson. ClavW 913 

Wilson, G. W 600 

Wilson. M. Ellis 941 

Wilson Brothers 510 

Winchel, J. H 599. 607, 611, 923 

Winchel. Mrs. J. H 571 

Winterringer. 11. C 871 

Wisconsin. Territory of 11 

Wiseman. C. R 867 

Witt, Adolpll 926 



1022 



HISTORY OP WOODBURY AND PLYMOUTH COUNTIES. 



PAGE. 

Wixon, Dr. Franklin 672 

Wolf Creek 21 

Wolf Creek Township (Woodbury Co.) 350 

Wood, Clarence 510, SOS 

Woodbury County 51, 73 

Acts of Hoard ol Supervisors 81 

Agricultural Society 83, 120 

Agriculture 110 

Bench and Bar 131 

Buildings 75 

Court SI 

Court House 84 

Court House, View of 77 

County Seat 74 

Educational 100 

First Events 70 

First Settlers 76 

Government SO 

Indian Troubles 166 

Marriage liecord 85 

Officials 93- 99 

Organization 73 

Physicians 153 

Political History 90 



PAGE. 

Population 86 

Railroads 122 

Recorded Plats 86 

Woodbury and Plymouth Counties. Map of .9, 10 

Woodbury, Hon. Levi 73 

Woodbury Township 1 Woodbury Co.) 279 

Woodford, Luther 82, :i;>, 93, 101;, 121, 283, CS0 

Worth, W. T 889 

Wright, Alice J 990 

Wright, A. T 376, 843 

Wright, C. L 121, 129,225, 765 

Wright, W. M 322,326, 895 

Wurth, Mat 489, 734 

Wynn, Leighton. v 226, 727 

Wynn, Mrs. Leighton 154 

Yeomans, B. P 875 

Yeomans, Dr. S. P. 64, 73, ion, 121, 153, 160, ISO, 254 

Yokey, L 82, 95 

Young, C.J 586, 921 

Young, G. W 724 

Younglove, J. F 904 

Y. M. C. A. Building 207 

Ziebach, F. M 75, 161, ISO, 283 

Zuver, Hon. J. R 149, 474 



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